The original Xiaomi Mi Max was launched more than a year ago. It was a good phone, but not a legend like the Xiaomi Mi 5. So many customers have already managed to forget about it. That’s why when the conversations about a new big-size phone from Xiaomi have started buzzing the net, many didn’t take it seriously. However, Xiaomi has proved for many times it is the best brand when it comes to price-hardware ratio. This simply means the second-gen Xiaomi Mi Max 2 should come with a list of improvements and cost less than many phones from the same niche. The phone has been unleashed on May 25, and we have already got our hands on it. So let’s take a closer look at the latest monster-sized phone of Chinese Apple. Meet the Xiaomi Mi Max 2.

Check out XIaomi Mi Max 2 deal

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Display

We know a few years back the best screen size for smartphones has been considered to be 4.7 inches. Then 5-inch handsets were called gold-size handsets. Now seems the diagonal of a smartphone screen should be the way bigger. Nothing prevents us to own a 6-inch phone and operate on it like nothing’s wrong. The Xiaomi Mi Max 2, as the name suggests, comes with a large screen at 6.44 inches.

In comparison to the previous model, this one doesn’t differ much in terms of display. But the black borders around it has become narrower by 53%. It’s obvious. This shouldn’t cause any surprise, because we know even low-end smartphones of Xiaomi come with narrower frames. Just recall the Xiaomi Redmi 4 that has got such an improvement recently, though no one complained on the existing width of the borders. The screen comes at a resolution of 1080P and 72% NTSC color gamut. It’s supplied by Pegasus.

Theoretically, the Mi Max 2 screen shouldn’t provide outstanding viewing performance. But do not forget we are dealing with a Xiaomi handset. Moreover, it belongs to Mi family. This means everything should be at the highest level in this phone. So when interacting with the Xiaomi Mi Max 2, we have a feeling as it’s a high-end device with the best display.

This screen also comes with a few useful features such as eye protection mode as well as color temperature adjustment. Moreover, it will get an OTA update soon allowing you use the split-screen feature. I guess this will work fine on a big-screen smartphone.

Though big-screen phones are not recommended to girls due to smaller palm, most of owners of such devices are females. As for the Xiaomi Mi Max 2, you don’t have to worry about anything – there is a special ‘small screen mode’ as well as ‘floating ball’ for better single-hand operations.

So what we can say about advantages of big screen phones?

First, it is unreplaceable for car navigation.

Second, watching videos on big-screen phones can’t be compared with the same experience on smaller handsets.

Third, they are great when viewing (and/or working on) documents such as Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, etc.

But it has a ‘disadvantage’ as well – portability. Many think it is uncomfortable to put in a pocket. I agree, but look at this.

At last, you should know the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is the way bigger than the iPhone 7 Plus.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Design

The back of the phone differs from the previous model. Now the manufacturer uses a metal unibody design and has removed the ‘box’ part. This affects not only the look of the phone, but also durability. The technology used for making one-piece housings allows manufacturers to make more solid handsets, but the antenna signal can be affected. So Xiaomi uses a U-type antenna design for better transmission.

Like the original device the Xiaomi Mi Max 2’s camera is placed on the upper left area. But the flash light position has been changed. The fingerprint scanner is where it has been.

The front camera, proximity sensor and a front speaker are above the screen placed symmetrically for better look.

The volume rocker and the power button are on the right side.

The SIM card slot is on the left.

The infrared hole, noise reduction microphone, and 3.5mm audio jack are on the top.

The USB Type-C port paired with two speakers are on the bottom.

So we can write down that though the overall look of the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has not been changed much, the body making process has been improved a lot.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Performance

The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 can’t be considered as a high-end smartphone, because we know what astonishing features they come with. But this phone is still packed with decent specs. It sports a Snapdragon 625 processor paired with a 4GB of RAM and 64/128GB of internal memory. Many think this chip and memory configuration are not sufficient to play heavy games on its big screen. If looking at the specs list only and not try it out, no one can say what this device is capable of.

So we decided to test it by playing the much-popular ‘King of Glory’, ‘CrossFire’ and ‘2K17’. As a result, we can see the phone runs the game at 30fps and no out-of-frame situation appears. When the game is played on multi-player mode, the screen is between 28-30fps as well. So be sure, there is no problem with the Mi Max 2 when playing heavy games.

Now when we have got it worked out with playing games on the

Xiaomi Mi Max 2, let’s take a quick look at the benchmarks.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Battery

‘Big screen power’ is Xiaomi Mi Max 2’s slogan. Probably, these are the three words that can describe this handset the best. It comes with a big body and large screen. The former one allows the manufacturer to put a large battery inside the phone that should serve to the latter. The 5300mAh battery should be enough for daily use. Let’s figure it out.

We have tested it for a few times. First, the screen’s brightness was set at 50%. It was used too heavily. Say, we were running WeChat, playing King of Glory, watching videos, shooting, browsing web pages and so on. As a result, the phone lasted for 1 day and 9 hours (from 13:53 to 23:15 of the next day). The remaining power was 2% at the end of the test. So we can state, if you use it less, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is capable of lasting up to 2 days. This is great if taking into account it sports a screen at 6.44 inches.

As for charging, this handset supports QC3.0, parallel fast charge technology, and OTG reverse charging. Its box includes a 12V / 1.5A (about 18W) power adapter. We tested the charging speed as well. It turns out, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 can fully charge in 2 hours and 24 minutes. Seems this is too long, but if this handset was powered with a 3500mAh battery, it will take only 90 minutes to charge.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Camera

The big-screen handsets have never boasted of great camera modules. But when the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 was announced, Lei Jun was proud to say this handset comes with the same Sony IMX386 sensor as the Xiaomi Mi 6. Thus, this phone features a 12MP camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF support, and Xiaomi’s ‘low light quality enhancement’ algorithm. There is also a 5MP shooter on the front, which is quite sufficient if taking into account we are dealing with a 2000-yuan device.

However, the sensor size should be explained not to make people confused. I mean we have to learn a few things to understand this phone is not capable of taking photos at the same quality as the Xiaomi Mi 6. So, when we say ‘sensor’, it refers to ‘CMOS’ – the core part of a camera equivalent to our eyes. It is responsible for recording and conversion. The sensor area can differ in the same 12 million pixels. The larger the area of a single pixel, the better the picture quality. As for now, the largest non-custom CMOS can be found on the Xiaomi Mi 5S and Google Pixel. They use the IMX378 sensor with a single pixel of 1.55um and 1.23 inches of CMOS area. The IMX386 has a single pixel of 1.12um and 1/29 inches of CMOS area.

So what we can say for these handsets, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 and Mi 6? Though they are packed with the same sensor, the hardware, software, and other features affect the shooting performance. For example, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 doesn’t have Mi 6’s 4-ahix OIS. Another difference, the Mi Max 2 comes with an f/2.2 aperture, while the Mi 6 does an f/1.8. Honestly, these features have too less common with the sensor, but the affect the photo quality and the overall performance.

Anyway, thanks to the IMX368 sensor the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 can provide good shootings. This is mainly reflected in the screen sharpness and color reproduction that are seen on daytime samples.

HDR off

HDR on

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HDR off

HDR on

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HDR on

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Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for nighttime shoots.

Macro shoots

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Software

Starting from the Xiaomi Mi 6 all Xiaomi handsets come with MIUI8 based on Android 7.1.1. The Mi Max 2 is no exception. Though there are not many changes in this software in comparison to earlier versions, there are at least three featured added for this phone especially – ‘one-hand mode’, ‘split-screen mode’ and ‘super floating bar’.

The phone comes with an infrared emission function that allows users to remotely control Mi TV / box, regular TV sets, air conditioners, amplifiers and other home appliances.

As for the ‘super floating bar’, it’s not a system-level app. So you should download a special them designed for the Mi Max 2 in order to use it. Moreover, no need to unlock the phone to use it. A long press on the locked screen (left or right) will activate the feature including up to 21 apps and functions.

Pros

Large screen

Large battery

SND processor

Unibody design

Tons of useful features

Price

Cons

Camera modules

Relatively small RAM

Final Words

This is a Mi family phone. Thus it’s been made with high ambitions in mind. But let’s not confuse it with the main flagships of the company in face of the Mi 6, the upcoming Mi Note 3 and Mi MIX 2. I mean the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is a great handset for those who are looking for a large-screen + large-battery device. It’s also one of the best offers if taking into account the hardware and price ratio. But never think to put it next to the aforementioned smartphones. So we can say Xiaomi has managed to come in with the best device for a certain niche once again. In this sense, probably you won’t be able to find anything better than the Mi Max 2. Agree 1699 yuan ($250) is a great price tag for Xiaomi device sporting a number of decent specs such as a 6.44-inch screen, 5300mAh battery, and Snapdragon 625 chip.