Cubot is not just rugged smartphones, indeed with the new Max 5, the company has shown that you can get super performance without having to break the bank. In fact, the new terminal of the Asian brand shows itself to the public with an attractive design, system fluidity and a high-end chipset, all at a price of just 200 euros. If I have made you a little curious, stay on this page because I will tell you all about Cubot Max 5, the gaming phone with a game over price.
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![[World Preview] CUBOT MAX 5, Android 5G Smartphone, 8200nm Dimensity 4, 6,95" 144Hz Large Screen, 24GB RAM (12GB+12GB), 256GB ROM, 5g Gaming Phone, NFC,100MP, WiFi 6, On Sale on July 22](https://www.xiaomitoday.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/anteprimamondialecubotmax5androidsmartphone5gdimensity8200da4.png)
[World Preview] CUBOT MAX 5, Android 5G Smartphone, 8200nm Dimensity 4, 6,95" 144Hz Large Screen, 24GB RAM (12GB+12GB), 256GB ROM, 5g Gaming Phone, NFC,100MP, WiFi 6, On Sale on July 22
216,97β¬ available
On offer on Amazon
What's in the box
Certainly a positive thing about this terminal, like many others offered by Cubot, is the equipment of the sales package, which is minimal only in the appearance of the box itself. Inside, however, we naturally find the smartphone placed on a plastic tray that hides various accessories including:
- 12V/2.75A (33W) battery charger with European plug;
- USB Type-C cable for charging and data transfer;
- protective plastic film for display (pre-applied);
- tempered glass screen protector;
- transparent hard plastic smartphone protective cover;
- SIM tray removal pin;
- manuals.
Construction and design
I have to admit, Cubot Max 5 is definitely beautiful to look at, with a futuristic design with CyberPunk inspiration. There are two colors available, a Pearl White and Tech Black which in my opinion gives even more emphasis to the WOW look of this smartphone. The entire construction uses polycarbonate as a material except for the rear body which is made of transparent composite glass with a very effective gaming-style texture, which gives beautiful effects when hit by light.
Cubot Max 5 is not a compact smartphone also because of a huge display that brings the dimensions to 173,9 x 78,9 x 9,5 mm and a weight of 223 grams. It is not slippery and the narrow shape allows you to hold it comfortably in your hand, but using it with one hand is difficult. The back cover is rather clean, hosting only 3 slightly protruding optics and an LED flash, while on the left frame we find a button that if pressed 1 or 2 times, or if held down for 1 second allows you to call up your favorite apps or perform some actions, such as turning on the flashlight, taking a screenshot etc... to be clear, a sort of iPhone action button.
The right profile instead houses the volume rocker and the power button which also incorporates the biometric sensor for unlocking the smartphone via fingerprint. The position of this is comfortable to reach, but above all the unlocking has always proven to be fast and reliable. Just touch the button and the phone will be unlocked instantly. Speaking of unlocking the device, the action can also be performed via Unlock Face, which is recognized even in conditions of very low ambient light.
The upper profile of the smartphone offers the second microphone for noise reduction during calls and a small grill that hides the second speaker, as the Max 5 offers stereo sound. The main speaker is found on the lower frame, accompanied by the Type-C input for charging with OTG support, main microphone and SIM tray, which allows the insertion of two nano-format SIMs but does not allow the insertion of a micro SD for memory expansion. The possibility of a virtual SIM (e-SIM) is also absent.
Sound, connectivity and sensors
As already mentioned a few lines above, Cubot Max 5 offers stereo sound. The volume is not very high but more than satisfactory for any listening situation, with a good dose and balance of low and medium-high tones. The really surprising thing is that the sound is truly stereo, that is, the audio output power is the same for both drivers. Stereo sound can also be used in hands-free mode. Another particularly positive aspect is that despite the phone having a decidedly affordable price, there is 5G NSA/SA connectivity on both SIM tray slots and of course full support for the infamous band 20. No problems in changing cells and in managing calls, with audio quality in the capsule and for our interlocutor of the highest level.
But the surprises do not end there as on board we also find NFC, Bluetooth 5.3m Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO support, therefore 2Γ2 antenna that ensures improved performance and connection reliability. There is also support for Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot a Cast Display but also GPS / GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou which offers a huge detection of satellites of all positioning systems with excellent precision up to 2 meters. The equipment is then completed by full support for Android Auto and Quick Share. A negative particularity at the moment, is that the Type-C port is type 3.1 with support therefore for USB-HDMI connection, but the company reports that this function will be released with a future update. Excellent navigation, which in my case in 4G allowed me to obtain good download and upload speeds.
We console ourselves with a good dose of sensors, all working perfectly starting from the proximity one, of the physical type, so no problem in listening to voice notes and/or calls. Even the lighting sensor, effectively and quickly adjusts the brightness of the display based on the amount of light present in the environment. However, we also find a compass, accelerometer, pedometer, gyroscope and much more.
Display
The presence of the fingerprint sensor inside the power button has already spoiled us that on Cubot Max 5 we do not find an AMOLED panel but rather with IPS technology. We are still talking about an excellent panel, with a diagonal of 6,95 inches and FHD + resolution (1080 x 2460 px), 387 PPI. The display supports refresh rates of 144 Hz, 90 Hz and 60 Hz leaving the user the choice of which frequency to use or the system will select the best refresh rate for you. The display protection is guaranteed by Panda Glass.
In the settings we can calibrate some parameters through MediaTek MiraVision 785 technology while other settings offer the selection for temperature and vividness of colors, but this option often confuses YouTube, which is therefore unable to offer a high quality vision for some contents. A pity because Cubot Max 5 supports the viewing of HDR contents but the playback on streaming platforms is only of the SD type since the Widevine are of the L3 type.
I don't know the exact value of the display brightness, but I can say that under direct sunlight, the contents on the screen are displayed without any particular problem. Of course, the display suffers a bit from reflections but nothing annoying. The frames are not among the thinnest seen on the market, in fact the lower chin is also quite pronounced, just as the punch hole is not among the most discreet, but overall the panel offers an excellent reproduction of multimedia contents and especially in gaming activities the 144 Hz, give a very pleasant fluidity of play. I also point out the presence of an integrated chip for eye protection from the emission of blue light.
Performance and autonomy
Let's get to the strong point of Cubot Max 5, which despite adopting a CPU from a previous generation, still offers top-of-the-range performance. We are talking specifically about the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 (MT6896Z) processor with a 4nm production process and a maximum clock of 31 GHz (4 A78 cores / 1 Γ 3.1 GHz + 3 Γ 3.0 GHz + 4 A55 cores 2.0 GHz) which is accompanied by the Mali-G610 MC6 GPU. To put it briefly, the chipset equipped on Cubot Max 5 matches the performance of a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and comes close to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, obtaining almost 900 thousand points on the well-known AnTuTu benchmark app.
But comparisons aside, Max 5 is also equipped with 12 GB of quad-channel LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 3200 MHz, further virtually expandable by an additional 12 GB. The storage capacity is 256 GB of the non-expandable UFS 3.1 type (242 GB actually available to the user). Numbers aside, the performance is truly exceptional: consider that one of the heaviest games for mobile platforms like Genshin Impact, runs at maximum graphic details at 60 fps fixed without any slowdown, freeze or frame loss. All apps start instantly and the animations are always fluid. In short, Cubot Max 5 is a truly gaming smartphone but also high-performance in everyday life, without particular overheating, thanks also to the adoption of LiquidCool cooling technology and integrated NPU 580 chip which through an AI algorithm optimizes energy consumption and guarantees performance.
Cubot Max 5 is equipped with a 5100 mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging, which takes about an hour and a half to fully charge, while with 18 minutes you will get 45%. Of course, the real autonomy also depends on the use you make of the smartphone, but in any case you will always be able to bring home at least a full day. However, I must admit that the battery has a strange behavior based on the use you make and specifically under 4G coverage with cell changes the autonomy tends to decrease more quickly than the same use made without the aid of Wi-Fi but remaining in the same place for hours, such as in your own home. Nothing dramatic but it was right to point it out.
Software
This in my opinion is the most critical aspect of Cubot Max 5 which at the time of writing is updated to Android 14 with May 2024 patch, even if online I noticed that some reviewers have the same device with June patch. Here the criticality lies precisely in the fact that you have to take into account that most likely this smartphone will never receive any major update and perhaps the patches with an eyedropper. The fact is that I have not received any update.
For the rest we find a stock version of Android 14 without any customization by the manufacturer. On the one hand, a good thing, since through the various customization apps on the Play Store we can create a graphic interface to our liking. Android Auto works perfectly while I must point out that the gesture of dragging down the notifications is missing, easily reachable however if you adopt the customized three-button bar as navigation with an additional button just for calling up the notification curtain. In any case, Cubot MAx 5 arrives with the most basic set of pre-installed apps, so no bloatware and no duplicate apps.
Photos and Video
On the back we find 3 cameras, although only one is actually usable for photos and videos. In particular, we are talking about a 0 MP OmniVision OVA40B100 main sensor with f/1.8 aperture and 6-element lens. By default, shots are taken at 25 MP with the possibility of recording videos in 4K 30fps. For portrait mode shots, an additional camera with a 0.3 MP depth sensor is used, while an additional 5 MP lens performs the function of shooting in macro mode, using the OmniVision OV5670 sensor.
Strangely, Cubot has given more importance to the selfie sensor, inserting a 616 MP Sony IMX32, f/2.25 which however records video at 1080p 30fps. I will start by saying that whatever camera you use for night shots, despite the fact that there is a specific mode at the software level, you will get a rather disappointing quality as a lot of digital noise will be printed in addition to poorly focused details. At the software level, you then feel the lack of an automatic HDR while there is a sort of AI that optimizes the shooting parameters based on the detected scene.
The videos are supported by digital stabilization, which in all honesty could be improved, while the shots in favorable ambient light conditions are quite satisfactory. Cubot Max 5 is not a camera phone and does not even pretend to be one, but all in all the shots we bring home are of good quality, especially those with the selfie camera, which offer a good cutout.
To put it briefly, the Asian brand's smartphone in terms of photographic performance is nothing surprising but not to be discarded either.
[World Preview] CUBOT MAX 5, Android 5G Smartphone, 8200nm Dimensity 4, 6,95" 144Hz Large Screen, 24GB RAM (12GB+12GB), 256GB ROM, 5g Gaming Phone, NFC,100MP, WiFi 6, On Sale on July 22
216,97β¬ available
On offer on Amazon
Conclusions
Cubot Max 5 is not a perfect smartphone, but if we consider the price of only 200 euros through AliExpress, we must seriously consider purchasing it, because we are taking home a device with top-of-the-range performance, which does not disappoint in any area, or at least we have to be satisfied with some aspects, but in short the smartphone does its job, giving strong emotions if you are a fan of mobile gaming.
Cubot is starting to become an interesting brand, in your opinion how is the build quality compared to brands like Ulefone?