REVIEW - Xiaomi Mi Max 2 / A huge satisfaction
In a saturated smartphone market that is the same for design and technical specifications, the user is constantly searching for a device that differs from the mass or that he can distinguish himself from others. Well in this respect comes the category of so-called Phablets and the famous song by J-Ax and Fedez:
The iphone has taken over a part of the body
And in fact it races to those who have it bigger
There is nothing to say with the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 there will be no rivals because in addition to being huge it is also exaggeratingly performing but let's find it together in our full review made possible by sending the sample to Gearbest.com which I thank as always for the availability and professionalism that it demonstrates every time.
Already because it is the imposing dimensions of the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 are a distinctive sign of this device, which are equal to 174,1 X 88,7 x 7,6 mm with a weight of 211 grams that is well distributed. We would have expected at least one included cover that instead comes the classic including the USB Type-C cable for charging and transferring data, the wall charger with Chinese grip and output 5 / 9 / 12V and 1.5 / 2 / 3A (so you'll need an adapter), needle for removing the SIM cart and User Manual.
All this obliges us to 'Using a smartphone with two hands does not necessarily have to be considered a defect, in other words the Mi Max 2 it is still a phablet which might just be cool from the point of view of design, similar to many other smartphones in the company. That being said, the design is appreciated for simplicity and simplicity constructive quality characterized by a satin aluminum body characterized by two elegant lines for the antennas that follow the top and bottom profile, which houses the rear camera from 12 megapixel and dual LED flash as well as the sensor for fingerprint release. The sensor turns out Reliable 10 times on 10 provided that you are able to reach it since maybe the position is not in the reach of everyone or rather you have to find the right handle to be able to take advantage of even taking photos or blocking access to applications for which we want greater privacy.
See the overall dimensions the profile is very smallwhere we find the volume balance and both on / off button made of metal and the slot for the two SIMs (one in Micro format and the other in Nano format) or for a SIM and a micro SD card for memory expansion up to 128 GB provided that the dual SIM Dual Standby functionality is abandoned. The Mi Max 2 offers the LTE connectivity of cat. 7 unfortunately with the 'absence of the 20 band at 800 MHz even if personally from Wind user I have never had problems in receiving the signal or in web surfing.
On the bottom profile we find one double grid housing the main microphone and system speaker and then the Type-C USB input with OTG support. The sound offered by the speaker is remarkably appreciative although there is a predominant high frequency, but the sound is listening to sound in stereo mode (not present in handsfree mode) as the headset is used as the second speaker increasing the enveloping effect of listening to music or while watching a movie or simply playing.
The top profile instead houses the second noise reduction microphone, the IR transmitter and the 3.5 mm jack for earphones that could be definitely useful especially if you are in the car (in fact you always have to answer with the earphones and do not distract you from driving therefore hands on the steering wheel!).
On the front we find the iconic keys designed on the body, backlit and with vibration, which offer a swipe to the right or left the possibility of exploiting the one hand mode thus reducing the actual size of the screen that for this Mi Max 2 is of the size of 6,44 incheseven though it is difficult to use it safely, for example in a car as it tends to slide. A high display not only has the size but also the quality: it is constructive thanks to the presence of a glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4 molded with 2.5D machining and performance quality though only one IPS with Full HD resolution. The colors are well reproduced, as the color calibration is accurate, good viewing angles and deep blacks as well as the visibility under the direct sunlight is quite good as the sensor that is very responsive. Needless to specify that the viewing of multimedia content on the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 display is really rewarding emphasized even more by the stereophonic effect offered and the reading mode present to filter the frequencies of blue light.
The front, in addition to hosting the great display, incorporates classic sensors, headset and selfie camera from 5 megapixel and Notifiable LED and white color only. Before deepening the knowledge of the photographic sector, let me know that the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 also enjoys a great hardware endowment which does not include the NFC sensor but includes Bluetooth 4.2, dual band WiFi module, LTE data modem of cat. 7 and GPS which always turns out to be performing and fast fixes but also the FM radio definitely a plus to find by now on the various smartphones.
Connectivity in general works without any problems as well the system is fluid and rewarding thanks to the proven Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, an octacore from 2 Ghz that confirms its reputation as a processor attentive to energy management and that has nothing to envy to superior solutions. We also find one Adreno GPU 506 e 4 GB Memory RAM LPDDR3 combined with 64 GB of eMMC internal storage. Managing RAM is more than fairly manageable handle most of the applications in the background and performances in general are really unmatched compared to the band where the Mi Max 2 is set. In handling heavy applications or complex games, the Mi Max 2 gives you a pleasant experience of running without ever having to overheat or lag in general.
As we said before, the Snapdragon 625 is attentive to energy management which emphasizes even more the exaggerated autonomy of the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 which integrates a battery from 5300 mAh which give you more 2 days of use with nearly 10 hours of active screen without taking advantage of the energy savings offered by the system. A battery that in approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes despite the large capacity can fully charge. A system based on Android 7.1.1 customized from the interface MIUI 8.5 Global Stable which allows for more customizations at a graphic level thanks to themes downloadable from the store. The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is ready to use with Play Store and Google Services already pre-installed which is a pleasure to use thanks to wealth of features provided by the owner's UI and above all without any loss of notifications.
BENCHMARK
Of Android Nougat is heard poco the presence and at the moment a great absent is the functionality of split screen appeared in the initial beta during the release of the device, but if you want to preview what might be a real killer feature, and then enable the split screen, you can use an application that will allow you to enjoy the productivity generated by the view of 2 applications on a single display.
Finally we talk about the camera on the back a megapixel 12 drive entrusted to the sensor Sony IMX 386, the same as Xiaomi Mi 6, but with opening f / 2.2 without any optical or digital stabilization accompanied by a dual flash dual-tone LED flash. In good lighting conditions, photos are definitely good and quality while with the low light the background noise tend to come out perhaps due to the software management that should now be improved.
Videos can be shot up in 4K is 30 fps with a great catch of audio. There is the ability to shoot videos in time lapse or slow motion or for the most ridiculous to avail of manual mode for photos that set white balance, focus, exposure time, and ISO. There is also the HDR function which can be set to automatic and that generally works well at least on the reduced distances, while if the subject tends to be too far away the result is just enough,autofocus PDAF it is fast and reliable. On the front, however, we find a standard 5 megapixel camera with opening f / 2.0 entrusted to the sensor Samsung S5K5E8 which gives appreciable shots for various social sharing.
Ultimately, this Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is a terminal that is appreciated and respected in every aspect, offering a great display, stereo sound and excellent autonomy as well as high quality performance. Maybe portability is not its strength but I remember that the Mi Max 2 belongs to the category of phablets and that as such can be exploited business-grade pains maybe by pairing a bluetooth keyboard and a mouse to have a mini PC always within reach hand, perhaps editing some work document on the fly or writing an article for XiaomiToday.it. If we then match a really competitive price like what you find on the store Gearbest.com then I can only recommend this device to lovers of the category than not.
This phone I find great. Really makes me crazy. Too bad I just bought an 4 global note that I still find awesome. But these 6.4 thumbs up with videos are another thing. And this design has conquered me. Gold color I find it odd
Congratulations for the review, sin for choosing the white and gold colors, but for that price it is worth it
Thanks for the compliments Maurizio, in any case I do not disdain the white / gold combination at least on this terminal.