Xiaomi Mi Max 2 review

This year is characterized by the appearance of of frameless smartphones, so it is impossible to say that the framework is particularly thin here. Despite this, the ratio of the size of the screen to the size of the housing is a high value of 74.13%.

Compared to last generation, the quality of the assembly is improved. The model of this year is larger and harder, but it carries a more premium feeling and the device is more convenient to hold in hand due to the metal monolithic housing with rounded corners. Power and volume buttons are felt by durable and responsive.

Fingerprint scanner Reliable and fast, appeared by a USB-C connector. In general, the MI MAX 2 design liked, but it should be remembered that the devices of this size are not suitable for everyone.

Screen

The machine has a huge LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920, pixel density 342 PPI, which is a good value. Also, there are good viewing angles and the screen has become not so glare, as in the first generation smartphone, but at the same time the maximum brightness decreased and is 496 threads, which is a good indicator. At the same time, visibility in the sun is not the strongest side of this device.

Due to the color temperature of 7500 to most colors have a blue tint, but the situation is still better than in the original MI MAX, where the screen was even colder. For the device at a price of about $ 300, the screen is not bad.

Interface and Performance

The shell Xiaomi is used on this smartphone MIUI 8.5 over Android 7.1.1. The system is largely reminiscent of IOS, while possessing a number of exceptional functionality.

For example, the DUAL Apps feature allows you to start at the same time two instances of one application, like WhatsApp or Viber. If you want to use a smartphone with one hand, there is a separate operation mode and the Quick Ball function. There is also an application topic for customization of the appearance of the device. In this case, there is no possibility of separating the screen between two programs, on such a large smartphone it is strange. I want to believe that it will appear in future software updates.

In terms of performance, many may be disappointed because only the processor SNAPDRAGON 625 is used instead of Snapdragon 652 in last year's model. It is less productive, but was created on a more advanced technological process of 14 nm. Games and applications will work slower, but energy will be less consuling.

Despite this, there should be no problems in everyday tasks, The interface navigation usually happens smoothly, not counting the search in the settings. Depending on the number of search results, there may be a hint for 2-4 seconds.

Two versions of the smartphone are available, with a volume of 64 GB storage and 128 GB, in both there is support memory cards microSD. The volume of RAM is 4 GB.

Cameras

The only rear camera has a resolution of 12 megapixels and f/2.2 dual LED flash. The resolution of the front camera is 5 megapixels. This seems like a step backwards, since last year the rear camera was 16MP and f/2.0, but in practice it's not. The developers have increased the pixel size of the main camera from 1 µm to 1.25 µm, and as a result, the photos have become better.

I was able to get great pictures even in not the best daylight. Exposure levels are generally good and color reproduction is fairly accurate. In the dark, digital noise is noticeable in the photos, but the night mode helps to improve sharpness.

The camera application starts up quickly and works, there is a rich selection of shooting modes and filters. As for the front camera, it produces decent photos, but you need to turn off the beautification mode.

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Video Recording

Recording video on the Mi Max 2 is not amazing. It's nice to be able to shoot at 4K resolution, but the autofocus proved to be unreliable and the lack of optical stabilization results in shaking.

Multimedia

The device is well suited for games, watching videos, full-fledged movies, which helps big screen. This time Xiaomi used stereo speakers. The bottom is responsible for bass and low frequencies, built into the earpiece for mids and highs. The sound is clear and loud enough.

Call quality and connectivity

Ear speaker is loud, no problems with phone calls there were no conversations. You can easily hear the voice of the interlocutor. For users in Europe, frequency bands LTE 3 and 7 are supported.

As for communication standards, there is no NFC, so the payment system Android Pay It does not work here. Hybrid compartments allow you to install two SIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD. There are Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, the latest versions of the standard Wi-Fi.

Autonomous work

The battery is one of the main advantages of this smartphone, since its capacity It is 5300 mAh. Together with the most productive processor, it provides a record duration of work.

In the tests with the on-screen enabled, the device handed 17 hours 22 minutes. He went around the past champion LG X POWER for 2 hours. For comparison, iPhone 7 runs 7 hours 46 minutes, Galaxy S8 8 hours 22 minutes. Two days MI MAX 2 will stretch without any problems, and if it is rarely touched upon it, it will work and three or four days.

The charger supports the Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which allows you to spend on recharging from zero to 100% 2 hours 15 minutes.

Conclusion

Competition on the market of medium price categories is the most serious, but Xiaomi Mi Max 2 was able to stand out. This device is not for everyone, but it will appeal to those who can cope with its size. The quality of the assembly, adequate performance, is good chambers, suitability for multimedia content and exceptional battery life.

Although there are disadvantages here, they reappear from 16,500 rubles. per version 64 GB (according to Yandex Market). In this category of competitors, he has little.

If you do not have discomfort from such a large size of the smartphone and limited support for the manufacturer, the device can be safely recommended for purchase.

Pluses

minuses

Rating: 7.