Review: xiaomi mi max is a huge, thin and convenient smartphone. ▌Camera at the level of the latest generation of Redmi smartphones

Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is already the third smartphone in the series. Like previous models, it has an impressive size, a good battery and decent performance. However, the new Mi Max 3 boasts some other important advantages, which we will discuss in this review.

Specifications

The iron filling of Mi Max 3 does not carry any surprises. The smartphone is built on the well-proven Snapdragon 636 chipset, which Xiaomi previously used in its bestseller Xiaomi Redmi Note 5.

Snapdragon 636 includes a 64-bit processor with eight Kryo 260 cores operating at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz. In addition to a powerful processor, the chipset is equipped with a powerful Adreno 509 video accelerator, which provides the ability to work with complex 3D graphics. Supports multiple location systems and 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks, as well as the latest Bluetooth standard 5.0.

The smartphone is equipped with 4 GB and 64 GB of permanent memory. This is quite enough for the comfortable operation of any applications and storage of user data. If it seems to someone not enough, then you can choose a model with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM.

Equipment and appearance

The smartphone comes in a snow-white box, on the cover of which the model name and manufacturer's logo are printed. On the back side you can find brief specifications and IMEI codes.

The set is spartan. In the box, we found only the smartphone itself, USB cable Type-C, charger with Quick Charge 3.0 support, instructions and a clip for the SIM card tray. It is a pity that the manufacturer did not consider it possible to add at least a silicone protective one to this meager set. Finding one suitable for such a large device can be quite difficult.

Mi Max 3 immediately inspires respect for its size. Photos very poorly convey the impression that the phone makes on buyers who have not previously used such devices. To at least partially convey the effect, we photographed Mi Max 3 along with Redmi Note 5, which with its six-inch screen looks just like a baby next to it.

Almost the entire front surface is occupied by the display. It has an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2160×1080 pixels. The now popular “monobrow” is missing, which should be appreciated by all the haters of this innovation.

The side frames cannot be called thin - their thickness is about 3.5 mm, but thanks to the overall dimensions of the gadget, they are not too striking. The amount of space above and below the screen is 8 mm.

The power button and volume rocker are traditionally located on right side. The keys sit tight, do not wobble or rattle.

On the left side of Mi Max 3 is a combo tray for SIM cards. The smartphone supports the installation of an external memory card up to 256 GB, which can be placed instead of the second SIM card if necessary.

The lower bound contains USB port Type-C for recharging and data exchange, on the sides of which are a conversational microphone and an external speaker. On the top edge, the manufacturer placed a hole for a 3.5 mm jack for connection and an infrared port, which is useful for remote control household appliances.

In the left upper corner back cover block is placed dual camera. It protrudes slightly from the surface, so on the table the phone can wiggle slightly when touched. In the center is a fingerprint scanner, the work of which does not cause any complaints. It provides almost one hundred percent recognition and very fast unlocking of the smartphone. However, you will have to get used to its location, because due to the large size of the device, it is sometimes quite difficult to reach it.

In general, we liked the design, materials and assembly of the smartphone. Mi Max 3 looks and feels like a solid mid-ranger, without any discounts or reservations.

However, the gigantic size of the smartphone is not for everyone. You have to operate such a gadget mainly with two hands, which leaves its mark on typical usage patterns. mobile phone. For example, you will not be able to quickly respond to incoming messages on the go, famously switch tracks while holding the handrail in transport with one hand, or take this shovel phone for a run. Therefore, before choosing this model, you should soberly assess your needs and capabilities.

Screen and sound

The smartphone is equipped with a display with a diagonal of 6.9 inches. Until recently, devices with such a screen could be included in the category, today they are just large smartphones.

A high-quality IPS-matrix demonstrates wide viewing angles, the correct color balance and an excellent level of contrast. There is merit in this software, which automatically adjusts the picture on the screen according to the ambient light. If you wish, you can disable this feature and adjust the colors and contrast manually.

The brightness of the backlight changes automatically or manually. The adjustment range is somewhat shifted down. At the minimum level, the picture on the screen can hardly be made out, but in bright sunlight, even the maximum is not always enough for comfortable use.

The large screen size encourages using the device as a reader. There is every reason for this: the built-in reading mode, which is activated manually or by schedule, blocks harmful screen radiation and makes the process more enjoyable and safer.

Despite the presence of modern USB connector Type-C, the manufacturer did not abandon the classic wired headphone jack. When you connect a good headset, the smartphone produces a fairly high-quality sound. Paired with a huge screen, this makes you feel like you are in a personal cinema or at a concert venue. The same good words about the sound of the external speaker, unfortunately, will not work. It's loud, but nothing more.

Performance

The Snapdragon 636 processor was one of the first to abandon the Cortex-A53 cores that had set everyone on edge. Instead, they use more efficient Kryo 260 cores with a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz. This allowed Mi Max 3 to show quite good results in synthetic tests, the results of which you can see in the screenshots.

In practical use, the smartphone showed itself only on the positive side. Yes, this is far from a flagship, but it copes with all real tasks. Applications launch quickly, the operating system interface does not lag, switching between tasks is almost instantaneous. On a device with such a screen, it is very convenient to work in split-screen mode. We ran a variety of programs at the same time, and the smartphone behaved just fine.

The built-in video accelerator allows you to play any modern games. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to make compromises: most of them work with high or low last resort medium graphics settings.

The smartphone screen itself is the main consumer of energy, and even such a giant, as in Mi Max 3, should plant the usual one just instantly. Therefore, it is not surprising that the manufacturer equipped the smartphone with a solid 5,500 mAh battery.

In synthetic tests, Mi Max performed well. But also better smartphone behaves in real life. If you do not lean too much on games and photography, then it is quite possible to count on the work of Mi Max 3 for three days from a single charge.

Charging time with the included charger is about 2.5 hours.

The Mi Max 3 uses the same cameras as the Redmi Note 5. Everyone who has come across this device knows very well that it has excellent photo capabilities. Not yet flagship, but far above average.

The main camera uses a module with a dual sensor manufactured by Samsung: S5K2I7 at 12 MP and S5K5E8 at 5 MP. In good light, Mi Max 3 allows you to take photos of good quality even if you decide to shoot against the sun or, for example, a fast moving object. Software algorithms can recognize scenes and automatically set the optimal settings for shooting.

Or not. To be honest, I still can't decide. On the one hand, a 6.44-inch smartphone is a great help in consuming any kind of content (videos, toys, books, websites), and on the other hand, it is a huge shovel that tries to slip out of your hands at any moment. By the second day of operation, I was typing text on Mi Max with one hand with Swipe(I usually use it) and managed my Twitter feed without outside help, but the feeling of concern that I was about to drop it still did not leave me. This smartphone leaves very mixed and even somewhat contradictory impressions, but let's talk about everything in order.

The text may contain and certainly contains grammatical, spelling, punctuation and other types of errors, including semantic ones. I do my best to ask readers to point out these errors and correct me through private messages.

▌Specifications

Initially, Xiaomi announced 3 versions of the smartphone, which, in addition to the price tag and the amount of user memory, were distinguished by a more productive platform in the two older versions and 4 GB random access memory in the top model for 1999 yuan ($300 at the time of publication). Later on the virtual shelves of Chinese trading floors the maximum budget version of the smartphone appeared with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of user memory for ~$190. I got to test the younger version from the previously announced Max line, i.e. smartphone with Snapdragon 650 on board, 32 GB of user memory and 3 GB of RAM.

▌ How big is he!

The length of the smartphone is just over 17 centimeters. Right now, take the ruler in your hands and see how much it really is. For comparison, the dimensions of several popular smartphone models:

However, Mi Max manages to more or less adequately lie in the hand. During operation, I either supported it with my little finger when working with the keyboard, or kept it closer to the middle of the case, leafing through social tapes. networks. In most other situations, you had to resort to the help of a second hand.

When typing, Swype helps out a lot, because. even if you did not reach which extreme letter, with a high probability, auto-selection will insert it itself. Therefore, there were no particular problems with typing with one hand, with the exception of a slight jitters about the likelihood of dropping the smartphone when intercepting. The software control mode with one hand somehow did not take root for me.

The appearance of the smartphone is in the best traditions of Xiaomi: a metal back panel with plastic inserts on the ends, under which the antennas of the radio modules are located. There are three color variations to choose from: gray, silver and gold, which I got for the test. The backing on the front panel remains white anyway. It looks nice, but there are several complaints about the design. Firstly, in the twisting test, the components of the smartphone noticeably backlash. Fortunately, this fact does not affect the daily operation of the smartphone, and it is probably due to the thickness of the case, which is only 7.5 mm.

Secondly, the camera module protrudes beyond the body. Yes, such a solution has already been repeatedly encountered in many smartphones, but Xiaomi designers made a fatal mistake by drowning the protruding rim relative to the glass. Thus, when the smartphone comes into contact with flat surfaces, the entire “blow” in the upper part falls on the glass covering the camera. After two weeks of use, you can observe the following picture:

Perhaps the sapphire glass used in the notorious iPhone (covers the camera) would have saved the day, but who would put it in a smartphone for $ 250?

I can only say good things about the fingerprint scanner on the back, except for the fact that I'm not a fan of this location. The speed of the sensor even in the most budgetary representatives of the Redmi line is simply excellent, and the number of recognition errors is minimal. In addition, I like the shape, size of the scanner and its location in a tangible recess, which they cannot boast of.

There is only one multimedia speaker on the bottom end, and a conversational microphone is hidden behind the second grille. The quality of speech transmission does not cause any complaints, but the dynamics lack volume and low frequencies. The use of MicroUSB instead of USB Type-C, as it were, hints at a certain budget of the device, as the company is gradually introducing a new interface connector into older smartphones.

The function keys on the right side do not play and have a noticeable tactile response. Top unchanged: audio output and IR transmitter. The tray on the left side is combined: micro-SIM and a choice of nano-SIM or microSD.

Given that we have a multimedia device in front of us, saving on the display would look like blasphemy on the part of Xiaomi. However, this did not happen, Mi Max has an excellent IPS matrix in all respects with a brightness adjustment range ranging from 2 to 631 cd / m 2 and a contrast ratio of 936 to 1. The display is well read in the sun and does not blind your eyes in the dark. The only but-weak oleophobic coating in comparison with the one that I recently tested.

Many reviewers complained about the black frames framing the display, but for all the time I used it I did not understand what was wrong with it. They absolutely do not catch the eye, and with a dark splash screen they look great at all, illusoryly expanding the space occupied by the display. But how many people, so many opinions.

After 2 weeks of using the smartphone without a case and films, the protective coating of the display remained pristine, despite the fact that before me the smartphone was tested in a different edition. The question regarding the origin of the coating remains open, since the model of this coating is not indicated on the official Chinese website, but on the Indian one about the use of Gorilla Glass 3. Some foreign ones even replicate information about Gorilla Glass 4.

▌Surprised in a good way by gaming performance

The Snapdragon 650 chipset was originally conceived as a budget solution with the name Snapdragon 618, but was subsequently upgraded in rank and there is a logical explanation for this. The fact is that in terms of performance it is in no way inferior and even slightly superior to the Snapdragon 808, which other companies installed in their flagship smartphones last year.

The Snapdragon 650 system-on-chip is equipped with four energy-efficient Cortex-A53 cores operating at up to 1.4 GHz and two performance Cortex-A72 cores at 1.8 GHz. Snapdragon 652, installed in older versions of Xiaomi Mi Max, is supplemented with two more high-performance cores, which, according to test results, brings it closer to last year's top SoC - Snapdragon 810.

The first image shows the overall performance of the SoC, while the second shows the performance of the graphics accelerator.

Additional tests in comparison with the devices that I previously had on hand:

Despite the comparable results of the graphics performance tests of the 808 (Adreno 418, 128 stream processors, 600 MHz) and 650 (Adreno 510, unknown number of stream processors, 600 MHz) chips, in practice the victory turned out to be for the latter. For example, let's take WoT: Blitz. The ceiling for Xiaomi Mi 4c and 4s was the average graphics settings, and in order to achieve a stable 60 frames per second, we had to additionally turn off HD textures. In the Mi 4c review, I complained about the poor optimization of the game for this SoC, but six months later, nothing has changed. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 650 allows you to run "tanks" with maximum graphics settings, and the fps stays at the level of 50-60 and sags by a maximum of 10 frames in scenes with big amount action or aiming mode.

In a shooter unkilled at maximum graphics settings, we have a stable 40 frames per second without a decrease in fps in action scenes. WWR(network battles of robots) limits the maximum number of fps to 30, and in scenes with high weapon activity, the frame rate per second can drop to an unpleasant 18-20. In the latter case, optimization problems are on the face, since the situation is similar on smartphones with Snapdragon 820.

In all tested games, the processor load did not exceed 30%, and the maximum number of fps was limited by the performance of the graphics subsystem, which was fully loaded almost all the time. So, when choosing a smartphone, I advise fans of mobile gaming to first of all pay attention to the performance of the graphics subsystem, and not to the total number of points in popular synthetic tests.

With prolonged high load, the smartphone case did not heat up above 40 degrees. No noticeable throttling was noticed, which is also confirmed by the GFXBench stability test.

At the start of the system, about 1500 MB (out of 3!) of RAM are allocated for the needs of the user, and only 24.3 of the declared 32 GB are available to the user. To expand the disk space by installing microSD up to 128 GB, you will have to sacrifice a second SIM card.

From the point of view of telephone functionality, the smartphone works well: the speaker is loud and of high quality, the vibration signal is felt in the pockets of trousers, both the first and second SIM can work in the 3G / 4G network. FM radio only works with connected headphones that act as an antenna.

▌Hemorrhoids with flashing cannot be avoided

Nothing has changed since the publication of the material. From Gearbest, the smartphone arrives with partially localized firmware, which is characterized by increased consumption of RAM and low stability. For the monitored Xiaomi versions Mi Max available official MIUI with full localization, services Google Play and support for OTA updates. The release for older modifications is scheduled for August.

Unfortunately, the presence of the official Global-firmware does not at all simplify the process of replacing software. The most adequate instruction for switching from custom Chinese MIUI to the official one is on the English forum. For test purposes, I used (Russian) to install MIUI 8 Beta from multirom.me, but with this approach, you will lose the ability to update the firmware over the air, which is important for the beta version.

▌Autonomy

A battery with a capacity of 4850 mAh in a fairly intensive mode of operation will last for 6-7 hours of screen operation or 2-3 days. Heavy usage refers to occasional GPS activity, wifi operation alternately with 3G, Bluetooth pairing with Pebble watch. The screen brightness level is adjusted automatically. About 10-20 minutes a day are spent on World of Tanks: Blitz, which I use as a benchmark for gaming performance. Calls no more than 5-10 minutes a day, I don't use SMS either. Mainly network connection, instant messengers, social networks. networks and surfing.

Mi Max comes with a conventional 5V 2A charger, and a full charge from 0 to 100% takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes. In addition, the smartphone supports fast charging technology, which for some reason is silent on the official Xiaomi website.

When trying to charge a smartphone from the bundled LeEco Le Max 2 charger with QC 3.0 technology support, the smartphone’s charging time was reduced by only 45 minutes, which means that the capabilities of the charger capable of “giving off” 24 W of energy for a long time are not used by 100%. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tester capable of working with QC 3.0 at hand, and the one that was available, according to the passport, is capable of measuring voltages in the range of 3-7 Volts.

▌Camera at the level of the latest generation of Redmi smartphones

And this is basically all that can be said about them. During the day they shoot well, in the evening - badly. The rear camera is represented by a 16-megapixel sensor with a covered lens with f / 2.0 aperture. The front camera is 5 MP, the aperture is similar, and the viewing angle is 85 °. Examples of shots in various conditions: this link.

In MIUI 8, Xiaomi screwed up the camera app. The button for activating the HDR mode, which was previously in place of the current "Modes", for some reason was moved to the top of the screen, and even made drop-down. Those. if, like me, you want to use HDR periodically and on your own, you will have to resort to the help of a second hand to open the drop-down menu and activate HDR. The flash activation was moved there, and the filter selection key was put in its place.

Chinese designers have a very strange vision user-friendly interface camera applications.

▌Results

Xiaomi Mi Max is perhaps the only one of its kind with an adequate price tag. My short search did not find any serious competitors to this smartphone. The same Sony Xperia Z Ultra is already quite outdated in terms of performance, and the camera in it did not initially shine with results, Lenovo Phab Plus, with a comparable price tag, is also inferior in performance, and it certainly cannot be handled with one hand. LeTV One Max boasts a slightly more productive platform, but is much inferior in terms of autonomy, and it’s not clear what it has with accessibility and software. The relatively fresh Sony Xperia C5 Ultra dual can also be attributed to competitors, but to give money similar to Mi Max for a display? No, please.

As practice has shown, the difference between a 5.7 and 6.44-inch smartphone is very noticeable after active use of the latter for 2 weeks. When I picked up a 5.7-inch phone, the first thing I thought about was a 5, well, 5.2-inch display, and I'm afraid to imagine my feelings if, immediately after Mi Max, I got some device with a display up to 5". I was able to get used to such a diagonal and take advantage of its advantages, but it’s not a fact that you will succeed, so I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the device live.

Finally, I do not advise taking the version with 2 GB of RAM. Now for MIUI such an amount of RAM is back to back, but you haven’t been looking at a smartphone for a couple of months, have you?

What did you like

• Price
• Performance, in particular gaming
• Excellent autonomy
• Display with a good brightness range
• smart fingerprint scanner, support for fast charging using QC 3.0 technology

What did not like

• Case backlash in the torsional test that protrudes beyond the case protective glass rear camera
• Difficulties with flashing, so necessary for the full use of the device
• Weak oleophobic coating

What would you like

• NFC support
• Separate memory card slot
• QC 3.0 charger as standard

▌Related Links

Twitter. On my site, I duplicate my own publications from all over the Internet, so too. Thank you for your attention!

The smartphones of the Xiaomi Mi Max series have essentially never had competitors. Those who wanted to get an inexpensive device with a huge screen and an excellent battery have always looked towards this line. By the release of the third generation of "mi-max" nothing has changed. Do you want a cool phablet? Buy Xiaomi Mi Max 3.

A year or two ago, all sorts of Chinese brands like Cubot and Doogee tried to make their own “mi-max”. It turned out, of course, so-so, so the brainchild from Xiaomi was still the best. However, it was at least some, weak, but competition. Now it doesn't exist at all.

Xiaomi feels too at ease in the phablet niche. But we must pay tribute, it still develops the line. The new Mi Max has received a whole bunch of worthy improvements over its predecessor and is even more pleasant to use than before. We'll talk about all the details in the Xiaomi Mi Max 3 review.

Design

The first Xiaomi Mi Max was a hefty, angular brick. Nothing can be done - there was such a fashion - to make smartphones similar to . Metal on the back center, plastic inserts on top and bottom.

And here it is - Xiaomi Mi Max 3! The device has acquired two vertical cameras, the screen has stretched out, having received new proportions of 19:9, and a slightly more productive chipset is now working under the hood - Qualcomm Snapdragon 636.

In general, Mi Max 3 is a stylish, cool and modern smartphone that is not ashamed to use in 2018 despite its size. Although it is in them that all the specifics of this device are hidden.

Mi Max 3 is a re-smartphone and an under-tablet.

They are not very convenient to use. Especially after any, even a 6-inch device. You experience a special buzz when you put aside "mi-max" and take the same Xiaomi Mi A2 in your hand. A smartphone, which yesterday seemed like a shovel, today is perceived as an excellent and extremely convenient machine.

With large tablets like or our hero, of course, you should not compare. It's quite different devices for completely different tasks. But the 7-, 8-, and 8.5-inch tablets are placed on both shoulder blades by the third "mi-max". Its screen is not much smaller, but in terms of dimensions and, as a result, in terms of ease of use, it wins a lot.

That is why Xiaomi Mi Max 3 smartly replaces two devices at once - a smartphone and a tablet. Yes, with reservations and nuances, but this is one device. And not two gadgets at once, which it is not always possible to take with you.

In addition to the dimensions, which you will definitely have to get used to, our hero has one more feature - the constant risk of dropping the device.

The smartphone is streamlined and very slippery, and coupled with its wild size, holding it with one or even two hands is far from always convenient. The risk of introducing the gadget to asphalt is very high, so either we buy a tight and reliable case, or we use it very carefully.

Display

Viewing content (social, Internet, video), typing, following navigation - all this is a pleasure to do on such a huge display. After such a screen, all other panels less than 6.5 inches look like some kind of vents through which nothing is really visible.

The screen is elongated in height, which means that the manufacturer has the opportunity to place a larger panel in approximately the same case as before. This is good.

The corners of the display here are neatly rounded, and the sandwich panel itself is glued without an air gap. Also cool!

But the IPS-matrix itself did not please me too much. In terms of the quality of color reproduction and contrast, it cannot be compared with the top -. However, the screen is much better than what I saw in . In general, everything is fine, but could be a little better.

When a new generation of a smartphone already on the market comes out, we always make a comparison table of the characteristics of both revisions. Great Super G tradition that you love so much. In general, all the details are in the table under the cut.

This year, Xiaomi puts a separate slot for SIM cards and a memory card in almost all of its smartphones. A great new trend that does not limit the user's choice: more memory or a second SIM card.

What prevented making an independent tray in Mi Max 3 is unknown.

Especially given the huge case, which could accommodate at least three trays for SIM-cards and two for Micro SD. Sadness.

The second caveat is the lack of NFC.

The smartphone is not budgetary, it embodies a bunch of new trends. Even out USB connector C is. So, damn it, why didn't they put an NFC antenna here? It's so simple, but for the manufacturer, in fact, it costs nothing.

Everything is standard in the kit: a USB C cable and an adapter with support for fast charging. Unfortunately, the manufacturer regretted the case, although for the sake of security for Mi Max 3 it would be more useful than ever.

Performance

The first Mi Max worked on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor. The “stone” was excellent. However, it remains so today, overtaking the already rather boring QS 625 in performance.

The second generation acquired the same 625th “snap”, which means that the computing power has fallen. But power consumption has improved, because the chip was 14-nanometer.

In the new revision, engineers have combined confident performance and optimal power consumption using the QS 636 chipset.

Accordingly, the system works smoothly, applications load quickly - no questions asked.

On a smartphone, you can easily play any modern 3D shooter. To do this, however, you have to switch to medium graphics settings. With the same PUBG Mobile, “mi-max” copes well, but again, only at medium settings. On high settings, you need to be prepared for fairly frequent stuttering and drawdowns in FPS.

By the way, there is no throttling at all. Several AnTuTu tests in a row not only did not heat up the device, but also did not cause performance to drop. Very worthy, Snapdragon 636!

The only point is that there are periodic hangs of the shell at the time of switching between “apps” in multitasking mode. We'll write it off for the firmware, which, I'm sure, will be updated in the near future, and all the roughness will be eliminated.

cameras

You can exhale - Xiaomi Mi Max 3 has decent rear cameras.

In other words, when buying Xiaomi Mi Max 3, you are buying not only a high-quality phablet with good autonomy, but also a decent smartphone in terms of photo and video shooting. This year, the company really pleases us with high-quality photography, which can finally compete with competitors. It all started with the flagship -, and ended with the middle peasants.

Personally, I lacked only more pumped dynamic range. Here he works, trying his best, pulling out the dark and showing the overexposed areas of the frame, but this is still not enough. Not enough for the flagship level, but for the average, again, not bad.

The device does well in portrait mode. By the way, even better than it does, which, such a scoundrel, automatically applies the “beautiful face” filter. And you can't turn it off.

Fortunately, there is no such crime in our case. But there are periodically sloppy cut edges of the object in the foreground and other background blur errors. On a computer, pictures sometimes look dubious, but on a smartphone screen it will do for social networks.

But there is HDR and portrait mode, which, however, also work for C grade. In general, the device is clearly not for those who like to take a selfie. By the way, it is extremely inconvenient to film yourself with a loved one, primarily because of its size. Try and grab it to take a photo. Either the photo will be smeared, or you will drop the smartphone.

Video recording

Of course, the device can record 4K video. And he does it, I must admit, not bad. Let's see an example.

great detail, good quality pictures in general. Even the noise canceler surprisingly did not let us down. On the noisy Nevsky Prospekt, the algorithms have never spoiled the loud buzz of the big city.

The trouble is only with stabilization - her works are completely indistinguishable, so we hold the smartphone tightly, try not to shake the camera.

Sound

Two speakers are responsible for the external sound at once: the main one at the bottom and the conversational one at the top. It is clear that the latter is to a lesser extent, but this tandem still creates some kind of stereo effect.

The sound is loud, but does not differ in any special quality. The bottoms are not readable, so at the peak of the volume, the sound can whistle and creak. Not much, but still.

The headphones sound great. There are branded improvers with profiles under specific models, but I would not recommend using all this "good". All this distorts the sound that was originally put into the tracks too much.

autonomy

Outcome

Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is an excellent smartphone-tablet for everything. There are practically no compromises in the device: big screen, good autonomy, excellent processor and decent cameras. I would also like NFC, but for 2018 its absence is still the norm, rather than a complete disappointment. Still, the technology has not yet reached all segments.

Of course, our hero is not a device for everyone. You can’t blindly buy it, you must definitely twist the smartphone in your hands, figure out whether it will be convenient to use it. However, fans of larger screens will be delighted with Mi Max 3. There is simply nothing like it on the market. But you don't have to. And all because Mi Max 3 is good in itself.

Already on sale Price: around 20,000 rubles

For me, the dimensions of the Mi Max line are redundant; in everyday use, I do not need such a large diagonal. But I perfectly understand users who sincerely love such models. In fact, the phone replaces both the tablet and the smartphone at once, while being closer to the latter in size. Surprisingly, there are almost no players left on the market that produce such huge phablets, although there were plenty of them before, remember at least the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Huawei Mate, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and many other models. But gradually the manufacturers calmed down and decided to stop at a diagonal of 5.5/5.7 inches as the most convenient for most users. It is gratifying that Xiaomi did not do this and still release large phablets for the corresponding target audience. And, judging by the forum thread on the same w3bsit3-dns.com, there is definitely a demand for them.

I know that part of our audience will be able to assess the prospects of a smartphone simply by its characteristics, so I will not torment you and invite you to familiarize yourself with them, and then we will talk in more detail about the key differences between Mi Max 3 and the previous generation.

Design and dimensions

Perhaps the key change in design concerns the appearance of a blue body color and a dual main camera. If we talk about front panel, now the display occupies a larger area than the Mi Max 2, this is due to the transition to an aspect ratio of 18:9, the reduction of the top and bottom frames and the replacement of the touch buttons with on-screen ones (which I personally consider a plus).

At the same time, the dimensions of the novelty in comparison with the previous generation have not changed.

Chinese sources say that it is convenient to operate a smartphone with one hand, but I used Mi Max 2, and since the “troika” has almost the same dimensions, don’t even think about using it with one hand, you can only hold the smartphone in it.

Screen

At first glance, the key change in the new product was a large diagonal and the transition to a new aspect ratio of 18:9. And although Xiaomi put beautiful figure at 6.9 inches, in fact for a movie at 16:9 you will use approximately the same display area as in Mi Max 2. However, in fairness, it should be noted that the dimensions of the smartphone also correspond to a 6.3-inch phablet.

In addition, in Mi Max 3, in comparison with the previous generation, they increased brightness by 19%, contrast by 50% and improved color reproduction in principle. In fact, the display in Mi Max 2 was far from the best, there was work to be done, including the viewing angles. Fortunately, I have a Mi Max 2 on hand, so in the review I will definitely compare its display with Mi Max 3.

Memory, chipset, battery

In fact, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset is very tenacious, and it can still be called relevant, I know a lot good models working on it. It is all the more pleasant that Xiaomi still decided to take a more recent modification. Memory capacity increased, 128 GB version internal memory looks very interesting.

I also note a slight increase in battery capacity, now it is 200 mAh more than that of Mi Max 2, and in an hour the smartphone is charged by 71%. Good performance, with such and such a battery.

What's more, with the right cable, you can even charge other Max 3 devices (I wonder if fast charging will be supported for this scenario?).

Communications and sound

Of the interesting things in this section, I note new version Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi .ac support, but there is still no NFC module. I wanted to note that Xiaomi put NFC in the more expensive “Mi” line of Xiaomi, but then I remembered that, in fact, we are not facing Redmi Max 3, but Mi Max 3, that is, the model belongs to the more premium ones, the more surprising that here save on NFC. It's funny that just the other day, the official Xiaomi community on social networks answered https://vk.com/mi.russia?w=wall-122404498_71346 to a question about NFC, and the rationale was the same as mine above. But once again, Max 3 belongs to the Mi line, not Redmi.

And now about the good: the smartphone has two stereo speakers and two microphones for better speech transmission. They also added support for VoLTE, but don't rush to rejoice. For the service to work for us, the Russian office will have to work, this is not an easy procedure.

Camera

There are several innovations in the camera. Firstly, a dual module is now used, it looks the same as the Redmi Note 5. Secondly, there is face unlocking and the front camera has improved. Talking about the capabilities of the camera without having a smartphone in hand is stupid, so I’ll just share with you the official photo examples, and then we’ll wait for the smartphone to be tested together and evaluate its live shots on our own.

Impression

The start of sales in China begins today, the younger version will cost 17 thousand rubles (1,700 yuan, 4 + 64 GB), the older version will cost 20 thousand (2,000 yuan, 6 + 128 GB). I remember that last year the Russian office sold Mi Max 2 for 20 thousand rubles (the older version), it was 5,000 more expensive than offers from Ali, so if this year we see a price tag of 22-23 thousand, then it will be good offer. Let me suggest that Xiaomi will set the price a little higher, but will please those who pre-order with some good gift.

Mi Max 3 is out good update previous generation: added a new aspect ratio, improved the camera and display, increased battery capacity. The NFC module is still missing, and here, perhaps, are all the shortcomings of the model that I see after the official presentation. I invite you to discuss the novelty and its prospects in the comments.

P.S. On the Weibo social network, Xiaomi co-founder Ling Bin promised “one more thing” at the presentation, because the characteristics of Mi Max 3 have long been leaked to the network, but the presentation has already ended, and no additional information did not appear on the web.

Equipment

• Smartphone
• Charger
• PC connection cable (also part of the charger)

Appearance, materials, controls, assembly

On the front side we have a typical smartphone from Xiaomi - Touchpad bottom, earpiece mesh, light indicator and front camera on top.

And here back cover slightly changed, it is slightly curved at the edges. Thanks to this, the device is slightly more comfortable to hold in the hands and it feels thinner. Most of the lid is made of aluminum, the top and bottom inserts are made of plastic.

There is also a fingerprint scanner here. It works quickly, the device is unlocked almost instantly.

By the way, the scanner can work with third party applications, it's comfortable.

On the right, a volume rocker and a power button are installed, on the left, a tray for two nanoSIM cards, one of the slots is combined, you can put a memory card in it, cards up to 200 GB are supported.

At the bottom there is a microUSB port, an external speaker and the main microphone (hidden in the left grid), at the top - a minijack, an infrared port and an additional microphone hole. At the speaker, although it is not stereo, excellent quality sound and a large margin of volume.

As far as assembly, I have a small complaint. If you squeeze the smartphone by pressing on the plastic inserts, you can hear slight crunches. In normal use, you probably won't even notice it.

Dimensions

With a diagonal of more than six inches, it is not necessary to talk about ease of use with one hand, here it is rather worth understanding how easy it is to hold the device with two hands.

Compared to Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra

In the case of Mi Max, given its diagonal, there is no problem with this. To be honest, initially I assumed that this smartphone had a screen diagonal of no more than six inches, it turned out to be even higher alone, but it is still comfortable to use. Of course, a small thickness plays an important role in the perception of the dimensions of the device.

Screen

The device just has a huge screen size, it is perceived approximately the same as the first one in its time. Galaxy Note or the good old Xperia Z Ultra. As for the quality of the display, it is good, but not perfect. If you look at the screen at a right angle, then there will be no problems, but when you deviate, the picture starts to fade a little.

Separately, I note the excellent oleophobic coating, the good behavior of the screen in the sun and the ability to fine-tune the color scheme of the device.

operating system

The device operates under Android control 6.0 and MIUI 7.0.

The MIUI shell completely changes the experience of using the device, in most cases for the better. The user can customize everything that he basically wants to customize, from icons to text size. Now I will not list all the features of the shell, but in the future I plan to write an article comparing four well-known Chinese interfaces, where I will pay special attention to MIUI.

Performance

The device uses a fresh Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset and 3 GB of RAM. To work with FHD-resolution, their capabilities are enough for the eyes. The smartphone is very fast, this applies to the shell itself as a whole, and work with third-party applications, and support for powerful games. During the game, the smartphone heats up in the upper part, where the fingerprint scanner is located, but the heating is moderate, it does not irritate or interfere.

Offline work

The battery capacity here is simply royal, while Xiaomi made the case relatively thin and light, given such figures. The device will give you five hours of screen activity without any problems, or even more if we are talking about video or reading. Accordingly, depending on usage scenarios, you can count on one or two days of work without recharging.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 supports QuickCharge 3.0 technology, but the smartphone comes with a regular charger. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right power supply with QC 3.0 at hand, but they write on the net that the smartphone can charge 85% in 115 minutes.

Camera

MIUI has always had a very functional camera. For example, now you can change the exposure by scrolling the focus circle. In the settings, many different shooting modes are available for selection, you can immediately apply the desired filter.GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, LTE, two SIM cards

All popular technologies are supported for Wi-Fi, the same applies to Bluetooth. Separately, I will highlight the presence of an infrared port, it works correctly with TVs and other equipment, do not forget to install special application. But there is no NFC, even a little sorry.

Conclusion

There are no complaints about the quality of speech transmission, you and your interlocutor hear each other perfectly.

In China, Mi Max sells for about $230-250, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little cheaper. Our model costs 23,000 rubles. In fact, from the point of view of Russian, and even more so Chinese prices, the smartphone came out extremely good. Huge high-quality display, thin and light body, fast speed, great autonomy and functional MIUI. Of the competitors, you can immediately recall the Meizu M3 Max, but we have not tested it yet, so I can’t say which of them is better.

In summary: if you are looking for a relatively inexpensive, but powerful and good phablet with a large screen diagonal, be sure to pay attention to Mi Max.