Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price. This year, Xiaomi released the upgraded Mi Max 2 that has a humongous 6.44” display, metal body and a lot more. Learn more in our full Xiaomi Mi Max 2 review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 for a review.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTcpPM90WvQ[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product due to its large display, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price.

Same as last year, the Mi Max 2 is definitely not for everyone since it is ridiculously huge due to it’s 6.44” 1080p display, which is really sharp and vibrant, and the sunlight legibility is decent. Some sources claim that the display is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4. I’m not 100% sure about that but I’m yet to scratch it.

The build quality is excellent as the phone is made entirely of metal, the antennas’ design looks better than on some older Xiaomi phones, the buttons do not rattle and in general, the Mi Max 2 looks and feels like a flagship phone.

We have a notification LED light, which is, however, not customizable like before.

The capacitive keys sport the same layout as usual and they are nicely backlit.

The fingerprint scanner is one of the best in class. It is fast, accurate and it allows you to unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Mi Max 2 may look like a downgrade from the original Mi Max in terms of the processing power since it uses a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 625 chip, which is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. You can also opt in for a 128GB model if you need a lot of local storage.

I have to tell you that you don’t need to worry about phone’s gaming performance. The Mi Max 2 handles each game I played on the highest graphics setting very well, with just a few skipped frames. Also, I didn’t notice any overheating issues even after 30 mins of gaming.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

My Xiaomi Mi Max 2 runs on the MIUI Global ROM 8.5 that is based on Android 7.1. As usual, we have quite a few features, tweaks and customization options Xiaomi phones have been famous for.

Just to name a few, I like changing the transition effects, choosing from a variety of themes or wallpapers, quickly launching the camera from the standby mode, adjusting a few display settings manually or using a built-in app lock feature.

Most importantly, the Mi Max 2 is really fast and fluid no matter what I do with it even after installing quite a few apps.

MULTIMEDIA and ENTERTAINMENT

Since the Mi Max 2 has a huge display, a lot of people will most likely use it for multimedia consumption or entertainment. Therefore, you need a good loudspeaker and the Mi Max 2 delivers in this department with its stereo speakers setup. One is on the bottom and another is embedded in the earpiece. The sound quality is one of the best you can find on any sub-$300 phone. The sound is rich, crisp and clear and the volume output is very good.

The sound quality via the headset jack is also great. No distortions and balanced sound.

CAMERAS

When it comes to optics, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has a 12MP camera that has f/2.0 aperture lens and dual tone dual-LED flash. The selfie camera uses a 5MP sensor. The stock Xiaomi camera app allows you to take pictures very fast. Also, there are a few shooting modes like a manual mode that lets you adjust a few image settings.

The daylight image quality is pretty good considering this is a $300 phone. The pictures are sharp, there is a good amount of detail and colors look nice. However, some of the shots may come out underexposed.

The low-light camera performance is not so great as images are really noisy and grainy.

The 4k video looks quite good. The footage is detailed and quite sharp. However, you may see some auto-focus issues, some video artifacts, and the auto-exposure can work more gracefully. Also, the video stabilization could be better. The 1080p video looks quite good too but naturally, there is less detail compared to the 4k footage. The slow-motion video is decent but there is quite a bit of noise and the auto-focus seems to be jumping too quickly.

The selfies look quite good and there should definitely be enough quality for social media needs.

The 1080p selfie video quality is decent. The sound recording quality is quite good but the sound volume is quite low for some reason.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the Mi Max 2 almost excellent. Wifi speed and range are great and the Bluetooth 4.2 works fine. Also, the navigation is very accurate thanks to the built-in GPS, Beidou and Glonass receivers. There is also a built-in FM radio. However, you have to know that the phone lacks the LTE band 20, and there is no NFC.

The Mi Max 2 has a hybrid dual-SIM card tray that can take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card. The call quality and signal reception are great using either SIM card slot.

As for sensors, the Mi Max 2 has an accelerometer, ambient light, gravity, proximity and gyroscope sensors that work just fine. There is also an IR blaster that allows you to control devices like TVs.

BATTERY LIFE

The 5200mAh battery on the Mi Max 2 is just fantastic.

Snapdragon 625 is one of the most efficient chips out there and thus, you can use the phone for days. That translates to over 11 hours of screen-on time, depending on how you use the phone. In other words, you can use this phone for 4 or even 5 days, which is just an amazing result.

In case you need to recharge the battery, it takes just about 2.5 hours to do it with the supplied fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is one of the best oversized budget phablets you can buy.

For the price of less than $300, you will get an all-metal device that just looks premium, a humungous 6.44” display, great all around performance, MIUI 8 with a ton of features, stereo speakers setup, and a killer battery life.

The camera performs quite good in daylight but it struggles in lower-lit situations and in the video mode. Also, the phone lacks NFC, LTE Band 20 and finally, this phone is definitely not for everyone due to its sheer size.

At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is still a fantastic option if you are looking for a super-sized phablet but as always, make sure to consider a few shortcomings before making a purchase.

Gizmochina readers can get the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 for just $278.99 using a COUPON CODE: Max2K

The post Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Review – The Best Big Budget Smartphone of 2017? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Leagoo may not be the first manufacturer name when you think of smartphones but the company has produced some solid super cheap devices. The M8 model has a 5.7” display, decent specs and a lot more for just below $70. Learn more in the full review.

Leagoo M8 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cwWLojeiuU[/embedyt]

Leagoo M8 Review: UNBOXING

In the box, you can find all the usual stuff and some extras include a pair of cheap earphones.

Leagoo M8 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Honestly, it’s hard to believe that this phone does not even cost $70. It is really well-made and it uses a high-quality metal frame, and tactile metal buttons. The phone just feels very solid in the hand.

Even though a huge 5.7” display has only 720p resolution, it is plenty sharp and vibrant for such a cheap phone. Surprisingly, the display is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4 for scratch resistance. The only complaint is that the screen is slightly reflective outdoors. 

We have an 8MP selfie shooter on the top. However, there is no LED notification light and I’m not a huge fan of the on-screen navigation keys.

The backplate looks kind of nice but it attracts fingerprints quite easily. As for optics, we have a 13MP camera, which is coupled with dual LED flash. The fingerprint scanner may not be the fastest on the market but it is accurate and it unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.

The loudspeaker is pretty good too. In fact, it is one of the best in this price range.

Leagoo M8 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Leagoo M8 does not have the best specs out there but it still has enough power to handle most of the stuff. We have a quad-core MTK6580 chip (1.3Ghz), 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

You can’t expect much from this phone when it comes to gaming but I have to say that you will be able to enjoy playing games like Asphalt 8 on the medium graphics without any issues.

Leagoo M8 Review: USER INTERFACE

When it comes to the user interface, the phone ships with a highly-customized FreemeOS, which is built on top of Android 6.0.

The user interface has a ton of features and customization options. Just to name a few, you can change themes, select different transition effects or choose from a variety of gesture or motion controls that work pretty well.

Most importantly, the phone runs quite smoothly and I didn’t have lag even after installing quite a few apps.

Leagoo M8 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.

The image quality is probably the best I’ve seen on any $70 phone. There is a good amount of detail, the colours look quite nice and in general, the pictures look pretty sharp.

There are some other shooting modes like bokeh. However, the results are not impressive at all.

Even the low-light photos look okay for the phone this cheap. Also, the selfies are quite sharp and will definitely do the trick for social media.

Also, the selfies are quite sharp and will definitely do the trick for social media.

The 1080p video is not really impressive but you can’t have it all for such a low price.

Leagoo M8 Review: CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, I have no major complaints. The call quality is decent and the wifi works well. However, the GPS could be slightly more accurate.

Leagoo M8 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone has a replaceable 3500mAh battery that performs quite well. I was able to get about 4-5 hours of screen-on time, depending on the usage, which is a decent result.

Leagoo M8 Review: CONCLUSIONS

To be honest, I didn’t expect the Leagoo M8 to be this good for the device that does not even cost $70.

It is very well-made, it has a metal chassis and the phone feels nice in the hand. Also, you get a decent 5.7” display, decent specs and a pretty good overall performance.

Obviously, there are some tradeoffs e.g. there is no LED notification light, the display may be reflective outdoors and the video recording quality could be better.

However, if you consider that this phone produces really good photos and the battery life is pretty good, you can’t really go wrong by spending less than $70, even if there are a few minor shortcomings to consider.

The post Leagoo M8 Review – The Best Phablet for under $70? appeared first on Gizmochina.