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Launched: Xiaomi Mi Max & MIUI 8

Yash GargMay 10, 2016

Xiaomi have taken the wraps off of their first ever ‘phablet’ so as to speak, the Xiaomi Mi Max (along with MIUI 8).

Xiaomi Mi Max

As noted earlier, the Mi Max has a 6.44 inch display. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 650/652 processor, and along with that has a 4850mAh battery (which Xiaomi claims is 76% greater in capacity than the iPhone 6s Plus’ battery). Xiaomi claim that this battery will give the Mi Max at least 24 hours of life on one charge.

NOW LIVE: Xiaomi Mi Max Full Specifications

The Mi Max has a 16 mega-pixel rear camera, 5 mega-pixel front facing camera, and features an IR blaster which is becoming an increasingly popular feature. Other than that, the Mi Max has 3GB and 4GB RAM variants, with storages varying between 32, 64 and 128GB. The fingerprint scanner on the Mi Max sits on the rear, akin to the Redmi Note 3.

As for the pricing, the three variants have been priced as below:

3GB RAM/32GB, Snapdragon 650: 1499 Yuan / $230
3GB RAM/64GB, Snapdragon 652: 1699 Yuan / $260
4GB RAM/128GB, Snapdragon 652: 1999 Yuan / $306

The phone will be available in Silver, Gold and Light Gray colour variants. The phone will go on sale 17th May.

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MIUI 8

Along with the phone, Xiaomi also finally unveiled MIUI 8. Xiaomi reckon that the one word the described MIUI 8 is ‘Color’. The update gives MIUI some new features as well as some visual revamps.

For example, you’ll now be able to edit pictures and video right from MIUI.

Another new feature is the ‘long screenshot’ mode, which allows you to take screenshots of entire webpages as opposed to just what you see on the screen.

All stock apps have been redesigned – no surprise here. MIUI camera will also recognise text inside pictures besides just Barcodes and QR codes.

Multi-window support: Some apps (including WeChat, QQ, etc.) will now support multi window to make better use of the screen real estate. Meizu introduced a similar feature in Flyme 5.

The Mi 2/2S/3/4/4C/5/Max/Redmi Note and the Xiaomi Note Pro will be eligible for MIUI 8 updates.

MIUI 8 will start seeding 17th June, exactly a month after the Xiaomi Mi Max first goes on sale.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author
Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91

You can learn more about Yash, add him to your Google+ circles or follow him on Twitter to stay connected!

- Chico Migraña
  May 10, 2016
iamsuperandrew
May 10, 2016
Hi Please confirm whether it has a 2.5D glass screen? Thanks 🙂
123
May 10, 2016
I bet all the retailers are going to start selling it for a minimum of 300$

realjjj
May 10, 2016
Blah, at those prices they should have used a 1440p screen to make it interesting enough.
360 N4 (launched yesterday) is about 5 times more exciting.
They are selling it this high because there is so little competition in mid range big screen.
- Wolvie
  May 10, 2016
  I don’t think build quality of 360 N4 can compare to Xiaomi.
  Those funny brands like No1, Elephoney, Blueboo, Blackieview etc etc i don’t think can survive for 1 year normal use. Their build quality and QC is just below standard.
  Maybe if you are lucky can last for 2 years MAX (if you are very lucky and super careful with your smartphone).
  This is why i prefer bigger brands that proven durable, hopefully have better build quality and last longer.
  - realjjj
    May 10, 2016
    Apparently you aren’t aware that 360 makes the phones with Coolpad and they are not a tiny company, they are a pretty big company trying to go huge.

Simon
May 10, 2016
- Chico Migraña
  May 10, 2016

SnowyCat
May 10, 2016
Hmm, 6,44″ is sadly a bit to big for my taste…
so my favorites are still the zuk z2 and le 2 pro..which is sad because i actually dont want to go away from miui thats the only reason i didnt order a le 2 pro ^^
the mi5 isnt my taste and the mi max lacks ois and a fingerprint scanner…i actually was thinking of going for the mi note (the old one) because it has a better camera compared to my mi 4 and is bigger (whic i want) but i dont want to basically buy the same hardware again years later ^^
and i would miss a fingerprint scanner..
but i think its great that xiaomi offers something at that size
- Plus
  May 10, 2016
  - SnowyCat
    May 10, 2016
- realjjj
  May 10, 2016
  Best value is the 360 N4 but that’s not for you since you want a very capable cam.
  SD801 based devices are not worth it anymore as the perf is lacking. One Plus should have it’s new one soon but they aren’t great at cams. Honor V8 is about to launch (in 30minutes actually) but Huawei is not great at cams either. Then again, neither is Xiaomi or most in China. So it depends how you define a good cam.
  - SnowyCat
    May 10, 2016
    well at their time the mi note cam was really really good.
    i think the meizu mx 5 did good images, obv. not the best but i mean more like a capable camera not the best..like the mx 5 still has or the mi 5, its not liek they are the best but you cans till take good images.
    i had the oneplus one and actually want to stick with miui as i like it..maybe i’ll give the le 2 pro a chance if its proven by reviewers.
    - realjjj
      May 10, 2016
      There are rumors that Xiaomi might have a high end device with curved screen in the second half of the year so you could wait for that but better see how fast MIUI8 is before sticking with MIUI.
      - SnowyCat
        May 10, 2016
        well i’m completely happy with miui since version 5 with every new version, i also like a few things about flyme and emui but i always tend to like miui more..just because of a few features.
        
        realjjj
        May 10, 2016
        They do have some nice features but it’s slow at this point. Hopefully MIUI8 is better.
Xalis
May 10, 2016
6.44″ with the finger scanner on the back?
Talk about useless.
I been using my Chuwi Hi8 Super to watch videos on my bed but it’s a bit too heavy (300g) and the battery too small (4hours), so this looks like a nice visual media tablet and since I would not use it as a serious device the locked bootloader won’t bother me.

Wolvie
May 10, 2016
original price is not bad, but once gone to china online re-seller then it will be different story as they jack off the price up pretty badly.
Looking at how damn big the battery and hardware specification, i think Mi Max is a good buy. Much much cheaper than those so called premium smartphone brands from china/korea/USA (i think you know which brands LOL).
Now we need to wait for more details like build quality, more hardware and software details (Screen protection, Camera quality, Android fluid & stability, etc, etc) if everything proven smooth and good then i will buy this gem !!!!
Pending review from independent reviewers.
Oh and i need to know also whether this model easy to bend like Mi5.
Not because i like to purposely bending my smartphone but i like my smartphone to be durable and sturdy for at least 2 years usage.
- SnowyCat
  May 10, 2016
  the mi 5 doesnt bend easy without a lot of force that is enough to bend nearly every phone.
- balcobomber25
  May 10, 2016
  The Mi5 is only going to bend if you try to bend it, as will most phones. With normal usage it will never bend.

flipp0
May 10, 2016
- Check the white model of Mi5 and you will get your answer 😛
- Beloved Chairman Lei Jun
  May 10, 2016
  Dear no worries, we tried to eliminate all them nasty black borders. Thanks
- Qidamin
  May 11, 2016
  Check real pictures, Xiaomi has already tricked us with the Mi5, same here, you can double bezels side size!
Abdullah Kösem
May 10, 2016
What that mean “Some apps will support multi-window feature” we want all of the apps. Don’t we?
- - Kula_Diaomondo
    May 10, 2016
Rob
May 10, 2016
A little disappointed with the screen res, I’ve owned a phone with a 6.44″ FHD panel and I found the resolution to be lacking at that size.
- May 10, 2016
  Unless you duct tape the phone to your eyeball, fhd is fine for such a size.
  I dare you to use a 13′ fhd laptop without changing the text size in the settings.
  - Rob
    May 10, 2016
    You can tell you haven’t used one before otherwise you would know what i mean. It makes a huge difference at that size.
  - balcobomber25
    May 10, 2016
    He’s right on phones above 6 inches you can definitely notice a difference. Anything below FHD is more than acceptable.
balcobomber25
May 10, 2016
- 1
  May 10, 2016
  - Aeonia
    May 10, 2016