Mi Max is Xiaomi’s biggest smartphone ever. The 6.44-inch smartphone was unveiled at an event in Beijing by the company.
Like the leaks in the run-up to today’s launch had intimated, the device not only packs a large display but also has other notable features as well to make it stand out. These include a new version of the MIUI software found on Xiaomi’s mobile devices.
MIUI 8, as the new version is known as, introduces several features as well as improving on existing ones. As per the information released by the company during the launch, the new software packs Xiaomi’s own custom Chinese font as the company seeks to provide a better experience to its biggest customer base in the world, the Chinese market. A notable addition to the software is the new multi-tasking interface. I decried MIUI’s clumsy recent apps/task switching screen in version 7 which ran on the Redmi Note 2 and other Xiaomi devices. It looks like the company listened to its users and overhauled it. In MIUI 8, users get the same multi-tasking screen as they do on devices by other companies.
As we have seen with Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge which proactively police the devices for spam calls and texts using specialized Truecaller-like software, Xiaomi devices will also be getting the same with MIUI 8. There’s even a scanner app that can be used not just for the usual snapping of QR codes (from my short visit to China, I noticed that it is a QR code nation since they are everywhere and on every imaginable product) but also for taking photos of Chinese high school math sums for resolution by the device. Yes, that.
MIUI 8 will be made available to most existing Xiaomi smartphones (the Mi 2/2S/3/4/4C/4S/5/Max, all the Redmi and Mi Note devices as well). It starts rolling out in beta on June 1st in China to registered beta testers. A developer edition of the ROM will be made available on June 17th in the same region. There’s no word, yet, on when users outside China will be getting it.
Back to the Mi Max, it packs, as has already been noted, a 6.44-inch full HD display (342 ppi), a 16-megapixel camera sensor at the back with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and LED flash. On the front, the Mi Max, dots a 5-megapixel camera with an 85-degree wide angle view and f/2.0 aperture as well. The device is powered by a 4,850mAh battery. There’s a fingerprint sensor and an infrared sensor as well for TV controlling functions.
The Mi Max will be available in several memory and processor configurations when it starts selling:
- 3GB RAM + 32 GB internal storage + Snapdragon 650 processor
- 3GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage + Snapdragon 652 processor
- 4GB RAM + 128 GB internal storage + Snapdragon 652 processor
Internal storage is expandable via a microSD card slot found in the hybrid dual-SIM slot.
Colour options consist of silver, gold, and grey.
Prices of the device range from an equivalent of $230 to a little over $300.
Sales of the device begin on May 17th in China. There’s no word on international availability, yet.
UPDATE
International pre-orders for the Mi Max have opened today (May 16th). First deliveries for those pre-ordering today going forward are not expected until June 21st.
