So what is it like living with a huge screen Xiaomi? Here are my first observations of the Xiaomi Max after the first full day of use.
Yesterday morning I took the Xiaomi Max off charge and took it out for the first full day of real world usage. In my world this meant photos, email, social media, Strava, Google Music, Google Maps etc so basically I would be putting most of the major features to test right out of the gate. I am also interested in some of the battery life claims Iâve heard about the Xiaomi Max too, so I played more video than usual, used Bluetooth more often and generally just really pushed the phone to see what it can do.
Ahead of my first day of use I had already installed Google services and apps on the phone (remember the Xiaomi Max doesnât come with them out of the box). Itâs really simple to do and I suggest anyone buying a Xiaomi phone do it themselves after installing a clean official MIUI ROM (some resellers have been known to install really dodgy software on customers phones).
The first test was âWill this phone fit in to my jeans?â and yes it does, just about. At 6.44-inches this is a large phone, but its also quite thin and the body gets narrower to the sides. Believe it or not but the phone is quite comfortable in my pocket with only the top few centimetres poking out.
My Spanish Vodaphone SIM is also working nicely so I have LTE, but I couldnât find a SIM adapter for the 2nd micro slot to place my second SIM inside.
Gizchina News of the week
After a morning browsing the web and checking in on social media via a combination of WIFI and LTE I decided to go for a short bike ride, this would also give me a chance to test Android Auto on the phone to see if it works too (it does!).
As Iâm still recovering from the flu I kept the ride short but that still meant the Xiaomi Max had to supply music (streamed from Google music over LTE), and record my activity to Strava for an hour. This is when I had my first issue. Starva stops recording when the screen is locked. Iâve had this issue before and resolved it but canât for the life of me remember how, so anyone with any ideas please let me know.
On the way back from the ride I used Bluetooth and Google Maps for 20 minutes which all worked very well.
After a quick shower and beer it was time to catch up on the happenings of the world with an hour of video from YouTube. Streaming over WIFI video looks really nice on the big screen, but I have to say that the volume and quality of the speakers isnât the greatest for something that is likely to be used as a media consumer.
Those are the major points of the day, but obviously I made phone calls, video calls over Wechat, sent and received messages and emails, took a few photos etc.
With a full day under its belt the Xiaomi Max now has 67% of battery power left the following morning at 9:25am, and my current screen on time (for that 33% of battery use) is 2 hours 16 minutes. At this rate I probably wonât need to recharge the Xiaomi Max until Friday evening!
One day with the Xiaomi Max
To sum up Iâll write down the good and the bad from my first day experience below;
Good
- Screen size and quality.
- Battery life.
- Audio (with headphones).
- Design and feel.
- Android Auto works.
Bad
- Audio through external speaker
- Camera isnât on par with similar priced phones
- Strava isnât working
This obviously isnât the full review, but as many of you had questions after my first impressions I thought this would be a nice insight to the Xiaomi Max.
Expect the full review of the phone to be up mid week next week, but in the meantime please feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the phone.
Xiaomi fcking lairs. On press photos they thin the display black borders. Scumbags(
http://c1.mifile.cn/f/i/16/mimax/index/movie_max.png
They should have used black front, like redmi note 3.
Call beloved chairman lei jun!
I am here, dear no worries
Will you be releasing the black version of the Mi Max ? I am really thinking of getting the phone just to try something different in terms of size, but only if it would be like a Grey Note 3 Pro color. That would be perfect.
It’s hardly just them. They all do it with press shots.
I couldn’t care less…
Photo from mi.com official product page
pretty much with every press image frome very single oem in the world ð
Gee that’s a huge phone! But you make a good point that it may be just as important that it is thin. As someone who has to wear a suit to make a living, I would like to avoid creating an unsightly bulge in my pants or jacket and even a small brick would be a problem. I am currently using a 4.7″ screen iphone which with cover is not exactly thin and will be transitioning to a larger screen soon. I am worried about going as far as 5.5″ and would never consider going 6″ or more.
you forgot to tell us when did you pooh!
Im British, we don’t pooh ð
Using beer for flu recovery is a very international thing to do for a change ð
Hi Andy, nice article! About the strava issue: I had the same issue with gps and miui on my redmi 1s and my redmi note 3 pro. It is basically a battery saver function, thus to solve it, I followed the steps of veerasuri at http://en.miui.com/thread-162531-1-1.html.
These are the steps.
Do this,
â Pull the toggle bar.
â Hold the GPS to reach GPS settings.
â Enable “Allow background location”
Return to GPS settings
â Background location acces>Allow the app by selecting it.
Also do this,
Check this,
â Settings>Additional Settings>Battery>Manage app battery usage, now disable/turn off the following options.
-Manage app battery usage
-Restrict apps when battery is low
Then reboot the device and check.
Also check this,
â Security App>Data Usage>Data Usage Stats, select the apps and check whether “Background data” is allowed or not.
Also go to home screen, click left button for recent apps, drag Strava icon down until you see the padlock and release. App won’t be killed. Do it for all the apps you want to keep running. Also set permissions and autostart.
Ah, nice one. I will try this right away
Did it work for you?
can you tell us if you see Kernel Wakelocks or something strange?
And what about a FHD in a 6.44″ display? Can you see blurry fonts or is fine?
Thanks.
Xiaomi fcking lairs. On press photos they thin the display black borders. Scumbags(
They should have used black front, like redmi note 3.
Call beloved chairman lei jun!
I am here, dear no worries
It’s hardly just them. They all do it with press shots.
Huawei’s press shots all show their phones with a dark background to hide the black lines. Nextbit is one of the few companies that display the borders in every picture, although with the colors they used its harder to hide them.
I couldn’t care less…
Will you be releasing the black version of the Mi Max ? I am really thinking of getting the phone just to try something different in terms of size, but only if it would be like a Grey Note 3 Pro color. That would be perfect.
EDIT: not a fan of black borders Mr Lei Jun…..not a fan….
Photo from mi.com official product page
pretty much with every press image frome very single oem in the world ð
Gee that’s a huge phone! But you make a good point that it may be just as important that it is thin. As someone who has to wear a suit to make a living, I would like to avoid creating an unsightly bulge in my pants or jacket and even a small brick would be a problem. I am currently using a 4.7″ screen iphone which with cover is not exactly thin and will be transitioning to a larger screen soon. I am worried about going as far as 5.5″ and would never consider going 6″ or more.
I love big phones but I think this one is just a tad too big. I’m actually really considering the Nexus 6P. I hate stock Android but I do want to take advantage of Project Fi.
you forgot to tell us when did you pooh!
Im British, we don’t pooh ð
Using beer for flu recovery is a very international thing to do for a change ð
Hi Andy, nice article! About the strava issue: I had the same issue with gps and miui on my redmi 1s and my redmi note 3 pro. It is basically a battery saver function, thus to solve it, I followed the steps of veerasuri at http://en.miui.com/thread-162531-1-1.html.
These are the steps.
Do this,
â Pull the toggle bar.
â Hold the GPS to reach GPS settings.
â Enable “Allow background location”
Return to GPS settings
â Background location acces>Allow the app by selecting it.
Also do this,
Check this,
â Settings>Additional Settings>Battery>Manage app battery usage, now disable/turn off the following options.
-Manage app battery usage
-Restrict apps when battery is low
Then reboot the device and check.
Also check this,
â Security App>Data Usage>Data Usage Stats, select the apps and check whether “Background data” is allowed or not.
Also go to home screen, click left button for recent apps, drag Strava icon down until you see the padlock and release. App won’t be killed. Do it for all the apps you want to keep running. Also set permissions and autostart.
Ah, nice one. I will try this right away
Did it work for you?
can you tell us if you see Kernel Wakelocks or something strange?
And what about a FHD in a 6.44″ display? Can you see blurry fonts or is fine?
Thanks.
When you have problem with music when screen off. Somewhere in options: don’t turn off network when screen off.
I have the same problem with Huawei Mediapad X2
Hmm interesting about the battery life. I have a Redmi note 3 and get better than that with same chipset and smaller battery
which rom are you using?
I love big phones but I think this one is just a tad too big. I’m actually really considering the Nexus 6P. I hate stock Android but I do want to take advantage of Project Fi.
When you have problem with music when screen off. Somewhere in options: don’t turn off network when screen off.
I have the same problem with Huawei Mediapad X2
Hmm interesting about the battery life. I have a Redmi note 3 and get better than that with same chipset and smaller battery
which rom are you using?
@Gizchina:disqus can i ask then is the gizchina shop installing a clean rom on its Xiaomi phones?
How do i tell if the ROM i have on a Xiaomi device is a reseller variant?
Go to about phone in settings and tap on kernel about six times and you’ll enter cit mode. Click software version and scroll down.
Hi Andi,
Can you confirm if its really a 2.5D glass screen display? and the protection. Thanks
Andy, when you say audio output via speakerS isn’t great (dual speaker), which smartphone is comparable?
I’m coming from Oppo Find 7a (solid dual speakers with good bass) and currently using a Meizu MX5 (great mono speaker).
Will Xiaomi Mi Max be a (noticeable) downgrade? Is Xiaomi Mi5 better?
About camera: similar price means mid flagship range (LeEco phones, Xiaomi Redmi Note, Meizu M3 Note), so it’s not good?
For me next phone is Xiaomi Mi Max, Xiaomi Mi5, LeEco Le Max 2 or Zuk Z2.. well an used LG G4 is available around 250⬠lol
I’m also curious about audio recording quality (loud environment: music in car, club, festival, etc.)
ZTE said you can use their Axon 7 as a voice recorder until 7.5m.
If so, then it probably won’t be my next phone.
Sensibility should be very high then which is contraproductive when it comes to recording loud environment (club, festival, etc.).
@Gizchina:disqus can i ask then is the gizchina shop installing a clean rom on its Xiaomi phones?
How do i tell if the ROM i have on a Xiaomi device is a reseller variant?
Go to about phone in settings and tap on kernel about six times and you’ll enter cit mode. Click software version and scroll down.
Hi Andi,
Can you confirm if its really a 2.5D glass screen display? and the protection. Thanks
Andy, when you say audio output via speakerS isn’t great (dual speaker), which smartphone is comparable?
I’m coming from Oppo Find 7a (solid dual speakers with good bass) and currently using a Meizu MX5 (great mono speaker).
Will Xiaomi Mi Max be a (noticeable) downgrade? Is Xiaomi Mi5 better?
About camera: similar price means mid flagship range (LeEco phones, Xiaomi Redmi Note, Meizu M3 Note), so it’s not good?
For me next phone is Xiaomi Mi Max, Xiaomi Mi5, LeEco Le Max 2 or Zuk Z2.. well an used LG G4 is available around 250⬠lol
I’m also curious about audio recording quality (loud environment: music in car, club, festival, etc.)
ZTE said you can use their Axon 7 as a voice recorder until 7.5m.
If so, then it probably won’t be my next phone.
Sensibility should be very high then which is contraproductive when it comes to recording loud environment (club, festival, etc.).
Try xposed module MIUI Tweaks to make firmware more useful. Works like a charm!
Try xposed module MIUI Tweaks to make firmware more useful. Works like a charm!
Interesting.. may be in the end this phone is worth it…
Interesting.. may be in the end this phone is worth it…
It is true that some sellers do put dodgy software of phones. I ordered a Xiaomi Mi4 from Coolicool and it immediately had a plethora of adverts spamming the phone every minute. It was so bad it was almost unusable. I would be messaging a person and suddenly an advert would appear. On wifi, the adverts were not instand but when outside on 3G the phone wuld suddenly freeze. I knew the advert was loading. After the advert had loaded you could close it before the next advert appeared. I managed to install a new rom on the phone which luckily fixed this problem.
It is true that some sellers do put dodgy software of phones. I ordered a Xiaomi Mi4 from Coolicool and it immediately had a plethora of adverts spamming the phone every minute. It was so bad it was almost unusable. I would be messaging a person and suddenly an advert would appear. On wifi, the adverts were not instand but when outside on 3G the phone wuld suddenly freeze. I knew the advert was loading. After the advert had loaded you could close it before the next advert appeared. I managed to install a new rom on the phone which luckily fixed this problem.