Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Xiaomi just launched its new phablet, Xiaomi Mi Max 3; here’s how it compares with the Mi Max 2
Xiaomi today officially launched its new phablet, the Mi Max 3 in China. Successor to the Mi Max 2, the new phone has been launched in China for a price starting at CNY 1,699 (around Rs 17,300). Xiaomi’s Mi Max series handsets are known for carrying a huge battery and big display.
The original Mi Max and Mi Max 2 smartphones sported a tall 6.44-inch display, backed by a 4850mAh and 5300mAh battery respectively. However, this time around, the Chinese smartphone maker has made a major overhaul in for Mi Max 3 in terms of design, display, internal hardware and even imaging sensor. The device is the first from the Mi Max series to flaunt an 18:9 display. Let’s take a look at what changes Xiaomi has made on Mi Max 3 compared to its predecessor, Mi Max 2.
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Design and display
The foremost visible upgrade on Mi Max 3 is its design. The new Mi Max handset appears a bit elongated from the front courtesy of its 18:9 display. Mi Max 2, on the contrary, came with a 16:9 aspect ratio display. Xiaomi has trimmed the top and bottom bezels as well to justify the 18:9 form factor.
While Mi Max 2 had a single camera module, its successor, Mi Max 3 now boasts of dual camera setup on the back. The dual cameras are stacked vertically with LED flash in between, similar to what we have seen on the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The rear-mounted fingerprint sensor sits at the centre.
Xiaomi has significantly increased the screen size on the new Mi Max 3. The smartphone features a tall 6.9-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio. Meanwhile, Xiaomi Mi Max 2 came with a 6.44-inch 16:9 display. Mi Max 3 has higher display resolution as well compared to the previous iteration. It features a screen size having 2160 x 1080 pixel resolution, while the later came with a full HD panel having 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 features a tall 6.9-inch full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Processing hardware
Xiaomi has upgraded internal hardware as well on its new Mi Max smartphone. Mi Max 3 now carries Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 636, which is an octa-core processor. The chipset has 8 Kyro 260 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and Adreno 509 GPU for graphics rendition. On the contrary, Mi Max 2 runs Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, the chipset found in most of Xiaomi’s devices like Redmi Note 4, 5, Mi A1, etc.
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Camera
Mi Max 3 now boasts of dual camera setup on the rear side. The phone features a 12MP primary camera sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor. The primary lens comes with f/1.9 aperture, dual pixel PDAF while the second one is a depth sensor. Up front, it carries an 8MP camera sensor that has an aperture of f/2.0, 1.2-micron pixels and supports soft selfie light for better clicks in a dimly-lit situation. The camera on the phone offers AI portrait mode and face unlock support.
However, Mi Max 2 has a single camera sensor on the back. The phone had a 12MP camera that offered decent output in good lighting condition. However, its successor will take an edge in camera performance, courtesy of its dual lens setup that will enable users to capture photos with depth effect. Up front, Mi Max 2 had a slightly small camera sensor of 5MP unit with f/2.0 aperture.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 features a single camera module having 12MP unit
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Software
On the software front, Mi Max 3 runs Android MIUI 9.5 based Android Oreo. Mi Max 2 on the other hand, runs MIUI 8.5 based Android Nougat OS. Mi Max 2 and 3 will both be updated to MIUI 10 with Android Oreo.
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 vs Mi Max 2: Storage and battery
Mi Max 3 offers two RAM/storage options- 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 6G RAM/128GB storage. The storage is further expandable up to 256GB via microSD card. The base model tags a price of CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs 17,300) while the higher variant, comes for a price of CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs 20,400).
On the contrary, Xiaomi Mi Max 2 was launched in on RAM and two storage configurations- 4GB RAM/64GB native storage and 4GB RAM/128GB storage. The 64GB model was priced at CNY 1,699, while the 128GB model came for CNY 1,999.
In terms of battery capacity, Mi Max 3 now packs a mammoth size 5,500mAh battery which Xiaomi claims it has managed to put inside a 7mm thick ‘chassis.’ The phone supports Quick Charge 3.0 and the company claims that the device can be charged up to 71 percent within an hour. Meanwhile, its previous iteration, Mi Max 2 packed a 5,300mAh battery along with Quick Charge 3.0 support.