Huawei P8Max is the blown up variant of Huawei P8, for those who like it extra-large. P8Max doesn’t blur the line between a tablet and a phablet, but pretty much bridges across all limits. We got to lay our hands on this over-sized phablet today at the Asia launch event and here are our first impressions.
Huawei P8Max Quick Specs
- Display Size: 6.8 Inch with, 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Processor: 2.0 GHz Quad Core Cortex A53+ 1.5 GHz Quad Core Cortex A53, Kirin 935 Octa Core with MaliT628 MP4 GPU
- RAM: 3 GB
- Software Version: Android 5.0.2 Lollipop based Emotion UI 3.0
- Primary Camera: 13 MP AF camera with Dual Tone LED flash, F 2.0 Wide angle lens
- Secondary Camera: 5 MP
- Internal Storage: 64 GB
- External Storage: 64 GB
- Battery: 4360 mAh battery Lithium Ion
- Connectivity: 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 , NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Huawei P8 Max Quick Review
Design, Build and Display
Is it too big? Yes. The handset is big and makes no bones about being a two handed devices. Fortunately, the growth isn’t proportionally matched by the increase in waist or even width. The handset is just 6.8 mm thick which makes handling easier than what we had expected. There are no ergonomic curves on the rear side, which makes the phone dig in your palms a bit.
Huawei follows the same design philosophy as P8 and tries to shave off bezels as much as possible. If you have big hands, you could fit in the new P8max. If you are looking for a potable tablet or if you love big phones, P8Max is the right phone for you.
There is metal on the rear side and around the edges. Speaker grill is present on the bottom edge, while power button and volume rocker are housed on the right. The display has great contrast and vibrant colors without oversaturated tones. It’s a good quality IPS LCD panel at par with some of the best LCD panels.
Processor and RAM
Huawei has used Kirin 935 big,LITTLE octa core with 4 Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2 GHz and another 4 clocked at 1.5 GHz. The chipset also includes 3 GB RAM and thus is exactly similar to Huawei P8. Though we have zero experience with this new chip, everything sounds utterly promising on paper.
Camera and Internal Storage
The 13 MP rear camera includes Optical image stabilization, yet there is no protruding camera bump. The low light shots we tested it with turned out to be very decent, though there was visible noise. Camera app is also loaded with features to keep you busy. The front 5 MP selfie camera is also a decent performer.
There is ample 64 GB storage on board and you can further expand this by another 64 GB using MicroSD card support.
User Interface and Battery
User interface is Huawei’s custom Emotion UI 3.1 based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. There is no app drawer and it isn’t a major diversion from kitkat based Emotion UI 3.0. Much of Lollipop is not visible underneath this custom skin. We would have to spend more time with it before we judge it.
Battery capacity is 4360 mAh, which sounds juicy enough for full day usage. Again, it is too soon to comment on the battery backup just yet.
Huawei Ascend P8Max Photo Gallery
Conclusion
The Huawei P8Max is a massive phone and since several users crave phablets in Asian markets, there is a well – defined market which Huawei is targeting. It is a premium grade large display smartphone and since it stands pretty much alone in its league, you won’t have to struggle very hard to decide if you want it or not.
