Xiaomi Unveils 6.44-inch smartphone Mi Max, and unveils MIUI 8 in China

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi has announced Mi Max, its latest smartphone with the largest-ever screen in its lineup to date. It also unveiled MIUI 8, the next generation of its popular Android-based operating system.

Xiaomi CEO and founder Lei Jun revealed today that MIUI has crossed over 200 million users across the world, and there are now 21 apps on MIUI with over 10 million daily active users.

As of March 2016, there have been over 40 billion app downloads on Mi App Store, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi devices sold in China, a 16-fold increase from 2.5 billion app downloads in 2014.

Mi Max: Creating a new large-screen smartphone category

The 6.44-inch supersized screen on Mi Max makes it perfect for watching movies or TV shows on the go, especially when coupled with Sunlight Display for more accurate colours even in bright conditions. Mi Max also comes with a large 4850mAh battery for long viewing sessions. Based on internal tests, Mi Max can support up to 14 hours of streaming video (via Wi-Fi) in a single charge, thanks to the massive battery and optimisations found in MIUI 8.

Mi Max has a metal body which transitions to the gently curved edges of the front 2.5D glass surface. Even with a much larger display than most other smartphones, Mi Max is as thin as many 4.7-inch phones with a thickness of just 7.5mm. At 203g, it is only slightly heavier than many 5.5-inch models.

Mi Max is equipped with one of the fastest mobile processors in the market, Qualcomm Snapdragon 650/652 processor, which is powered by six or eight Cortex A72 and A53 cores. Combined with the Adreno 510 graphics chip, Mi Max delivers a great multimedia and gaming experience.

Key features of Mi Max include:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 652/650 processor
• Adreno 510 graphics
• 6.44-inch Full-HD display
• Up to 4GB RAM + 128GB flash (supports up to 128GB microSD)
• 16-megapixel camera with PDAF
• Fingerprint sensor

Mi Max is available with three internal storage options – 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. With microSD support for cards up to 128GB, Mi Max can have as much as 256GB storage.

Mi Max (Snapdragon 650, 3GB + 32GB) will be available at RMB 1499. The Snapdragon 652 variant with 64GB storage (3GB RAM) and 128GB storage (4GB RAM) will retail at RMB 1699 and RMB 1999 respectively.

Mi Max will be available in mainland China starting 17 May through online channels including Mi.com, and across the country's Mi Home outlets.

MIUI 8 comes with a brand new look and exciting new features

Xiaomi also unveiled MIUI 8 today, the latest update to its popular Android-based operating system with a refreshing redesign and several innovative new features. Inspired by the kaleidoscope, MIUI 8 features an overhauled design as seen in the bold colours, interactive animations and system fonts including Xiaomi’s very own Mi Lanting font.

MIUI 8 also builds in several technology breakthroughs such as being able to clone apps and manage multiple accounts on the same phone. This means that users can have two instances of a messaging app on the same phone that correspond to different accounts, removing the inconvenience of having to log in and out on the same app.

With MIUI 8, users can also split their smartphones into two accounts. This means that a different password or fingerprint can allow users to access a different home screen entirely, with different apps and data that are completely independent. According to their needs, users can choose to merge certain data such as the address book and call history.

MIUI 8 also introduces the ability to take long screenshots beyond what can be seen on the screen, which is very useful for sharing long articles in just one image. The calculator app has also been improved with more advanced functions such as bank loan and mortgage interest calculation, as well as currency and unit conversions.

Photo gallery is one of the most-used apps in MIUI, and it now comes with several optimisations. With quick share controls, users can swipe up to share and change filters with a tap. They can also doodle on photos, add stickers, and make use of enhanced video editing tools with various effects and music.

In MIUI 8, scanning capabilities have been expanded tremendously to go beyond QR codes. Users can now scan documents to get an image output, scan business cards to add to their contacts, scan physical objects to search and shop for similar items on Taobao, and even scan mathematics questions for step-by-step solutions.

Xiaomi CEO and founder Lei Jun said: “MIUI 8 is our best operating system to date featuring several innovative breakthroughs. After six years of continuous iterations and upgrades, MIUI has become more user-friendly, presenting boundless opportunities as a mobile Internet platform especially when coupled with a Xiaomi smartphone.”