Umi Max 5.5" smartphone

Rating 5/5

Review:
Another good phone from Umi

I was sent this Umi Max for review. I have tested a number of Umi phones; I used an Umi Iron as my main phone for a year or so before changing recently to an Umi Super.  I have been impressed with the quality of Umi's phones and the very good specifications for the price. I like the Umi Super very much and the Umi Max is very similar – indeed it's so similar that I had to look quite hard at comparisons to see the difference.  In fact, there just seem to be some differences in memory size and a couple of other specs, but after testing it I found almost no difference in style or performance.

When reading this review, do bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email, some catch-up TV and video streaming, occasional photos and occasional web browsing, and I don't use data. My ordinary user's take on the Umi Max is almost identical to that of the Umi Super:

The packaging is very stylish tin and you get a neat charger, a Type-C USB lead for charging and data transfer, a pin for opening the SIM tray and a quick-start guide. The phone itself is very attractive: it's slim, stylish and has a very nice, robust aluminium case with a gently rounded back. It's quite heavy, but not excessively, and I find it very comfortable to use. There is fingerprint security (but I prefer to stick to PIN locking). The 5.5" screen is excellent to my eyes; it's rounded at the edges and a pleasure to use: bright, true colours and very tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look great and everything works very nicely for me. The Super runs Android version 6.0, and with 3GB RAM (the Super has 4GB) everything is very quick and smooth and pretty intuitive.

The internal memory is 16GB (32GB in the Super) but you can expand with a micro-SD card of up to 128GB capacity (I use a 32 GB and it works fine). Set-up was very easy, but there is no manual available. The quick-start manual is adequate but basic, access to SIM and micro-SD card slots is very easy using a pin to release the tray and if you're familiar with Android the lack of a manual may not bother you, but for some users it might be a drawback.

This is a dual-SIM phone, which can be a very handy feature, but note that the memory card and second SIM share a slot, so you can't have two SIM cards and a memory card installed at the same time. Also, do check that its 4G bands will work for you (LTE FDD: 2100（B1) /1800(B3)/2600(B7)/800(B20)) – not all networks are necessarily supported.

In use, everything I want works very well. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts for several days with my use. The speakers aren't bad for smartphone speakers (which isn't saying much, I know) and through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. There's no NFC, but normal Bluetooth pairing is very quick and simple, and stable up to a decent range. The rear camera has a very good 13mp resolution and the front camera is OK at 5mp. I have found both to be fine for my use, and other functions also seem very good.

Apps install quickly and without fuss. There's a handy little button on the left side which you can program to go direct to any app (simply done in Settings, and simple to change the app chosen), and which you can then use to access an app with a single push.

In short, this is a really good phone with excellent specs for the money.  If you don't need masses of memory then this may well be a better bet that the more expensive Super, and it's warmly recommended.

Amazon page HERE