The phablet world is slowly becoming saturated with smartphones from nearly all OEMs and making a choice between them can be daring.
While 2016 has already seen quite a number of large screen devices come into play, we are yet to lay our eyes on what are supposedly the most affordable, yet very powerful phablets. The phablets in question here are the Xiaomi Mi Max, Sony Xperia XA Ultra, and the ZTE Zmax Pro.
Here’s a closer look at these three phones in a bid to help you pick the best one based on your preferred needs and budget constraints.
Design and display
Xiaomi is known for its prowess when it comes to smartphone designs and this is evident in the Mi Max. It features a full metal body that makes it very similar to the Redmi Note 3, while the Xperia XA Ultra is basically the larger version of the Xperia XA, but with very small bezels. As for the ZTE Zmax Pro, little can be said apart from the fact that it will come with a black finish.
Apparently, it is not clear whether the Xperia XA Ultra will feature a fingerprint scanner, but as for the other two, this security tool has been added. On the brighter side, it is only Sony’s device that features an NFC chip, which means you will be able to make online purchases via the likes of Android Pay.
As for the display panels, the largest device is the Xiaomi Mi Max with its 6.4 inches and 1080p resolution that translates to 342ppi of pixel density. On the other hand, the Xperia XA Ultra and ZTE Zmax Pro have the same screen size of 6 inches with a similar 1080p resolution, but the pixel density is slightly better than what the Mi Max offers, which is 367ppi.
Processing power, storage, camera and battery power
There are some similarities between these three when it comes to processing power. For starters, you will get 8-core chipsets on all three handsets. However, the ZTE Zmax Pro packs a Snapdragon 617 SoC while the Xiaomi Mi Max has an even better Snapdragon 652 SoC. On the contrary, you get a MediaTek Helio P10 SoC on the Xperia XA Ultra.
As far as RAM is concerned, the Mi Max is the standout option with its 4GB as compared to the 3GB you get on the XA Ultra and 2GB available on the Zmax Pro. It gets even better for Xiaomi’s Mi Max thanks to the fact that it offers better storage of 128GB compared to the 32GB available on the Zmax Pro and a mere 16GB on the Xperia XA Ultra.
Camera-wise, you will want to go with Sony’s device. The phone packs a massive 21.5MP main camera and another massive 16MP selfie camera. These are huge specs for a huge device and you will for sure enjoy viewing the captured photos on the big screen. These specs somehow manage to dwarf the 13MP main camera and 5MP selfie camera on the Zmax Pro, but you will still get quality photos with the 16MP rear snapper on the Xiaomi Mi Max and 5MP selfie camera.
Xiaomi Mi Max offers the best battery capacity with its 4850mAh unit as compared to the 2700mAh available for the Xperia XA Ultra. As far as the Zmax Pro is concerned, there are no clear details of the battery capacity to come onboard this phablet.
As for the software part, you will get Android 6.0 Marshmallow on all three devices out of the box.
Availability
Sony Xperia XA Ultra was announced this May and apparently, it will be coming to the world this coming July, but there is no specific date. As for the Xiaomi Mi Max, preorders will begin this coming June 21. Apparently, it is not clear when exactly the ZTE Zmax Pro will be released, but reports had claimed that the phone will be sold by T-Mobile, with availability set for this summer.