Just as Ulefone bit off “Metal” from Meizu, Cubot has bit off “Max” from Xiaomi. No big deal. Cubot is bringing something great to the table — a 3gb RAM 32gb ROM mobile with a big 4100mAh battery.
| SoC | MT6753 |
|---|---|
| CPU | 64-bit 8-core [email protected] |
| GPU | Mali-T720 |
| Display | IPS 6.0"@720p |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshy |
| RAM | 3gb |
| ROM | 32gb |
| Dual-SIM | Yes (*) |
| TF SD expandable | Yes (* TF SD+Dual-SIM!) |
| OTG | Yes |
| 2G | GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz |
| 3G | WCDMA 900/2100MHz |
| 4G | FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz |
Cubot has been around for quite awhile now and can be considered one of the veteran China brands.
Cubot Max unboxing
One of the positives of many mid-range China phones is that they already have a screen protector applied. This is no different with the Cubot Max. It comes out of the box with a screen protector already applied.
Excellently, Cubot Max has bucked the China trend and the menu button is programmed to bring up recent apps on single tap.
The phone was very well protected within the box as well, with a heavy duty casing and an extra layer of thick plastic.
The backpiece of the Cubot Max is interestingly textured plastic which is excellent at shrugging off fingerprints.
For those of you who like to keep your phones well protected, the Cubot Max includes an extremely heavy duty clear protective skin in the box.
The front of the Cubot Max looks great with its big 2.5D glass display.
Cubot Max specs
Cubot Max carries the well regarded MT6753. MT6753 is one of the better mid-budget SoCs out there, only a step behind Helio P10 MT6755.
Functionally, it runs Android very smoothly, and the majority of users most likely won’t notice a difference between an MT6753 SoC mobile and one with a top notch flagship SoC.
Removable Battery
One of the big pluses of the Cubot Max is that it has a removable battery, which means you can battery swap, or change batteries in the future.
Dual-SIM + TF SD
The other thing we see is that the Cubot Max is Dual-SIM+TF SD expandable. That means no having to choose between having a TF SD and Dual-SIM; we get the best of both worlds.
Cubot Max ROHS compliance
One of the ways that Cubot shows they’re a serious company is with their RoHS compliance certification.
The RoHS directive aims to restrict certain dangerous substances commonly used in electronic and electronic equipment. Any RoHS compliant component is tested for the presence of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent chromium (Hex-Cr), Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
Cubot Max is also available from the Euro warehouse
Cubot Max review OS
- Vanilla Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- System animations and transitions are very smooth
- All around OS experience is impressively fluid
- Google Play Store working without issue
- Fast typing is quick and without stutter or hangups
- Deep sleeping appropriately
- Fast scrolling is good with appropriate acceleration and friction
- Very slow scrolling is good. Not perfect, as there’s some minor jumpiness, but not enough to be a problem
- Recent apps comes up instantly and quick scroll no problem
- Apps still in memory come up instantly when tapped
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- Gestures
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- Gestures
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- Launcher select
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- Vanilla settings
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- Deep sleep
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- RAM usage
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- Gesture actions
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- Unlock swipe actions
Recent apps
Normally this wouldn’t be news, but generally speaking, China mobiles with physical capacitive buttons normally have the menu button bringing up menu, and we’re forced to long pres Home to bring up recent apps.
Excellently, Cubot Max has bucked the China trend and the menu button is programmed to bring up recent apps on single tap.
Cubot Max SOT screenon time battery life
The battery on the Cubot Max is a removable 4100mAh monster. According to our tests, the battery is a true 4100mAh.
The Cubot Max lasted an impressive 7 hours on our WiFi YouTube 720P 140lux test. This makes the battery life long enough to satisfy most all users.
Cubot Max battery charging
Battery charging of the Cubot Max is 1A, which means with its big 4100mAh battery takes a bit over 4 hours to fully charge. This is longer than we’d like, but given the budget price, is acceptable and normal for this range.
Cubot Max camera sample images pictures
Cubot Max camera sample images are looking quite good. The camera is 8MP (13MP interpolated), but this doesn’t hold the Cubot Max from putting out impressive images for a phone in this price range. It’s not up to par with sensors such as IMX214 or Samsung S5K3P3, but gives us images beyond adequate for social sharing.
Cubot Max other components
- Has notification LED
- OTG working without issue
- Has FM radio
- Has Bluetooth
- External speaker good (not great, but beyond adequate)
Cubot Max review GPS
GPS on the Max is good with satellites often bouncing into mid to high-30’s. The lock is very quick, within seconds, and accuracy hitting 6 feet.
Cubot Max review WiFi
WiFi range on the Cubot Max is great, hitting 115ft/35m and remaining fast and stable.
Cubot Max review display
The big 6″ display on the Cubot Max is IPS OGS. Big angles, especially from diagonal, show some moderate contrast and color change, but remain perfectly viewable. Viewing from top tilted angles results in some noticeable shimmer.
Colors are very good with some respectable pop. Whites are pure and properly balanced.
While stock white balance looks good to us, but for those who prefer things a bit cooler or warmer, interestingly the Cubot Max supports adjusting kelvin color temperature in the stock ROM. Not from MiraVision, but within the Android display setting ‘Live Display’, which also allows you to set the phone to automatically adjust kelvin based on whether it’s night or day.
White balance built in
Much has been made of recent studies showing blue light can negatively affect our sleep, so those who buy into this, or just prefer a more mellow, warmer temperature in the evenings can set this up very easily without any 3rd party apps or rooting.
Overall it’s a good looking display for the budget price, not top notch, but respectable and should please everyone who’s not expecting retina perfection.
Brightness is quite even across the frame and the corners look great with no pixel light bleed or bright spotting. Maximum brightness is a modest 275lux and minimum brightness is 10lux.
Cubot Max Antutu
- Total: 37791 (one run)
- 3D: 4521
- UX: 15731
- CPU: 12617
- RAM: 4922
If you’re interested in the Cubot Max, we’ll have a full review coming shortly covering Cubot Max Antutu, GPS, WiFi, OS fluidity, Cubot Max battery life and more. Subscribe and we’ll notify you when the review is complete.
Cubot Max review conclusion summary
We like the Cubot Max a lot. Battery charging is a bit slow, and there’s no compass, but this is normal for a phone in this price bracket.
Cubot seems to have made all the right moves to get the Max down to this budget price. Max has a respectable camera, smooth OS with MT6753, big 6.0″ display that’s pleasing to look at, big 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, dual-SIM+TF SD, a big removable battery, includes a notification LED and OTG, is well-priced, and carries no problems or issues that we could find.
In addition, the Cubot Max is also available from the Euro warehouse, so EU users can receive the phone quicker and don’t need to worry about paying import duties.
Based on our experience with Cubot Max, those looking for a big display budget mobile can buy the Cubot Max with confidence. We’re making the Cubot Max top budget pick. Not because the phone is exceptional, but because it’s solid all around with no defects we could discover, it’s at a great value price, has a big 3GB/32GB and MT6753, and is easily the best budget 6″ mobile out there. Good job Cubot.
