Frank "shovels": TOP 5 giant smartphones

The mid-low-cost Honor 8X Max phablet is the "answer" of Huawei's sub-brand to the smartphone Xiaomi Mi Max 3 64 GB / 4 GB , which set the rules of good taste for the entire family of so-called "shovelphones".

The gadget is located exactly at the junction of the squad of smartphones and tablets. It's no joke, almost the entire front panel of its case is occupied by a 7.12-inch IPS screen with a FullHD+ resolution (2240 x 1080 pixels). Watching movies, reading or playing on it is a pleasure. Moreover, the assets of the model have built-in stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology. But it's not so easy to handle the display with one hand. At the top of the screen there is a small teardrop-shaped cutout for the object of an 8 MP selfie camera, which looks like a breath of fresh air against the background of all sorts of variations of "bangs".

"In the base" the smartphone is equipped with an 8-core Snapdragon 636 chip in conjunction with 4/64 GB of memory. For more demanding users, a modification with the 660th "dragon" at the head and 6/128 GB of memory is available. Anyway, the power of the electronic hardware is quite enough both for solving all everyday tasks and for tossing the lion's share of modern games. A fingerprint sensor on the back panel of the device is put on guard to protect personal data from unauthorized access. So, due to the gigantic dimensions of the smartphone, it is not very convenient to reach for it.

Photographs Huawei Honor 8X Max with a 16 + 2 MP dual camera. The second "eye" as part of the rear photo module is occupied with determining the depth of field and, accordingly, it is responsible for drawing the bokeh when shooting in portrait mode. The device is powered by energy during the day from a 5000 mAh non-removable battery, which also allows you to recharge other user gadgets. As a result, we have a hardy smartphone with a well-developed multimedia component, good cameras, a balanced hardware and a large screen. And all this costs adequate money.

To say that the third Mi Max is indecently large is to say nothing. In the line of overgrown smartphones, it occupies one of the leading positions, providing a gigantic 6.9-inch diagonal screen at the user's disposal.

A huge FullHD+ screen (2160 x 1080 pixels) increases the attractiveness of the model as a means of consuming multimedia content: the smartphone handles well with showing movies, browsing the network and mobile gaming. Fortunately, the strength of the 636th "dragon" bundle and 4 GB of RAM is enough to confidently perform the most diverse tasks without lags and interface slowdowns. There is 64 GB of internal memory on board the smartphone, it is possible to expand it by abandoning the second SIM via a microSD flash drive.

From the rear, the device is very similar to the enlarged Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 64 GB / 4 GB . From him, "max" got a set of cameras: 12 MP main photo module in conjunction with an auxiliary 5 MP image sensor. Also, a fingerprint sensor can be detected on the metal backdrop, but it is inconvenient to reach for it. Instead of a fingerprint sensor, the user has the right to use the charms of the face unlock system, for which an 8 MP front-facing camera is used, supplemented with its own flash.

The hallmark of the Mi Max line has always been battery life. In continuation of the glorious traditions, the model has acquired a battery of as much as 5500 mAh. Two days of work without recharging are given to a smartphone without the slightest difficulty. And thanks to Quick Charge 3.0, the battery replenishes the energy reserves in the tanks from zero to 71% in just an hour at the outlet. The device does not get except the NFC chip. On the rest of the fronts, the giant from Xiaomi has no compromises, which clings to the soul of a lot of fans of the Chinese brand.

The "X" version of the smartphone Huawei Mate 20 128 GB / 4 GB got such a huge display at her disposal that she managed to surpass even the squad of 7-inch tablets. The OLED screen in service with the model stretched by 7.2", and the picture is displayed on it in a resolution of 2244 x 1080 pixels.

The display of the gadget is sharpened in the frame of the thinnest frames, due to which it managed to grab 88% of the area of the front panel. In order to fit a 24 MP selfie camera into the front of the device, a small teardrop-shaped cutout is made in the screen, which looks more attractive than a "monobrow". At the back, the smartphone has a richer set of cameras — it exactly repeats that of Huawei Mate 20 Pro 128 GB / 6 GB . A 40 MP image sensor with high-power optics Leica (f/1.7) is assigned to the role of the leading module here, and an 80 mm TV speaker (8 MP) and a 16 mm wide (20 MP) are provided to help it. At the time of the announcement, this combination of cameras is rightfully considered one of the most advanced in the class.

Why did the smartphone turn out to be so gigantic? The answer is simple — for the sake of mobile gamers. Inside the model, a top-end Kirin 980 chip is installed, made according to a 7 nm process technology, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM are provided. It is possible to expand the capacity of the regular storage, but only by resorting to the services of flash drives of the new NM Card format, which was announced simultaneously with the smartphone. An advanced cooling system with an evaporation chamber and a graphene plate is used to remove heat in long gaming sessions. With such data, any application on Huawei Mate 20 X "flies" on ultra-graphics settings. Especially zealous players can be recommended to buy a special gamepad in a pair with a smartphone.

For the first time among colleagues in the Huawei workshop the device has got support for the M-Pen stylus with recognition of 4096 degrees of pressure. However, the pen is sold separately and does not hide in the case. The built-in 5000 mAh battery helps the smartphone stay "afloat", which has been "given a lift" to support both fast and wireless charging. In addition, the model is equipped with stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology, a full set of communication modules (including an NFC chip and an IR port), and the device body is protected according to the IP53 standard. The model impresses with its originality, besides, it simply does not have direct competitors.

There are also leaders among the best devices in their class. One of them is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which rightfully occupies the first step on the podium of Android smartphones of the 2018 sample. The device has absorbed all the modern trends of the smartphone-building genre, while preserving the distinctive features of the style in appearance.

On the "nine" you can safely put a stamp with the inscription "shovel" — is it a joke, the display of the model stretched diagonally by 6.4". This is a tenth of an inch more than the predecessor of the model in the face of Samsung Galaxy Note8 64 GB , despite the fact that the dimensions of the two generations of the Note family are practically comparable. The smartphone screen is based on a Super AMOLED matrix with bright and saturated colour rendering, Always on Display mode and a resolution of the displayed image of 2960x1440 pixels. According to the good old tradition, the side faces of the display turned out to be beveled.

If it is unbearable to cope with such a large screen with one right (or the left, here it is more convenient for anyone), the user has the right to resort to the help of the S-Pen stylus. In the ninth generation of the smartphone, the pen is equipped with a Bluetooth module, a programmable key on the side and recognizes 4096 degrees of pressure. The stylus is charged directly in the phone, and a 40-second landing of the pen in the "mink" is enough for a half-hour marathon of its work in offline mode.

In this version of the device, the maximum amount of memory on board has reached the cherished mark of 1 TB — the internal storage here has a capacity of 512 GB and a microSD flash drive can hold so much, with which a smartphone can "make friends". The model works under the control of a chip of its own design Exynos 9810 in conjunction with 8 GB of RAM. In the configuration for the American market, the flagship "octa-core" Snapdragon 845 is assigned to the role of the CPU. Of course, the gadget's hardware platform does not take up the power — it turns over any running applications without the slightest lag and has serious potential for the future.

The photographic side of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 issue is represented by a tandem of 12 MP photo modules from the rear and an 8 MP selfie camera on the front panel. The main camera is formed from conventional and portrait modules, each of them is equipped with optical stabilization. In addition, the classic sensor is equipped with variable aperture optics (f/1.5, f/2.4), which can be useful when shooting diverse subjects with different depth of field. The parade of flattering words about the model is inexhaustible. What are the progressive methods of authenticating the owner of the device (by face, iris and fingerprint), the smartphone's support for 4000 mAh fast and wireless battery charging technologies and IP68 protection of the case. All this together justifies the immodest price tag of the model and elevates the device to the rank of one of the most significant players in the modern mobile device market.

The "Apple" gadget with the prefix Max in the name of the Xs model belongs to the genus of large-caliber smartphones. He is one of the few whose display diagonal has come close to the tablet device league. Let's not beat around the bush and consider the ins and outs of "Max" in all its glory.

The visible part of the filling of the Apple iPhone Xs Max glass sandwich is an OLED screen with a diagonal size of 6.5". Its maximum resolution is 2688x1242 pixels. A reason for pride is the full support of the HDR10 specification, which at times pumps the smartphone's skills when displaying images in an extended dynamic range. For the sake of a 7 MP selfie camera, Face ID sensors and other service sensors, we had to sacrifice a piece of the upper part of the display, where the characteristic "bangs" were located.

According to the hardware, Apple iPhone Xs Max is among the most powerful smartphones of our time. "Under the hood" he has the flagship Apple A12 Bionic chip, manufactured according to a 7-nm process technology, which is kindly assisted by an 8-core neural processor Neural Engine. A bundle of a top-end chip and 4 GB of RAM breaks performance records in benchmarks and makes all applications from the App Store fly. Artificial intelligence, in turn, has penetrated the system of cameras and face scanning sensors, and it also assists in the creation of "enimoji" and the work of augmented reality.

The main camera of the smartphone is based on two 12 MP modules, each of which is operated by an optical image stabilization system. An image sensor with a classic focal length has an increased size of a single pixel (1.4 microns) and is equipped with high-power optics f/1.8, and the second module performs the role of a TV speaker, providing a two-fold optical approximation to the object of filming. Of the useful photographic innovations, the device got the SmartHDR function, the meaning of which lies in the ability to take HDR photos without lag, as well as support for selecting the degree of background blur on the finished image.

Starting from this generation, Apple gadgets have received the long-awaited 2 SIM support. However, the physical second SIM card is installed only in devices for the Chinese market, the rest of the world's regions have to settle for a second virtual SIM. East european mobile operators are not in a hurry to implement it yet. To finish the legend about the model on a positive note, the mention of fast and wireless charging of the device's battery along with full dust and water protection of its case according to the IP68 standard will help. Moreover, the model is able to survive immersion in both fresh water and salt water, and during testing for indestructibility, it was even bathed in beer. It is customary to look up to the Apple iPhone Xs Max, because the laurels of the strongest player in the field of large-caliber smartphones belong to him.