Switching from iPhone to Xiaomi and not regretting it

I recently got rid of the iPhone XS Max, which was a total disappointment and switched to Xiaomi Mi Max 3. And now I’m writing this review to compare these 2 phones.

But first let me tell a little about Xiaomi. At first Xiaomi, which also goes by the the name of Mi, looks like a Chinese copy of Apple. You can see the similarities everywhere, they have similar packaging and Mi stores with similar interior as Apple stores. Their user-interface MIUI looks almost exactly like iOS, but unlike Windows Phone, they didn’t make a mistake of creating totally new UI. MIUI is based on Android, so you can use all Android apps with it.

But beneath that there’s more. Xiaomi listened to all feedback that Apple got from it’s users, and unlike Apple, they actually implemented those requests and thus made a better product. That simple it is. On top of that Xiaomi is not greedy as Apple and offer bigger variety of smart widgets that all work seaminglessly together.

One could say that with Xiaomi the quality and desirability of Chinese electronics has for the first time surpassed the American ones. I was never an Apple fan, but I think now I became a Xiaomi fan.

But let’s get back to the comparison.

Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is big, but it still sits perfectly in your hand.

The things where Xiaomi is better than Apple

Biggest screen

While many people may not want the biggest screen on the market, it’s still an advantage, and for all the rest Xiaomi still offers medium and small sized screens. The screen of Mi Max 3 is by 20% biggest the the screen of iPhone XS Max, and it does not have that ugly looking speaker, cutting the part of the screen off.

Bigger battery

Mi Max 3 has 5500 mAh battery while iPhone XS Max has only 3174 mAh. In real life this means over 50% more battery life for Xiaomi.

Bigger keyboard

Apple really fucked up with iPhone XS Max keyboard, because while the screen got bigger than in previous models, they keyboard stayed the same size, which makes typing as hard as before.

But Xiaomi makes it even better. The keyboard on Mi Max 3 is almost 1,5 times bigger than on iPhone XS Max, which makes typing a lot faster and easier. And of course you can customize it.

Cool Android and MIUI widgets

Let’s be honest. On Android you can do more than on iOS, and with Xiaomi you can do even more, since in addition to Android widgets you have special MIUI widgets. It’t like having 2 user-interfaces in 1. I’m not gonna be mention all of them here, I’ll just say they are something that Apple users could not even imagine.

2 SIM card and Micro SD card slot

Like on any normal Android phone, on Mi Max 3 you can use 2 SIM cards simultaneously, and also insert memory card to add more memory or just to simply transfer files from one device to another.

Split screen

You can use split screen on Mi Max 3 with 2 different apps, which comes very handy at many occasions.

More durable

Mi Max 3 has full aluminium body, like the older iPhones, which makes it more durable to impacts. iPhone XS Max on the other hand has a fragile glass back, which will break easily and will cost $599 to replace. Yes, as much as 2 Mi Max 3 phones. With that said, it’s really hard to justify purchase of a new iPhone.

Price

The biggest difference is in the price. While iPhone XS Max costs $1099-$1499, the Mi Max 3 costs a little bit less than $300, which is 4 times cheaper. With that kind of difference you really cannot even compare these phones. They are like from different product segment. It’s like if similar model of Audi would cost 4 times less than BMW, would anyone buy BMW in that case?

The things where Apple is better then Xiaomi

Face ID

I have to admit, that I liked Face ID and Xiaomi does not have anything similar. Mi Max 3 though has rear mounted finger print scan, which is a much better position than front mounted.

Camera

Camera on iPhone XS Max is better than Mi Max 3 on paper, but you don’t see the difference when using it. However, special video recording modes as slow-motion and time-lapse are the ones I will miss. However, we have to take into account that Mi Max 3 is medium budget phone even on Xiaomi standards. When buyng more expensive Xiaomi phone, you will get a better camera.

Processor

Processor (on the paper) is also faster on iPhone XS Max than on Mi Max 3, but you don’t notice it normal use. Perhaps in few years, when apps become more heavy you will, but again, Apple slows down iPhones on purpose, while Xiaomi does not, so they will be as fast in the future as well.

The Verdict

Mi Max 3 is so good, that I would pick it even if the both phones would cost the same. And when the price is 4 times lower the decision is obvious. iPhone does not have a chance. The only thing that iPhone still may have is some sort of “premium brand” thing, but Apple has slowly but firmly been losing it since the death of Steve Jobs. Today Apple is nothing but a useless overpriced toy for rich ass kids. Xiaomi is the new Apple, the kind of pioneer that Apple was back in the days.