After launching the Phab 2 Plus earlier last month, Lenovo yesterday launched its cheaper variant i.e. the Lenovo Phab 2 at Rs 11,999. The device will be available starting December 9 exclusively via Flipkart. Being a device with a 6.4-inch screen, the closest, in terms of price, stands Xiaomi Mi Max. The phablet from Xiaomi was launched earlier this year at Rs 14,999 and features a similar 6.44-inch display. So can the new phablet from Lenovo match against its Xiaomi counterpart?
Design and Display
Starting with the newly launched Lenovo Phab 2, the device comes with an aluminium unibody design which curves around the edges at the back making it easier to hold despite it being a behemoth. The power button and volume rockers sit on the right side and the device surprisingly lacks a fingerprint scanner. Up front, the Lenovo Phab 2 sports a massive 6.4-inch HD IPS LCD display (1280 x 720 pixels) which gives us a Pixel density of 229ppi. The Lenovo Phab 2 measures at 175 x 89.5 x 9.6 mm and weighs at 225 grams. 
On the other hand, Xiaomi’s Mi Max also features a unibody aluminium design with slightly chamfered edges both at the back and front. Similar to the Phab 2, the power button and volume rockers are perfectly placed on the right for the device of this size. Coming to the size, Mi Max is no short in terms of the display size as well featuring a 6.44 inch IPS LCD display but with 1080p Resolution in this case, which will definitely offer more sharp content production. The device also features a fingerprint scanner at the back and weighs at 203 grams with the dimensions being 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm.
Phab 2 will come in two colour variants – Gunmetal Grey and Champagne Gold whereas Mi Max comes in Gold, Silver, and Dark Grey colour variants. While there is not much to choose in terms of the design, the Mi Max surely has an upper hand with its Full HD display.
Processor and Memory
Exploring the internals reveal a different story altogether, with the devices featuring chipsets from different manufacturers. While Lenovo Phab 2 is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek (MT8735) processor, Xiaomi’s Mi Max sports a 1.8GHz 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 Cortex A72 A53 Hexa-Core processor. Both the devices come with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage which is further expandable up-to 256GB via microSD card. We are yet to test the Lenovo Phab 2 so we can’t really comment on the performance just yet. However, based purely on the spec sheet, we feel that Mi Max will survive the heavy usage does slightly better than Phab 2. Apart from that, both the devices run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 7 on top on the Mi Max and Lenovo’s own skin on the Phab 2.
Camera
For the photography, both the devices look promising on paper. The Lenovo Phab 2 features a 13-megapixel shooter with LED Flash and Phase Detection Fast Auto Focus (PDAF) coupled with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with an 85-degree wide angle lens.
On to the Xiaomi Mi Max, the device features a 16-megapixel rear facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone LED flash, HDR etc. The rear camera is capable of recording 2160p video at 30fps and offers 120fps slow-motion video at 720p. The front camera is a 5-megapixel shooter with the same f/2.0 aperture.
Xiaomi Mi Max certainly comes with a higher resolution rear-facing camera but megapixels never define a camera performance. However, what does matter is the quality of camera sensor and image processing capabilities of the device which can only be determined once we have the device with us. Nevertheless, the front facing camera on the Phab 2 will definitely get more people in the frame, Thanks to its 85-degree wide angle lens. Stay Tuned for the detailed camera review of the Phab 2. Meanwhile, you can check out camera samples from Xiaomi’s Mi Max here.
Battery and Connectivity
Being much bigger than a standard smartphone size, both the devices feature big batteries. While the Lenovo Phab 2 is packed with a 4050 mAh non-removable battery, Xiaomi’s Mi Max sports an even bigger 4850 mAh battery which, in our opinion, should offer much better juice despite it having a higher resolution display.
On the connectivity front, both the devices come with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 in Phab 2 and v4.2 in Mi Max, GPS with A-GPS and micro-USB 2.0 for charging and data syncing. Xiaomi’s Mi Max also features an Infrared blaster. As mentioned before, Lenovo skipped the fingerprint scanner on the Phab 2 while it is there at the back on the Mi Max.
Wrapping Up
For the verdict – Well, Mi Max certainly comes with a better display, a better processor, a better battery and a fingerprint scanner but is it all worth of that extra Rs 3,000? Surely, it is. However, if you don’t want to dig your pocket beyond Rs 11,999 then Lenovo Phab 2 is a decent choice as well.