I personally appreciate it when smartphone manufacturers introduce specialized devices tailored for specific use scenarios. I admire CAT smartphones for their durability and ability to withstand shocks and drops, Unihertz for their bold experiments with physical keyboards, and Asus ROG phones for their clear focus on gamers. But what if you want something like an Asus ROG without breaking the bank? That’s where today’s review hero comes into play—the Cubot MAX 5, a large, budget-friendly gaming smartphone priced at around $250/€228. And on Aliexpress, it can be found even cheaper, for just $203.
What a gaming smartphone should be like
If you take an average gamer and ask him what he sees as the ideal gaming smartphone, he will voice approximately the following list of requirements:
- Display from 6.5” with a refresh rate of 120 Hz
- Top-of-the-line hardware: a processor with lots of powerful cores and 8+ GB of RAM to play at maximum graphics settings
- From 128 GB of internal storage to store your games there
- Stereo speakers
- Large battery with fast charging support
- No heating and no trotting (decrease in core frequency when overheating) during long gaming sessions
Some gamers also want their smartphone to be visually appealing and not boring. Now, let’s take a closer look together to see if the Cubot MAX 5 meets these requirements and if the manufacturer had to make any sacrifices to keep the price attractive.
Cubot MAX 5 specifications
- Operating system: Android 14, no shell
- Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 8200 MT6896 (1× Cortex-A78 3.1 GHz, 3× Cortex-A78 3.0 GHz, 4× Cortex-A55 2.0 GHz)
- Video card: Mali-G610 MC6 + AI NPU-580
- Display: 6.95″, IPS, 1080×2460 pixels, 387 ppi, 144 Hz
- Memory versions: 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM (+12 GB swap file), 256 GB of permanent memory (UFS 3.1)
- Memory card slot: none
- Cameras:
- Main camera – 100 megapixels (OmniVision OVA0B40)
- Macro lens – 5 megapixels (OmniVision OV5670)
- Additionally – 0.3 megapixel scene depth sensor
- Front camera – 32 megapixels (Sony IMX616, without autofocus)
- Video recording – 4K@30fps
- Бездротові технології: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS (+GLONASS+Galileo+BEIDOU)
- Battery: 5100 mAh, wired charging 33 W
- Dimensions and weight: 174.0 × 79.0 × 9.2 mm, 223 g
Read also: CUBOT X90 Smartphone Review: Budget Flagship from China
Package contents
For a $250 smartphone, the package is quite generous:
- USB-Type C cable
- Power supply
- SIM card tray cover
- Plastic bumper cover
- Back cover
Also, the smartphone screen has a factory film that can be used until the protective glass is installed.
Read also: CUBOT A10 Smartphone Review
Exterior
The first thing to understand about the Cubot MAX 5 is that it’s a real giant. This might feel unusual if you’re used to more standard-sized smartphones. It’s over a centimeter taller than my iPhone 11 and sticks out noticeably from the pockets of regular jeans, which takes some getting used to. However, the phone isn’t too heavy—it weighs just 223 grams, which is almost the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
From a design perspective, the manufacturer aimed to pleasantly surprise buyers by adding a cyberpunk-style pattern on the back of the smartphone and around the three cameras. It looks really intriguing.
During the day, you can admire how the panel changes its appearance in the sunlight. It’s likely that the manufacturer drew inspiration from the ASUS ROG Phone 7 or the latest models from Nothing. The pattern is covered by protective glass, which feels cool to the touch but tends to attract fingerprints. The included case solves this problem.
The sides of the smartphone are made of plastic. On the left side, there’s a multifunctional button that you can program to open your favorite game or app.
On the right side, you’ll find the volume buttons and the power button, which has a built-in fingerprint scanner. The scanner isn’t very consistent at first, but over time it seems to “get used” to your fingers, reducing the number of failed attempts to a minimum. Face unlock is also available as a backup option for the scanner.
On the bottom of the smartphone is one of the speakers, a Type C charging port and a tray for two SIM cards.
On the top edge we have another speaker and an additional microphone. The smartphone does not have a headphone jack.
Overall, I liked the design of the Cubot MAX 5. The only real issue I had during my time using it was the placement of the speakers. While gaming or watching videos, I often accidentally covered one of them with my fingers.
Read also: CUBOT King Kong Ace 3 Review: Rugged Smartphone with Dual Displays
Cubot MAX 5 display
As we discussed earlier, a large, high-quality display is essential for comfortable gaming, and the Cubot MAX 5 delivers on that front. When you see a 6.95″ display size on paper, you might expect something bulky and tablet-like. However, thanks to the minimal bezels around the display, the smartphone manages to maintain a manageable size.
The IPS panel offers good viewing angles and a high resolution of 2460×1080. The cherry on top is the 144 Hz refresh rate, which provides quick response times in games and a smooth user interface experience.
You can adjust the refresh rate in the settings. You can switch to 60 Hz to save battery life, or set it to automatic mode so the smartphone only boosts the refresh rate to the maximum in games.
I wasn’t very impressed with the default display settings; the colors were a bit too “vivid” for my taste. Fortunately, the settings allow you to calibrate everything flexibly to match your preferences.
Read also: CUBOT KINGKONG X Rugged Smartphone Review
Cameras
The rear camera module consists of three sensors: a 100 MP main sensor, a 5 MP macro lens, and a 0.3 MP depth sensor.
For a budget device, this camera setup performs quite well in practice, especially with detailed scenes and good daylight. You can clearly read text on distant signs and license plates on cars.
By default, the smartphone takes photos at 25 MP, but you can switch to UltraHD mode for 100-megapixel shots if you prefer. However, I wouldn’t recommend doing this, as these photos take up more space and tend to suffer from noticeable detail blurring.
The smartphone also sometimes distorts the colors of objects, making them either too vivid or, conversely, less pronounced.
The macro lens performs its job well, allowing for fairly sharp shots with a lot of detail.
Under artificial lighting, the camera generally struggles and starts to blur details. There are noticeable noise artifacts in some areas of the image.
Although the front camera has a high resolution of 32 MP, it doesn’t deliver exceptional detail. Facial features, particularly hair and facial hair, tend to get blurred.
The camera lacks stabilization when recording video, which can make the footage appear quite “jerky,” though this varies depending on the scene. In the examples below, there are two videos. The video with flowers shows that the camera struggles with moving objects, but it captures nice shots during moments of zooming in and pausing. The video with the bird features a moving subject, and the Cubot MAX 5 handles the recording quite well in this case.
Examples of photos and videos taken with the Cubot MAX 5 camera in original size
Gaming performance and hardware
The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chip, which offers performance comparable to flagship solutions like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Tensor G2, and Exynos 2100. The graphics are handled by the Mali-G610 MC6. It comes with 12 GB of RAM, which can be expanded to 24 GB with a single click by creating a swap file on the internal storage. Additionally, the smartphone features a special utility called Dura Speed to limit background activity and allocate all system resources to games or important applications.
How does this combination of software and hardware work in practice?
The Cubot MAX 5 doesn’t limit your choice of games at all. You can be confident that the smartphone will handle any new or popular game without issues, at least on medium graphics settings. With some adjustments in the configuration, you can achieve the desired 60 fps in games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, or PUBG.
Pushing all settings to the maximum isn’t always feasible. For example, in World of Tanks Blitz, frame rates may drop to 15 fps at the highest graphics settings. In Genshin Impact, while frame rates remain stable, the smartphone will quickly heat up to an uncomfortable 47+ degrees Celsius and consume 1-2% of battery per minute of gameplay.
In general, I think the issue of thermal management is something that manufacturers should pay attention to when developing gaming smartphones in the future. For now, lowering the graphics settings to medium usually helps to overcome the problem of strong heating.
It’s worth noting that the 256 GB of storage on the smartphone is extremely useful, as just Genshin Impact takes up 28 GB of space. Diablo Immortal will require a similar amount, if not more, especially if you download all the maps and locations.
Read also: Cubot Hafury V1 Review: Intriguing Budget Phone with Two Screens
Cubot MAX 5 software
The smartphone runs on an almost pure version of Android 14.
The launcher is quite simple. You can set it up so that all apps appear on the home screens or are hidden in a separate menu. It also includes a Google news panel.
Among the interface settings, there’s an option to style icons uniformly. However, this feature is still in beta, so not all icons are recolored; some, like the camera or Google Calendar, remain in their original design.
Overall, there’s no issue with the software interface of the Cubot MAX 5. It’s straightforward and functional, and it runs quite smoothly.
Read also: Cubot Hafury Meet Review: Stylish Smartphone
Battery life
The 5100 mAh battery is non-removable, but it charges quite quickly with the included 33 W adapter. In the first 30 minutes, the Cubot MAX 5 can charge from 0 to 60-65%. After an hour, it reaches around 90%. While you can play games while charging, it’s not ideal as the smartphone heats up significantly.
In regular use, the smartphone easily lasts from morning to evening. During active gaming, you can expect 3-6 hours of battery life, depending on how demanding the game is on the hardware.
Conclusions
Overall, the smartphone is a quite interesting and balanced gaming solution. If you or your child enjoy gaming frequently but don’t want to invest in an expensive portable console or tablet, the Cubot MAX 5 could be a great option.
Any criticism of this device leads us back to its price on AliExpress at the time of writing this review.
For its primary task—gaming—the smartphone performs very well. The large display with quick response, powerful hardware, and ample memory fully justify its gaming focus. The interesting design adds a nice bonus.
Like all powerful smartphones, the Cubot MAX 5 suffers from heating issues in very demanding games. The cameras could be better, and a larger or faster-charging battery would be ideal. However, considering the price, all these concerns gradually fade away.
Are there any clear competitors in the $250 price range? I’m not sure. Among available gaming smartphones, the cheapest one is the Xiaomi Redmi K50 Gaming, priced at $410 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor.
If you broaden the scope, the Xiaomi 13T with the Dimensity 8200 Ultra is also on the market, but it starts at $390 for the version with 8 GB of RAM.
Among more affordable options, you might consider the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus or the Xiaomi Redmi K70E, which comes with 16 GB of RAM and a Dimensity chip with similar specs. These start around $330.
For now, the Cubot MAX 5 clearly stands out in its niche. What games do you play on your smartphone? Share in the comments!
Read also:
- CUBOT X1 Smartwatch Review: Calls, AMOLED, and 100 Days Without Charging
- Cubot TAB 50 Review: An Affordable Assistant for Everyday Tasks
Where to buy
With a 5100 mAh battery, the Cubot Max 5 is ready for long days. Mediatek’s chipset will definitely help with efficiency.