Conclusion

UMI had a good idea with the Emax: provide a well-specced, pre-rooted phone for the masses. Not all enthusiasts can afford to spend a fortune on a new flagship, and the Emax was designed to tackle this niche.

It sounds ambitious, perhaps too ambitious. If Rootjoy worked properly, and if the camera was on par with other phones in the same price range (the Lenovo K3 Note comes to mind), UMI would have ended up with an excellent device for enthusiasts on a budget. The oversized battery is certainly a redeeming feature, but if you’d rather have a good camera than a few more hours of standby time, look elsewhere.

Luckily, value for money is not an issue. In spite of its foibles, the UMI Emax is still a very cheap device with a hefty battery and some interesting features. However, with a few more software tweaks, it could have ended up much better. We can only hope the company will address these issues with future software updates. The UMI Emax is not a bad phone, it has a good screen, great battery and delivers excellent performance on a budget, so it’s still worth considering if you are after a powerful budget phone.

Our biggest problem with the Emax is that it could have been so much better with a bit of careful polish.

UMI Emax Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Good performance
• Value for money
• Battery life

Cons:

• Subpar camera with focus issues
• Rootjoy doesn’t work as advertised
• No Android 5.0 out of the box