ZTE Max XL
Phone Scoop Review
May 9, 2017 by Eric M. Zeman
ZTE's latest slab for Boost Mobile is the monstrous Max XL. It boasts a 6-inch screen, 3,990mAh battery, and the latest build of Android 7 Nougat from Google. The ZTE Max XL is a budget smartphone for big-screen lovers in the pre-paid space. Here is Phonescoop's in-depth review. read review ›
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Could have been better
Carrier: Boost
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I've had the phone for about 8 months. After several factory resets and installing 3rd party apps to replace buggy preinstalled ones, the phone runs reasonably well. Display is really great. Battery life is good. Call quality is sketchy (always hard to tell if echo and stutter is on my end or the caller). The Max XL has Dual-Band Wi-Fi (2.4ghz and 5ghz) which was a pleasant surprise. I like the separate volume buttons rather than the toggle that you often get with these budget phones. Unfortunately some bugs are hard to bypass. The fingerprint reader usually works, but sometimes fails to turn the screen on. Also, occasionally nothing will download from the Play Store until you restart the phone and this includes app updates. Had ZTE put just a little more time into testing, they could have squashed a lot of bugs that make this phone very frustrating to use if you don't make adjustments. I am also disappointed that the USB port is loose causing the charger to cut off if you move the phone while it's charging. And speaking of the charge port, this phone is EXTREMELY sensitive to moisture. DO NOT get it even slightly wet or you may find the charge port heating up to temps that can actually burn your fingers when you try to charge it, and of course you cannot charge the phone like that. BTW-I'm not talking about dropping the phone into a swimming pool. Just a slight bit of splashage from a light rain shower will do it. It can take days to start working again. This is very dangerous and reason enough to recommend avoiding this phone. Just a little Nano-coating could have resolved this issue. A shame ZTE skimped on the basics yet included some unexpected hardware (like dual band wi-fi). Overall I would not suggest trying this phone. If you have one already, you might try installing Evie Launcher (or something that gets good reviews for lower end devices) and install a 3rd party SMS app and many problems will disappear. Just keep that charge port dry!
