We go hands-on with the thin yet premium vivo X5Max. Priced at RM1799, the smartphone features a mix of midrange to high-end tech specs. However, the X5Max used to be known as the world's thinnest smartphone but the version we have here in Malaysia is 5.08mm thin and not the record-breaking 4.75mm thin of the international version. There are pros to this as it means that our Malaysian vivo X5Max comes with a larger 2300 mAh battery. Truth be told, we hardly noticed the difference but you can see for yourself in the video in this article.

While the vivo X5Max for Malaysia isn't as thin as the international version, it remains one of the thinnest metal smartphones in the market. Retailing at RM1799, tech specs and features for the vivo X5Max include a quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU processor with 2 GB RAM. The device also has 16 GB internal storage + microSD (up to 128 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)) and a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display. It has a 13MP rear camera and supports Wifi, GPS, 3G and 4G LTE. Our unboxing video reveals some extra freebies which include a more premium headset along with a thin and clear plastic casing, perhaps to help protect the metal back. Stay tuned for the hands-on video and full review in a bit but for now, check out our unboxing video in this article.

The GST is set for implementation on 1 April 2015 and quite a few of you are worried that tech and gadget merchants or smartphone makers will raise prices. The good news is that vivo Malaysia is one of the few companies who guarantee that the pricing of their smartphones will not be affected by GST. This includes the recently announced vivo X5Max featuring it's extreme HiFi audio and slim body at the same initial pricing of RM1799. Other Vivo model smartphones should also remain at the same pre-GST pricing as before.

While it isn't the World's thinnest smartphone anymore, the vivo X5Max is probably one of the thinnest smartphones in Malaysia as it is now available at authorized dealers here for RM1799. The vivo X5Max features a 5.08mm thin stainless steel body. The device is powered by a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor and 4G LTE connectivity. It comes with 2GB RAM onboard along with 16GB memory which is expandable up to 128GB. On the front, the phone has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with full HD 1080p resolution. At the back, there is a 13MP camera with 6P lenses and F2.0 aperture along with a wide-angle 5MP front camera. The Vivo X5 Max runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat with Funtouch 2.0 UI on top. However, like some other high-end smartphones the microSD card slot can be switched into a secondary SIM card slot for dual SIM support. Unlike some other very thin smartphones, the vivo X5Max has a 3.5mm audio jack for the full smartphone experience.