Six months back, in January, ASUS, a Taiwan based company launched its android based smartphones named as ASUS ZenFone Max and now it has recently launched an upgraded version of the same device. It is slated to be a strong competitor against the budget phones launched in India as it’s growing at quite a rapid space with its consecutive, quick and upgraded launches.
ZenFone Max is targeted for the audience who loves to use the phone which has a lot of features for a longer time and AnimationXpress, got the opportunity to review this new ‘budget’ smartphone.
Battery
Asus has launched this model with the motto ‘Live Unplugged’, where they expect to improve their relationship with the users in India. With an aim to provide ‘Energy for every scenario’, Asus has upgraded the existing phone with a big battery, which means big benefits. The device has an impressive 5000mAh battery, that lasts for 3 days. The phone’s stamina also makes it a power bank, by letting other devices to be charged through the OTG cable. The ultrathin battery’s incredible energy keeps the phone functioning for 38.1 days, when in standby.
Hardware
The new phone (ZC550KL) has a lot of improvements in comparison to the previous release. The phone comes with a new and powerful 1.5GHz, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with a 32GB in-built storage. The previous version released back in January functioned on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 and had 16 GB in-built memory. The new version is also equipped with the new android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and weighs 202 grams.
Camera
The device is equipped with a 13MP rear camera with 5P Largan lenses and Toshiba sensors, with real-tone, dual-LED flash. The rear camera gets a laser autofocus for faster focus, and unlike its previous launch the focus time is quite standard.
The 5MP front camera, with a 5 second timer, is designed with Asus’s PixelMaster imaging technology and aperture of f/2.0, and 85-degree field of view. The camera feature is incorporated with many modes (auto, manual, night, low light, HDR, depth of field and beautification) which one can play around to capture impressive images. Beautification mode, available only in the selfie mode, corrects the mistakes in the image thereby making it perfect. Also, the mode has timer of up to 5 seconds which allows you to time your images and pout yourself for that ultimate image.
Images taken from the front camera are clear and captured with details. However, both the images captured indoors and in the night are not upto the mark. The images produced are with a lot of noise and grains in the background.
Display and Design
A 5.5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS TFT display sits on the front and supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 64GB). Available in three different colours – black, orange and blue, the phone comes with 5000 mAh battery – the selling point for Zenfone Max. The 3.5mm socket and Micro-USB port are at the top and bottom respectively, while the power and volume keys are placed on the right edge of the phone.
Performance
The company’s recent upgrade has Snapdragon’s octa core processor, which makes the phone swift and smooth. The beauty of phone is its 5000mAh battery, which is excellent. It lasts up to three days in spite of playing high end games like Asphalt 8, along with multitasking. Moreover, the device does not heat up even while performing heavy activities. With a moderate usage and by choosing right mode, the phone can function for a longer time.
Conclusion
Besides the battery and the processor upgrade, the device has nothing different to offer. However, we wish Asus works on improving the viewing angles and speaker quality of the phone. Overall, we believe that the upgrade has improved the quality of the much demanded Asus Zenfone in India.
