ASUS, the Taiwanese Smartphone maker has recently introduced Zenfone Max (M1) ZB556KL in the Indian market. ASUS Zenfone Max (M1) is in line with its Zenfone Max series with maximum battery size. ASUS Zenfone Max (M1) is one of the device which has huge battery life of 4000mAh. Priced at ₹7499/-, this device weighs just 150 grams despite having 4000mAh battery. Zenfone Max comes with 5.5 inch 720p 18:9 screen and is available in two colours – Black and Gold. Zenfone Max (M1) is powered with Qualcomm Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 with Adreno 505 GPU. We had the gold version of the smartphone. Here is our review of the Zenfone Max (M1) based on our usage.
First Let us go to the specifications.
| Specifications | ||
| Design & Dimension | Metallic Finish, 2.5D Glass 82% Screen-to-body ratio 150g 147.3mm*70.9mm*8.7mm |
|
| Display, Resolution | 5.45” HD+ IPS Display (1440*720) 18:9 Full view Brightness in 400 nits min 800:1 contrast ratio min 65% NTSC Color Gamut |
|
| Camera | Front Camera | 8 MP, 3P Lens, f/2.2,1.12um, LED Flash
Front camera mode • Auto • Beauty • Portrait • HDR |
| Rear Camera | 13MP, 4P lens, f/2.0, 1.12um, 0.03s PDAF, LED Flash
Camera modes |
|
| Audio | Big magnet speaker, bottom output Dual microphone |
|
| Security | Back Fingerprint Sensor, 0.3 sec fast unlock, 5 finger & 360° recognition,
Face-unlock |
|
| Performance | Qualcomm Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 | |
| Memory | RAM / ROM | 3GB RAM/32GB ROM LPDDR3 microSD card support (Up to 256GB) |
| Battery | 4000mAh Battery 10W adapter |
|
| SIM | Dual SIM 3 Slot, 2 SIM card, 1 microSD |
|
| OS | Android O with ZenUI 5.0 | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n | |
| Sensor | Accelerometer E-Compass Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor Gyroscope sensor |
|
| GPS | AGPS, GPS, GLONASS | |
| Bluetooth | V4.0 | |
At first the Zenfone Max (M1) looks good with its premium finish and lightweight. The devicee looks compact and easy to hold in a single hand. The smartphone is made of plastic but has metallic finish which makes the phone look good. The rear camera is present on the top left of the device with LED flash just below and the fingerprint scanner is present in the top middle of the smartphone. The smartphone has curved edges. All the buttons are present on the right side while on the left we have the triple slot tray for the SIMs and MicroSD card.
We can find the headphone jack on the top and as usual the speakers are present on the bottom with micro USB port. It is a very good to see that the smartphone is only 8.7 mm thick and weighs just 150 grams despite having 4000mAh battery. The smartphone does not have physical buttons on the front. It has on screen buttons which are present on the bottom and the fingerprint scanner present at the back is easy to access. The fingerprint scanner easily unlocks the device. But the face unlock is little disappointing as most of the time it does not recognize our face.
The device comes with latest Android Oreo out of the box with its latest ZenUI 5.0. The ZENUI 5.0 is lighter with very minimal apps. It also has the PowerMaster app which helps us to increase the battery lifespan and battery optimization options which is very useful if you are worried about battery performance. There are different battery modes present here so that we can customize our battery saving options.
Zenfone Max (M1) comes with HD+ IPS display with 1440 X 720 pixels with a contrast ratio of 800:1. The display looks bright and crisp. The device does not have notch as of the recent smartphones. The smartphone comprises of 82% screen to body ratio which means Zenfone Max has thinner bezels. The bezels on the sides are thinner. The smartphone is packed with 2.5D curved glass and has 18:9 aspect ratio of the display which adds to the beauty of the device. The display looks good and texts look sharp.
Zenfone Max (M1) is powered with Qualcomm Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 with Adreno 505 GPU. It comes with a memory of 3GB and 32GB which can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. The smartphone performed well for day to day usage. There were no hiccups when using it for day to day tasks such as social media updates, music, YouTube videos, etc.
As far as gaming goes, we could play racing games like Asphalt really well but PUBG can be played in low graphics levels as this is a budget phone. We could not find any heating issues while playing games continuously.
ASUS Zenfone Max (M1) comes with a single 13MP camera on the rear with aperture of f2.0 and the front camera comes with 8MP and an aperture of f2.2. This is very disappointing. Now a days all are having dual cameras. We didn’t expect ASUS to have single camera as ASUS is the first smartphone which had wonderful cameras. As far as the camera outputs, the pictures are decent. The selfies taken are quite decent. The front camera also has portrait mode.
Here are some sample pictures.
ASUS Zenfone Max (M1) has triple slots for dual SIM’s and microSD card. But only the first SIM slot supports VoLTE which is a tad bit disappointing. The battery life of Zenfone Max is very good as the 4000mAh battery lasts for one and a half to two days comfortably during our day to day usage. The HD+ display also helps the smartphones battery life. ZenFone Max (M1), also sports the Snapdragon 430 is an octa-core A-53 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and is paired with the Adreno 505 GPU.
Verdict
ASUS Zenfone Max (M1) is a solid smartphone with long battery life which can withsatand for 2 days. The other features like camera performance is decent, adds solid value for money at the price that it is listed for. Some features like face unlock needs further refinement. You have many choices at this price range, but if you want the longer battery life Zenfone Max can be your first choice.
