Smartphones ASUS ZenFone Max. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 Review: A Smart Budget Smartphone

High-quality assembly, value for money, ease of use - these are the main advantages of Asus Zenfon Max Pro M1 (13K rubles). The smartphone is presented in two configurations of 3/32 and 4/64 GB, respectively, of RAM and built-in, in total with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor for 8 cores, this hardware is enough for a large number of voracious games and applications. The device boasts a highly detailed matrix and good photos. In general, we will recommend Asus Zenfon Max Pro M1 for a more detailed and close acquaintance, because for the declared price this is one of the most interesting models on the market, moreover, also from a well-known brand

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ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1: specifications and price

OS	android;
Screen	6 inches;
Permission	2160×1080; 18:9;
Camera	13/5 MP;
Frontal	8 MP
CPU	Snapdragon 636 8 cores;
Built-in memory	32/64 GB;
RAM	3/4 GB;
battery	5000 mAh;
Price	About 13000 -14500 rubles

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 Reviews

- Thin bezels around the screen. The 6-inch display is housed in a 5.5 case;

- High resolution matrix. This also includes decent color reproduction, as well as large viewing angles. There is a margin for brightness;

- The smartphone is suitable for most modern games;

- Large battery capacity. In practice, the charge lasts for two days;

- Slim body and light weight, thanks to this, the smartphone will be comfortable in your hands;

- Photos in good lighting are pretty good;

- The presence of a 3.5 jack connector located at the bottom of the case;

- The sound of Asus Zenfon Max Pro M1 is pleasant, but there is only one speaker. Sounds better with headphones

- Simultaneous support for two SIM cards and a memory card, which can be classified as a definite plus;

- NFC support;

- The presence of a pure android, without a buggy shell;

- No active protection against moisture and dust;

- The quality of hay collection and the same assembly materials;

- A large number of positive reviews about the model;

Conclusion

Based on the material described above, we conclude that Asus Zenfon Max Pro M1 has an excellent value for money, as well as high functionality. Weighing all the positive and negative points, we can say with confidence that the smartphone definitely has more positive points and it will be popular in the price category up to 15K rubles.

Pros:

• Screen size;
• It will be good to lie in the hands;
• Battery capacity;
• There is no shell, which means the device works faster;
• Positive feedback from users;
• Iron;
• Complete set as a plus;
• Choice of accessories;
• Trademark;
• There is NFC;

Minuses:

• cameras;
• Some flaws;

In contact with

By the end of 2017, even in low-cost smartphones, such features as an elongated screen with a minimal frame around and two rear cameras began to appear more and more often. These models are aimed at those buyers who are not ready to overpay for flagships, but at the same time want to get a smartphone with newfangled features. An example of such a device is Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1). Zenfone Max Plus is not explicitly included in any of the Asus Zenfone smartphone lines of its time (it came out later than the Zenfone 4 generation and ahead of the Zenfone 5). Typically, models with the “Max” index from Asus are characterized by the presence of a capacious battery.

In Russia, the Asus Zenfone Max Plus smartphone at the end of November, and at the presentation it was noted that our country was the first to demonstrate it. And already in mid-December, the model appeared on the shelves at a price of 17 thousand rubles (for the version with a memory capacity of 4/64 GB). To date, the price of this modification has decreased and amounts to 16 thousand rubles. There is also a cheaper version with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of flash memory, which we had for testing. It can be bought for 14 thousand.

The main trumps of the device are a relatively large display with a minimum frame and an aspect ratio of 18:9 (instead of the standard 16:9) and a resolution of 2160 × 1080, rather compact body dimensions, a capacious battery (4130 mAh), and the presence of two rear cameras, one of which is wide-angle.

About how successful and balanced the smartphone turned out to be, you will learn from our review.

Main characteristics

For clarity, let's compare the characteristics of the novelty with one of the competitors - presented almost simultaneously and also entered the Russian market in mid-December, with a very close price (17 thousand for the 4/64 GB version) and largely similar parameters.

	Asus Zenfone Max Plus	Huawei Honor 7X
SoC (processor)	MediaTek MT6750T, 8 cores Cortex-A53 ( [email protected].5 GHz+ [email protected].0 GHz)	HiSilicon Kirin 659, 8 cores Cortex-A53 ( [email protected].4 GHz+ [email protected].7 GHz)
GPU	Mali-T860 (MP2)	Mali-T830 (MP2)
RAM	3/4 GB	4 GB
Flash memory	32/64 GB	32/64/128 GB
Memory card support	microSD up to 128 GB	microSD up to 128 GB
Screen	5.65″, IPS, 2160×1080, 480ppi	5.93″, IPS, 2160×1080, 407 ppi
Connectors		Micro-USB, 3.5mm headset jack
SIM cards	2	2
cameras	2 rear (16 MP, Full HD video 30 fps + 8 MP) and front (8 MP)	2 rear (16 MP, Full HD video 30 fps + 2 MP) and front (8 MP)
User identification means	Fingerprint's scanner	Fingerprint's scanner
Hull protection	No	No
Battery capacity (mAh)	4130	3340
Operating system		Android 7.0 + proprietary shell
Dimensions (mm)	153×73×8.8	157×75×7.6
Weight (g)	160	165
Average price (for version 4/64 GB)
Asus Zenfone Max Plus (4/64 GB) Retail Deals

As you can see, the models have similar features: the hardware platform is represented by an inexpensive eight-core SoC, the software component is based on Android 7.0 with the smartphone manufacturer's proprietary shell. Screens with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2160 × 1080 are slightly different diagonally (the Honor smartphone is generally slightly larger), while the small bezel allows you to maintain acceptable body dimensions.

Let's pay attention to the presence in both cases of a fingerprint scanner and support for two SIM cards (these are pluses), but Micro-USB connectors are used, and not the more convenient and modern USB Type-C (this is a minus). In addition, the Asus smartphone has a larger battery capacity and resolution of the second rear camera, and everything else is slightly better in the Huawei model (more powerful SoC, more RAM and internal memory at a comparable price, all-metal body, etc.).

The screen glass has a slight rounding on the edges, which is commonly called 2.5D. And although you will no longer surprise users with this, even in the budget segment, this technique still seems to be successful. As for the aspect ratio (18:9), it is convenient for working with any lists (letters, notes, purchases, etc.). Zenfone Max Plus is historically the first Asus smartphone on the Russian market with this aspect ratio.

At the same time, the overall dimensions of the device are average. It does not seem very large, it fits comfortably in the hand. Calling it a “shovel” does not turn the tongue, especially given the greater elongation of the case than that of smartphones with a 16:9 screen.

The case is made partly from metal (the main part of the back surface, all buttons), partly from plastic (bottom and top parts). Due to the close color of these parts, the body looks solid, and only upon closer inspection it is clear that the materials are still different.

The matte surface is quite practical and is not prone to minor scratches, scuffs and other damage (of course, if you do not try to damage the smartphone on purpose). But as a minus, it is worth noting the high soiling: fingerprints are collected on the case quickly, they are rubbed off poorly and are striking.

On the right side face are two oblong buttons. The one that is longer is the volume control. The one that is shorter and located below is responsible for turning on / off the smartphone.

On the bottom edge is a Micro-USB connector surrounded by holes, behind one row of which a speaker is hidden.

Above - only a 3.5 mm jack for a headset and an additional microphone hole.

On the left side there is a slot for installing SIM-cards and memory cards. All three cards (2 × Nano-SIM + microSD) can be used simultaneously, which is a plus.

The fingerprint scanner is located on the back surface, where it is convenient to put your index finger on it.

And at the top on the back surface we see two camera eyes and a flash. Note that the block with cameras is only slightly raised above the level of the back cover, and this is not evident.

Continuing the comparison of Asus Zenfone Max Plus and Honor X7, we can note that their design is also similar. There are rounded edges, a wide screen with a narrow frame around, and identically located cameras and a fingerprint scanner ... However, many mid-budget and budget smartphones look like twin brothers, so it's not surprising. Ultimately, in this price category, the emphasis is not primarily on a unique appearance, but on the optimal combination of functionality and price.

Screen

The smartphone has an elongated screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2160 × 1080. You can learn about how successful the display turned out from testing by Alexei Kudryavtsev, editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the screen of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Asus Zenfone Max Plus, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of Asus Zenfone Max Plus is slightly lighter (brightness in photos is 117 versus 114 for Nexus 7). The doubling of reflected objects in the screen of Asus Zenfone Max Plus is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS type screen - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of borders (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. There is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen (even better than the Nexus 7 in terms of efficiency), so fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

With manual brightness control and with a white field displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 430 cd / m², the minimum was 8.5 cd / m². The maximum brightness is quite high, and given the good anti-glare properties, the readability of the screen even on a sunny day outdoors should be at an acceptable level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. In the presence of automatic brightness control by light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. This function depends on the position of the brightness slider. If it is at 100%, then in complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 20 cd / m² (normal), in an artificially lit office (about 550 lux) sets it to 310 cd / m² (suitable), in a very bright environment (corresponds to outdoors on a clear day, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness rises to 430 cd / m² (to the maximum - that's right). If the adjustment is about 50%, then the values ​​are: 16, 230 and 430 cd/m² (also suitable values). If the regulator is at 0% - 8.5, 90 and 380 cd / m² (the values ​​\u200b\u200bare slightly underestimated, which is logical). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and allows the owner to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This smartphone uses an IPS type matrix. Micrographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even at large deviations of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photos in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Asus Zenfone Max Plus and Nexus 7, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.

White field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.

And a test picture:

Colors on the Asus Zenfone Max Plus screen have a natural saturation, the color balance of the Nexus 7 and the tested screen differs markedly. Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Asus Zenfone Max Plus, the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to more black highlighting. And the white box:

The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Asus Zenfone Max Plus screen at this angle is still a little darker. The black field, when deviated diagonally, is highlighted strongly and acquires a brown tint. The photos below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is excellent:

Contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 970:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 21 ms (12 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between grayscale 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back in total takes 33 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points with an equal interval according to the numerical value of the shade of gray did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.28, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve slightly deviates from the power dependence:

This device has some kind of dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output almost on the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black flare at angles - we carried out (however, as always) when displaying special patterns with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in full screen. It should be noted that in this case, the brightness correction is weakly expressed and has a not entirely obvious dependence on the image, but it would be better not to have it at all.

Color gamut close to sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components to each other:

As a result, the colors have a natural saturation and hue. By default, the balance of shades on the gray scale is acceptable, since the color temperature, although significantly higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) is below 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, both parameters change slightly from shade to shade - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance does not matter much there, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Curves in the charts above Without corr. correspond to the results without any color balance correction, and the curves Corr— data obtained after moving the Blue Filter Mode setting slider to the middle position.

It can be seen that the change in balance corresponds to the expected result, since the color temperature has approached the standard value, and ΔE has decreased. Of course, there is no benefit to vision from this fashionable function, but it will do as a means of correcting color balance.

To summarize: the screen has a not very high maximum brightness, but it has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. Also, the advantages of the screen include the presence of an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, high contrast, excellent black field uniformity, color gamut close to sRGB and good (after correction) color balance. We attribute the low stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the plane of the screen as a significant drawback. However, in general, the screen quality can be considered high.

Operating system

The smartphone runs on the Android 7.0 operating system with the ability to update "over the air". On top of the OS, a proprietary ZenUI 4.0 shell is installed, already familiar to us from a number of previous Asus smartphones (for example,). It offers a number of branded applications that can come in very handy - for example, a set of themes, an advanced file manager, etc.

Camera

As mentioned above, the smartphone is equipped with three cameras: one front, with a resolution of 8 megapixels, and two rear cameras - 16 and 8 megapixels. The front camera provides a good (though not perfect) image quality for selfies - apparently, the same module is installed here as in Asus Zenfone 4. In addition, when shooting with the front camera, you can apply different filters and portrait enhancement modes. You can take panoramic selfies, which will clearly show what is behind you. True, this panorama is being made for a very long time.

The rear cameras are interesting because they allow you to choose between a wide-angle image of 8 megapixels and a high resolution of 16 megapixels. Detailed testing of both cameras was carried out by Anton Solovyov.

The camera does a good job of detailing the field of the frame and according to the plans, not counting the edges of the frame, where blur zones often appear. The program copes with noise relatively well, although in some places you can find unprocessed colored spots. In general, the program behaves very decently and is not zealous with processing. Perhaps the main camera will do a good job with documentary shooting.

The wide-angle module as a whole works just as well, but due to the low resolution and large angle, the detail is noticeably lower. In this case, a large grain is formed from the operation of the noise reduction, fine details merge, and in general the processing looks rougher. However, the wide-angle lens works out the edges of the frame better. For undemanding documentary shooting, this camera is also suitable.

The camera does a good job of capturing video. Oddly enough, even the result of night shooting is not so bad.

Performance and communications

The hardware platform of the smartphone is built on a single-chip system MediaTek MT6750T, made using 28-nanometer technology. This SoC includes eight 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores, four of which operate at a frequency of 1 GHz, and four more at 1.5 GHz. The dual-core GPU Mali-T860 with a frequency of 650 MHz is responsible for graphics processing. The amount of RAM is 3 or 4 GB.

We regularly see this budget SoC in inexpensive smartphones - for example, we recently saw it in the Umidigi Crystal smartphone, which, however, has more RAM (4 GB). Let's see how the new Asus performs in comparison with its competitors!

Let's start with browser tests. On all smartphones, testing was carried out in the Chrome browser.

	Asus Zenfone Max Plus (MediaTek MT6750T)	Umidigi Crystal (MediaTek MT6750T)	Xiaomi Mi A1 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625)	HTC One X10 (MediaTek MT6755)	Huawei Nova 2 (HiSilicon Kirin 659)
Mozilla Kraken (ms, less is better)	12852	12888	7910	9992	8887
Google Octane 2 (more is better)	3211	3022	4885	3928	4828
sunspider (ms, less is better)	1878	1781	880	1104	1310

The result, unfortunately, is absolutely expected: the MT6750T is very inferior even to mid-range single-chip systems. One could say that budget smartphones are always inferior to more expensive models, there is nothing strange in this, however, Asus Zenfone Max Plus is far from a budget device, and we picked up rivals with a similar price. It remains only to rejoice that the Asus smartphone performed on a par with the Umidigi Crystal. In general, the use of the budget and obsolete SoC MediaTek MT6750T is one of the weakest points of Asus Zenfone Max Plus.

Now let's look at the results in the comprehensive tests of AnTuTu 6 and GeekBench 4.

	Asus Zenfone Max Plus (MediaTek MT6750T)	Umidigi Crystal (MediaTek MT6750T)	Xiaomi Mi A1 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625)	HTC One X10 (MediaTek MT6755)	Huawei Nova 2 (HiSilicon Kirin 659)
AnTuTu (v6.x) (more is better)	42434	43660	63361	50597	60485
GeekBench (v4.x) (more is better)	618/2499	606/2594	873/4014	757/2071	904/3513

Here, too, no surprises, in general, the picture is similar.

	Asus Zenfone Max Plus (MediaTek MT6750T)	Umidigi Crystal (MediaTek MT6750T)	Xiaomi Mi A1 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625)	HTC One X10 (MediaTek MT6755)	Huawei Nova 2 (HiSilicon Kirin 659)
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme ES 3.1 (more is better)	388	374	463	421	413
(onscreen, fps)	4,4	4,9	6	5	5
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps)	4,6	4,6	6	5	5
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (onscreen, fps)	16	17	21	17	20
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps)	17	17	22	17	18

But the graphics component of the MT6750T corresponds to competing solutions, in 3D tests the results of all smartphones in the table are approximately on the same level. Yes, Asus Zenfone Max Plus loses a little, but in real use it will hardly be felt.

Summing up the results of performance testing, it can be noted that Asus Zenfone Max Plus not only does not show records, but is noticeably inferior to direct competitors. However, it allows you to comfortably play most games (with the exception of brand new ones) and work in everyday scenarios without any slowdowns.

The communication capabilities of Asus Zenfone Max Plus are typical, rather, for budget solutions: Bluetooth is only version 4.0, Wi-Fi is only in the 2.4 GHz band, there is no NFC module.

The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS) and domestic Glonass. Chinese Beidou is not supported. The first satellites during a cold start are detected within tens of seconds. There is a built-in magnetic field sensor for the operation of the compass.

Of the two SIM cards, only one can work in 4G, the other will be limited to 2G even in standby mode. In general, in terms of communication capabilities, Zenfone Max Plus is much inferior even to Asus Zenfone 4 of the previous generation, but this is understandable: we are not testing a flagship, but a much more affordable solution.

thermal images

Below is a thermal image rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running a battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:

Heating is localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 40 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is relatively small.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

Further testing of video playback performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find an MHL interface, as well as Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output frames of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In tests, we used a regular video player. The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Passes green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven interleaving and dropping frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) to be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly at the height of the screen (in landscape orientation), one to one in pixels, that is, in its original resolution. The range of brightness displayed on the screen corresponds to the actual range, so all gradations are displayed in the shadows and in the highlights.

Battery life

The non-removable battery installed in Asus Zenfone Max Plus has a capacity of 4130 mAh. This is a very decent capacity, and besides, the smartphone does not have components that consume energy "as if not in itself." Yes, the old 28nm SoC is not very economical, but it is also not very productive, the core frequencies are low. The screen here has approximately the same area as a typical 5.5-inch smartphone, and is not extremely bright. As a result, in standard test scenarios, the device proved to be worthy - this is clearly seen from the comparative table. In real usage scenarios, under a normal average mode of operation, the hero of the review will easily live one day of active use and two days of medium active use.

Testing was traditionally carried out at the usual level of power consumption without using power saving functions, although these are naturally available in the device. In the case of Asus smartphones, power saving modes are managed in the PowerMaster app. In addition to standard options, such as disabling network connections, auto-brightness, etc., there are also additional features, such as increasing battery life (though with a slight reduction in battery life).

12:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. 6 a.m. HTC One X10 4000 mAh 17:00 12:00 p.m. 5 a.m. Huawei Nova 2 2950 mAh 13:00 10:30 4 a.m.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted about 17 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level through the home Wi-Fi network, the device operates for about 10 hours. In the 3D gaming mode, the smartphone lasted almost 6 hours - this is a very good indicator.

From the supplied network adapter, the smartphone is fully charged in about two and a half hours. Wireless charging is not supported.

Outcome

The Asus Zenfone Max Plus smartphone features a fashionable elongated screen format and a reduced frame around it (and, consequently, a large percentage of usable front surface area), as well as the presence of two rear cameras, one of which is wide-angle. Of course, with a smartphone price of around 15 thousand rubles, it is strange to demand an impeccable picture from cameras, high performance from SoC, and special originality from case design. In general, the compromises that the manufacturer had to make can be approved. SoC MediaTek is frankly budget here, but, by and large, high performance is needed only for games, and even then not for everyone, and just the graphics component of the platform is not so bad. Cameras do not amaze with quality, but still allow you to get good pictures in a wide range of focal lengths. Everything is sad with communication capabilities: there is no NFC, there is no support for the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, two SIM cards cannot work simultaneously in 4G. However, the fashionable screen is of good quality, and a capacious battery with a weak SoC provides a fairly long battery life. Asus offers a fairly wide range of smartphones, each of its models has its own attractive sides, and in this sense, the Zenfone Max Plus model can be considered successful.

The smartphone is provided for testing by the manufacturer

The task of the ASUS Zenfone Max ZC550KL model, a review of which may be of interest to potential buyers of an inexpensive smartphone with a large screen, was an attempt to move from increased functionality to autonomy.

For this reason, the smartphone received a powerful battery and average performance, and is relatively inexpensive - although it cannot be called budget.

In 2017, buying such a device will not be the best choice, but it cannot be called the worst option either.

Content:

Specifications

Model Zenfone Max ZC550KL has the following options:

Battery capacity is 5000 mAh– more than 80% of the models on the market. The operating time of a smartphone with such a battery is about 37 hours when talking, 900 hours in standby mode and about 8 hours in active mode. The weight of the device is 202 grams, the thickness is 10.5 millimeters.

Design Features

The appearance of the phablet is not too different from most of the same large smartphones and.

Although the dimensions of the gadget make it not too suitable for women to use.

Comfortably fits the device only in a large hand- especially if you try to write messages on it or surf the net (while watching movies or reading text is much easier).

Among the design features worth noting:

• buttons are on the right side, which, according to many users, is not the best location;
• there are no buttons or controls on the left side;
• on the back cover there is a lens, a flash, a second microphone, a speaker and a laser rangefinder. Under it you can find slots for SIM-cards and microSD-drive;
• front panel, almost completely covered with glass, contains a camera, speaker and touch buttons for control;
• Below you can see another microphone and a USB port;
• On top of the smartphone is the headphone jack..

You should know: On sale you can find two color solutions - black and white smartphone, and the cover of the first model is designed "under the skin", and the second is made matte and smooth. This allows you to choose the right option for users with different tastes.

Smartphone screen

The power consumption of the 5.5-inch display is not very economical, so the increased capacity of the phone's battery comes in handy.

The picture quality is not the best for such a diagonal - many similar models work with FullHD format.

However, the graininess is almost imperceptible, and if you look at the screen from a distance of 30 cm, the density of 267 ppi is enough for a video shot by the same phone with a decent resolution.

For users accustomed to high resolutions, this quality may seem insufficient.

However, the picture looks bright and warm - especially if you use the special Bluelight filter mode.

The maximum brightness is enough to view the image on the screen even outdoors on a sunny day.

Recognition of touches by the sensor is quite fast, and the simultaneous number of touches reaches ten.

In winter, you can use your smartphone with gloves - there is another special mode for this.

And, finally, the last advantage of the screen is the presence of 4, which provides good protection, and which allows you not to be afraid to wet the surface.

Processor, memory and performance

The Snapdragon 410 chip is far from the most powerful chip to date, and the Adreno 306 video processor is responsible for the graphics.

For resource intensive applications Comes with 2 GB RAM- not too much for modern games, but enough for most users. There is enough memory and processors to run Asphalt 8, even if not at the highest settings, and, of course, to play HD video.

A gamer will not need such a smartphone- with such opportunities for working with games, it is easier to overpay and choose a more powerful model. On the other hand, for a user who rarely uses game offers, this option is quite suitable. Moreover, the time of the gameplay without the need to recharge the battery for the model is at least 5-6 hours - a parameter, not available for every “gaming” smartphone.

Operating system

The smartphone runs on the Android 5.0.2 operating system and ASUS ZenUI 2.0 proprietary launcher.

This decision will bring some inconvenience to the user of the model - although, if desired, the firmware can be updated to 6.0.1. This will add some features and remove some of the vulnerabilities.

The smartphone interface can also be called outdated- working with it is not as convenient as with launchers of competing models. Many pre-installed programs are not very useful, and are usually removed by users immediately after purchase. But the ZC550KL has some original gestures to control - for example, double "tap" to unlock.

Camera models

The model received two cameras from the manufacturer, which, unlike the processor and graphics, correspond to the average parameters of modern models - and, therefore, meet the requirements of many potential buyers.

Although the photos using the main and front devices are not very high quality, you can get a clear picture without noise only in good lighting.

Under any other conditions, you will not be able to take a good photo even with the built-in flash.

As the practice of using the phone shows, photos on the front camera (or "selfie") are best taken not only in good light, but also on the street - indoors the quality will be completely unsatisfactory.

Sharp movements are blurred, no matter what module is used for shooting. But macro shooting with the main camera allows you to get quite acceptable results.

You should know: The maximum video format that a smartphone can shoot is FullHD. However, given the native HD resolution, this is enough - on most computers and even large-screen TVs, such a video will look good. And in order to notice the real difference between FullHD and, for example, 4K, you need a screen of at least 40-45 inches and a distance of no more than a meter.

Sound options

The capabilities of the model for sound reproduction - both in films and when listening to audio files, are at an average level.

Therefore, a smartphone is hardly worth buying for lovers of loud and clear sound. While for watching videos, the characteristics of its speakers are enough.

Listening to music in the headphones supplied with the phone, we can draw approximately the same conclusions. Movies look fine - there is not enough volume to play music. But the smartphone has a good microphone, which can be seen both in a conversation with an interlocutor on a mobile connection, and when recording sound.

Connection quality

The quality of communication provided by the smartphone is at a decent level. In addition, the model supports 4G technology and data transfer rates up to 150 Mbps.

You can use two SIM cards, the installation of which will not interfere with memory expansion using a microSD drive.

When testing in talk mode the smartphone showed good sound quality and acceptable speaker performance. The launch of navigation applications revealed a normal connection speed to satellites - within 30 seconds. The only noticeable disadvantage of the communication features is the support for only one Wi-Fi channel (2.4 GHz), which reduces the data transfer rate over the wireless network.

Gadget battery

To support the work of all components for a long time, the gadget received a powerful battery. In the list of its features:

• 7–8 h in talk mode and about the same time, if you use it for resource-demanding games;
• 18-22 hours of work when watching videos;
• at least 30 hours Internet surfing;
• more than a month on standby.

Important: The huge capacity of the battery allows you not only to use your smartphone, but also to charge other gadgets with it. To implement the recharging function, another smartphone, an mp3 player, and even a power bank are connected to the ZenFone Max.

Many people involuntarily associate the word "budget" with low quality, although it must be said that these definitions are completely unequal. An inexpensive gadget does not mean low-quality, it is simply designed to perform simple tasks. But this is only one side of the problem, how can a manufacturer break the established stereotype and attract a prejudiced buyer? Of course, to borrow advanced features from top models! This is exactly what Asus did when they introduced their new low-cost smartphone. Asus ZenFone 4 Plus. The calculation turned out to be correct, otherwise the novelty would not have attracted such close attention. But let's not rush. Time will put everything in its place, and now let's see why the new Taiwanese gadget is so remarkable.

SPECIFICATIONS

In terms of performance, you should not expect anything special from a smartphone. The hardware is based on an eight-core MediaTek MT6750 processor with an ARM Mali-T860 graphics chip, with four of the eight 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.0 GHz, and the other four at 1.5 GHz. On board the device has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of physical flash memory, which can be expanded up to 256 GB using microSD cards. It is also expected to appear on the sale of modified versions with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of physical memory. Wi-Fi is available from wireless interfaces: 802.11b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, AGPS and GLONASS, communication standards are supported by 2G / 3G /. ZenFone 4 Max Plus has two slots for SIM cards such as Nano-Sim, 3, 5mm headphone jack, MicroUSB 2.0, fingerprint scanner and FM radio. The NFC chip and USB Type-C are absent, but the battery deserves the most sincere praise. Its capacity is 4130 mAh, which, coupled with low performance, allows the smartphone to last up to 26 days in standby mode and 26 hours of talk time. You can surf the Internet for 21 hours and watch videos for 13 hours. Additionally, a number of technologies are embedded in the smartphone’s battery, including protection against various kinds of troubles, such as controller malfunctions, overheating, short circuits, and so on. The battery also supports fast charging and an energy-saving mode that automatically activates when the charge level drops to 10%.

EQUIPMENT

The smartphone comes with documentation, an original charger with a USB connector, micro-USB and OTG cables, and a pin for removing the tray. If you're lucky, you can also find ASUS headphones and a case in the box.

Charging via micro usb

It is rather difficult to call a smartphone particularly noteworthy, however, the style borrowed from the flagship models positively distinguishes it from other inexpensive devices. Asus ZenFone Max Plus is made in the classic monoblock form factor, the body is metal with plastic inserts, the corners are slightly rounded. Three colors are available: black, silver and gold.

The front side is completely closed, the bezels on the sides of the screen are thin, while the display itself occupies a significant part of it. In the upper part of the front side there is a front camera and an auditory speaker, at the back you can see a dual camera module with a flash and a fingerprint scanner shifted to the left.

On the top side there is a headset jack, on the bottom there is a microUSB port and a speaker. On the right are the power / lock button and the volume rocker, on the left - a common tray for SIM-cards and memory cards.

The novelty is equipped with a very good 5.7-inch display with a fashionable aspect ratio of 18:9, a resolution of 2160x1080 px and a contrast ratio of 774:1, which is quite good for a state employee. The display matrix supports 5 simultaneous touches, the number of colors is 16 million, the color gamut is 91%, the maximum brightness level is 533 cd / m, which allows you to read from the screen even on a sunny day. There are no special complaints about the quality of the picture, everything is in order with clarity, the colors look quite natural. The top of the screen is protected by durable glass with rounded edges, and blue light filtering is additionally implemented.

SOFTWARE

The Asus ZenFone 4 Max runs Android 7.0 Naugat with proprietary software. The software package includes a launcher, a defender, a file manager and a gallery, a power management utility, themes, a keyboard, a clock, a calculator, and other basic Android applications.

Among the features of the software shell, one can note the presence of a face unlock function, face recognition, several shooting modes for cameras, gluing photos into panoramas.

There are three cameras - one front 8 MP with f / 2.0 aperture and a field of view of 85 degrees and two rear 16 MP and 8 MP, respectively, combined into a single module.

Dual camera module 16 MP and 8 MP (wide angle)

The main camera with a short focal length is quite common, the second, which has a 120-degree field of view, can be used for landscape and group portrait shots.

The quality of the photo cannot be called ideal, a wide-angle camera, for example, shoots with a slight distortion, which gives the pictures some unnaturalness, as if you were looking through a peephole. Both rear cameras can shoot video at a resolution of 1920x1080 px, however, it turns out to be of high quality only in good lighting conditions.

Regular photo
Function (wide angle)

CONCLUSION

A cursory glance is enough to understand that the novelty presented here is not quite ordinary. Remaining essentially a fairly high-quality, but still budget model, Asus ZenFone 4 Max Plus M1 does not lag behind the trends and boldly adopts the most interesting features of top phablets. Thin frames, non-standard aspect ratio of the screen, high-quality display, dual camera - all this cannot but attract attention, not distinguish the device from the gray mass of mobile devices that filled the shelves of stores. Yes, the new product from Asus is not without flaws.

Someone will certainly be dissatisfied with the build quality and the lack of protection against moisture and dust, someone will definitely not like the camera, someone will be disappointed by the lack of the latest USB Type C and NFC interfaces. And if you dig deeper, you can find other flaws. For example, low performance, which does not have the best effect on the operation of individual hardware and software components, the same fingerprint scanner and HDR mode in the camera. Well, and the price, which is perhaps the biggest drawback of the novelty. After all, but if you wish, you can find more interesting models for 16,900 rubles. However, against the background of such a successful combination of newfangled features and excellent autonomy, all these disadvantages should not seem so significant.

> Dear friends! Please leave your feedback on the use of ASUS ZenFone smartphones in the comments below. For an objective user opinion. Thanks in advance!

Asus is far from always able to produce affordable and high-quality devices. However, the Zenfone Max Pro (M1) is the rarest and most pleasant exception to the rule. A high-quality smartphone with an excellent screen, pure Android straight from Google and a very tenacious battery is all our today's device. Of course, there were also narrow moments in it. About them and everything else in the review of Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1).

Equipment

Inside the box, we are waiting for a standard set of accessories:

• Micro USB cable
• wired headset
• charger for 5 volts and 2 amps (not fast charging)
• and the smartphone

There was no case in the box, so the protection of the device is entirely on the user. Although the smartphone is perfectly assembled, the materials are of high quality, not scratched - you can wear it without a case.

Design and display

Here's the first thing to know for those eyeing the Zenfone Max Pro (M1). Before us is a real shovel. It’s impossible to call a miniature smartphone by any means.

But there is a thin body. The device is pleasant to use and in the hand it still lies perfectly.

By itself, a thickness of 8.45 mm is far from a record, but as soon as you find out that a huge battery for 5 thousand “machs” is hidden inside, the attitude changes, you must agree.

Another plus of such impressive dimensions is a huge, 6-inch display, elongated in height. In addition, its corners are neatly rounded exactly the same as in . By the way, given the clean and nimble Android 8.1.0, the user experience is slightly reminiscent of the flagship from Google. It's like holding a Pixel 2 XL Lite or something like that.

The quality of the IPS-matrix itself cannot be faulted. Color reproduction, brightness, viewing angles - all at a very decent level. And the absence of an air gap makes the screen as if printed on glass. Due to this, it is extremely pleasant to control the smartphone.

Yes, there are fairly wide side frames, chin and forehead, but they are saved by the black color. The latter does not distract from what is happening on the display, and soon you generally stop noticing the bezel around the screen.

The appearance of the back side is quite controversial. The metal back was placed in a plastic edging. Yes, metal transmits the antenna signal worse under the case, but usually plastic inserts are placed on top and bottom. And here they go around the perimeter.

However, what confused me the most was the cameras. The vertical module, although it practically does not protrude above the body, is inscribed in the design in a very strange way. I'm sure this moment could have been beaten more elegantly, but the guys from Asus, apparently, did not bother. Well, or they considered it beautiful (I hope they just didn’t bother).

Here, on the back side, there is a fingerprint scanner. In general, it is not difficult to reach it, but there are complaints about the speed of its work. In terms of speed, the sensor is very average and unlocks the device in 1-2 seconds. By modern standards, this is quite slow.

All connectors (audio output, Micro USB and speaker) are on the bottom. As for me, this is the most convenient location for them. A protruding charging cable or from headphones will never get in the way. There is nothing on the upper end except for the microphone hole. The infrared port was not delivered, well, God bless him.

Specs Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) ZB602KL

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor (8 cores Kryo 260, 1.8 GHz, 14 nm)
• Adreno 509 graphics
• RAM 3 (1.6 GB free after reboot), 4 or 6 GB GB LPDDR4X
• storage 32 (18.64 GB available) or 64 GB eMMC 5.1
• Micro SD memory cards yes (independent slot)
• 6" 18:9 IPS display, 2160 x 1080 (402 ppi), 85% NTSC, 450 nits brightness, 1500 to 1 contrast ratio
• main camera 13 MP (f / 2.2, focal length 25 mm, phase detection autofocus, video recording 4K +) and 5 MP
• front camera 8 MP (f / 2.2, 26 mm, viewing angle 85 degrees, portrait mode)
• battery 5000 mAh
• OS Android 8.1.0 (no shell)
• sensors: accelerometer, light and distance sensor, fingerprint scanner, compass, gyroscope
• connectors: Micro USB (OTG works) and audio output
• dimensions: 159 x 76 x 8.45 mm
• weight 180 g
• colors: silver and dark blue (we only sell the first one)

Wireless Features:

• 4G, Wi-Fi (802.11 b / g / n 2.4 GHz), FM radio, Bluetooth 5.0 (!), NFC
• support for two SIM-cards (separate slots)
• Navigation: GPS, Glonass, Beidou

In general, Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) has many modifications. You can choose the ratio of memory from 32 to 64 GB, as well as RAM within 3 - 4 GB. In addition, in wildlife (not in Russia) there is another model that received 8 gigs of RAM and a slightly upgraded main camera of 16 MP (f / 2.0).

Asus, as always, sins with long names that are impossible to remember. And even if the smartphone is successful, it is simply impossible to associate it with this “Eisus-zenfon-max-pro-em-one-the-be-six hundred-two-ka-el”.

Maybe in Taiwan with such names everything is OK, but in Russia and throughout the world, all companies tend not to bother users with unnecessary information. But not Asus. Why? Do not know.

Scolded? It's time to praise, because there is something for it.

Firstly, here we have two slots for Nano SIM cards and a separate tray for Micro SD memory. As a result, the user does not feel disadvantaged either in memory or in connection. Thanks a lot for this!

But that's not all.

For example, the device is equipped with a Bluetooth 5.0 module. Unlike the same Xiaomi, which also install modern processors in their devices, Asus did not programmatically lower the Bluetooth version. The fifth generation gives us better power consumption and a wide data transmission channel. Right now this is not needed, but in the future, with the advent of supported accessories, it will definitely come in handy.

In addition, the device was equipped with an NFC module.

Therefore, we download Google Pay, link the card and drove to the store to pay for purchases in a contactless way. True, there is one caveat - NFC worked for me through time. In one store, everything can go without problems, and after 10 minutes in the next Google Pay, it may not start in any. This happened to me when I held up the queue at the checkout for 3 minutes and as a result, the punched goods had to be canceled, and I went to the car to get the card.

However, I tested an engineering sample, there should not be such a problem in commercial devices.

Performance

In general, the future owners of the Zenfone Max Pro (M1) were lucky. Due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, the device will be relevant for at least a couple more years. The predecessor in the face of QS 625 is still being installed on newly released devices and feels great. Although the “stone” came out already in 2016. In addition, the new 636th “snap” is one and a half times faster than it, which has a positive effect on performance.

The system works quickly and without brakes. It is very rare and far from always possible to notice random friezes when scrolling through, for example, the list of installed applications. Otherwise, there are no complaints.

You can even play games with Max Pro (M1). For example, in PUBG Mobile, you can drive without problems even at high graphics settings. There are practically no brakes and lags, it is comfortable to play.

cameras

But everything went so well, didn't it? Unfortunately, in terms of photography, our hero is far from the best offer on the market.

The main camera of Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) is below average here, it shoots accordingly.

Personally, I was tense here a few moments. The first is distortion in the corners. Take a closer look at any photo and see how everything floats in the left, upper or opposite corner.

The second unpleasant nuance is oversharp. Even without zooming, it is noticeable that most of the photos have a ton of extra noise. Algorithms that should remove all this disgrace do not work here.

And the third critical moment is the strange work of the exposition. Below are a couple of the most critical examples.

In the left photo, everything is dim, although it can be seen that the picture was taken on a sunny day. The second frame is so bright that it burns out the eyes. But there is no necessary, golden mean.

At night, everything is generally bad. It turns out to remove an unblurred frame from the fifth or sixth time. And even if you have iron hands, the final shot will turn out with poor detail and solid soap throughout the frame.

I really hope that the camera will still have time to finish it. In the meantime, those who wish can experiment with installing the Camera HDR + application from Google (not always and not all versions are installed).

By the way, here is a link to an archive with all examples without resizing for self-study on a computer.

Since we have two cameras here, the smartphone can blur the background. At least on paper, this is true, because in reality everything looks very artificial and ugly.

I definitely would not use portrait mode on the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, although undemanding users will be satisfied with this quality.

Unfortunately, the front camera also can not boast of anything outstanding. Frustrating abundant noise throughout the frame and inadequate white balance. But the blurring of the background, despite the fact that here we have only one module, pleased.

The front camera also has its own LED flash. However, it must be used with extreme caution.

Video recording

The device can record extended Ultra HD video. It's called 4K DCI and boasts a resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels. Let me remind you that standard 4K has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and the M1 can also shoot such video.

The picture quality is high, there is a slight friability with small artifacts, but in general it is not critical. On a smartphone, the videos look generally fiery.

There were only two things I didn't like. First, there is no optical stabilization, even during Full HD recording. Without it, hand shaking is visible and you need to train so that there is no tremor that is critical for video quality.

Secondly, there is no way to tap on the screen on the desired object during video shooting and refocus on it. Only the automation itself is responsible for the focus, so it will work as it pleases.

Soft

The device runs on pure Android 8.1.0 with an upcoming update to the next OS revisions. And of course, the bare system, in the form in which it was conceived by Google, is wonderful.

There is no third party software except for Facebook and Instagram installed out of the box.

From the nuances. Personally, I was somewhat upset by the hefty band under the on-screen buttons at the bottom. Yes, the display here is rather big, but the keys eat up a very decent screen area. I would like to use navigation gestures (not yet delivered to Android), well, or to provide the ability to somehow hide this panel.

However, after a week I got used to the navigation bar. Fortunately, a 6-inch screen is enough for everything you need.

Sound

The speaker here is blown away for the external sound alone. It is very loud, so you can only miss a call at a rock concert or Formula 1 races.

Speaker quality is average. As expected, there are no basses and a hint of them, so for more or less high-quality sound, it is worth lowering the volume by 70% - it will still be enough.

In headphones, the sound is very decent - at the level of all other, modern devices. The main thing is to choose high-quality “ears” and in no case use the headset from the kit. If it seemed to you that she was normal, then know that it seemed to you.

autonomy

Perhaps this is one of the most important advantages of a smartphone. It would not be superfluous to repeat that a 5,000 mAh battery was placed inside a fairly thin case of 8.5 mm. Considering the chipset that is not the most voracious on the market (QS 636 was created using a 14 nm process technology), autonomy is really pleasing.

Two full days during normal use is the absolute norm for our device! The battery here is just unkillable.

My smartphone easily worked for 2.5 days, so I even played it safe with the withdrawal. At the same time, the screen time was 7 hours!

Haven't seen results like this in a very long time. Except perhaps since the test last year Xiaomi Mi Max 2. However, it was a hefty phablet, and our hero is still a smartphone, albeit with a large screen.

Full charge time from a complete power supply (5V and 2A) is 3 hours. A bit much, of course, but this procedure does not need to be done often.

Outcome

The Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) has a whole bunch of goodies.

The first is pure Android in the form in which it was conceived by Google with all the ensuing goodies. For example, the owners of this device are entitled to a bonus - 100 GB of space on Google Drive. The second is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor - the heir to the still current QS 625 and a worthy successor to his ideas, that is, the balance of performance and power consumption. The third is a chic autonomy, which results in two days of full-fledged work on a single charge. And this, perhaps, is the minimum limit, because my device worked even longer. The fourth is an NFC module for contactless payments. Affordable smartphones with Google Pay are now very scarce, so our hero is the very pleasant exception.

The smartphone upsets exactly one thing - the cameras. Both the front and rear sensors are really weak (this does not apply to video shooting). Competitors from the same price league shoot better. True, they cannot boast of NFC and comparable autonomy, but our hero can. Such is the agony of choice. Yes, I know it's not easy.

You can buy Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) in the minimum configuration (3 + 32 GB) for 13,990 rubles. And this is the price tag for an official device, with a guarantee, support, and so on.

Can't believe it? Me too, so we conclude our review of Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) with a simple conclusion.

If the built-in camera is not important, but you need a high-quality, solid, smart device with an excellent battery and Google Pay support, then Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) is the only option.