A couple of weeks ago, I had received a Mystery Box with a numeric lock that could only be opened on the 23rd of May. Those of you who follow me on my social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat – handle indianshringar) would have seen me open the box to find the new launch, the Asus Zenfone Max inside. After playing around with the phone all week, I have to say that this phone would be my choice for my tween son and my in-laws (especially mom-in-law). Wondering why? Read on to know….
Asus Zenfone Max Review
Asus Zenfone Max Specifications
The Asus Zenfone Max comes in three stricking colours – a sophsticated black, a rich tangerine and a playful sky blue – with a beautiful textured back that resembles embossed leather and a metal effect bezel that adds a rich dimension to the whole look of the phone. The Zenfone Max is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-core processor and upto 3GB RAM. For those who don’t buy too much into the tech jargon, it simply translates into upto 37.6 hours of 3G talk time / 32.5 hours of WiFi web browsing / 22.6 hours of video playback. And all of this is also possible because of it’s mammoth 5000mAh battery that also helps you use your Asus Zenfone Max as a power bank to charge other devices!
The Zenfone Max comes with a warranty card, a charger and an OTG cable that helps to use the phone as a power bank.
- Dimensions 7.5 x 156 x 10.55 ~ mm (WxDxH)
- Weight 202 g (with battery)
- CPU Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939
- GPU Adreno 306 / 405 GPU
- Memory 2GB/3GB LPDDR3 RAM
- Storage 16GB/32GB eMMC Flash
5GB free lifetime ASUS WebStorage
- Memory Slot MicroSD card (up to 64 GB)
- Display 5.5inches, HD 1280×720,IPS
72% screen to body ratio, ASUS TrueVivid Full Screen Lamination technology, 178˚ viewing angle
- Battery 5000 mAh Li-Polymer (non-removable)
- Standby Time 914 hours
- Talk Time 37.63 hours
- Camera Rear 13 Mega-Pixel, Front 5 Mega-Pixel
- User Interface ASUS ZenUI 2.0 with over 1000+ software enhancements
Now that the technical specifications have been listed out, here are 9 reasons why the Asus Zenfone Max is a great choice for tweens, teens and senior citizens.
Battery life and features
This is the MOST IMPRESSIVE feature of the Asus Zenfone Max. A mammoth 5000mAh lithum-polymer (non-removable) battery gives amazing life to the device and the built in power bank keeps the device topped up. I have always felt that cellphone makers need to improve battery life since the number of apps that we use just keeps increasing each day. It’s like making an aeroplane capable of flying a 1000 miles but fitting it with a fuel tank with a capacity of fuel for only 500miles. Thankfully Asus Zenfone Max has made this monster battery that literally enables us to #LiveUnplugged. This is especially useful for teens who have tremendous gaming and social network usage and elders who usually forget to charge the phone.
Another thing that I found very impressive was the different battery modes to help you enhance the battery life even further depending on the usage. Even with normal usage, the battery definitely lasts a minimum of 3 days which is just incredible!
Textured Back
Let’s admit it, teens can be quite clumsy and careless with their phones while senior citizens usually have trembling hands due to age and illness. Thanks to the leather-effect textured back of the Asus Zenfone Max, not only does the phone look very luxurious, it also feels sturdy and comfortable to hold. The textured back ensures that the phone doesn’t slip from your grip (that rhymes) easily and that is a definite advantage. Besides that, the metal bezel also adds allure to the phone.
Easy User Interface
The Asus Zenfone Max has a very easy to navigate user interface making it an easy to operate phone even for elders who aren’t used to smartphones. The Navigation and Home buttons are in silver making them clearly visible against the black background. The locked screen has shortcut icons to launch the camera, phone and web browser thus enabling quicker operations.
Easy one hand operations
The Asus Zenfone Max has both, the Power and the Volume buttons one one side of the phone making it very easy to operate the phone with one hand – not an easy task for a phone this size. It also has the option to activate the One Hand Operation” mode which shrinks the screen to make it easier to navigate and operate the phone with just one hand.
Large Screen and Screen Colour Mode Options
The Asus Zenfone Max has a 5.5 inch IPS display with SHARP LCD technology offering 178-degree viewing angles and 227 ppi pixel density. This makes viewing videos and playing games on the Zenfone Max a visual delight. Along with this, it also has screen colour modes ranging from Balance to Bluelight Filter to Vivid so that you can have the display that is most pleasing to your eyes. You could also customise the Screen Colour Modes according to your preference.
Great Camera
ZenFone Max’s 13MP Pixel rear camera has f/2.0-aperture lens that captures stunning, high-resolution photos with zero shutter lag. It also has laser auto-focus technology with near-instant focus as fast as 0.03 seconds under the dim light conditions. Super HDR mode uses ASUS Pixel Enhancing technology to combine multiple shots in quick succession. This expands the dynamic range by four times, and enhances brightness by up to 400%.
Auto mode aside, the Camera also has several different modes such as Beautification, Super Resolution, Selfie Panorama, and Smart Remove. Honestly, I haven’t seen so many options in any other smartphone….
FM Radio and Good Audio Quality
Unfortunately, not many smartphones come with an FM radio. My Sony Xperia Z2 did as does the Asus Zenfone Max. It is such a pleasure to have FM Radio and people of all ages enjoy listening to the radio, especially while commuting. Though this phone doesn’t come with a headset, you can use just about any headset to start the radio (it acts as the radio’s antenna). The audio quality is also pretty good, both on the radio as well as while playing MP3. The Equaliser option helps you adjust the Bass and Treble according to your preference.
MiniMovie
Though you can download MiniMovie on any Android phone from the Google Play Store, I love the fact that it comes pre-loaded on the Asus Zenfone Max. This is a wonderful slideshow and video maker and editor and has several themes and editing tools to help you make your masterpiece. Besides being so useful, it is also very easy to understand and operate.
Weather Updates with UV Warning
Ok, this is a feature that pretty much all smartphones offer – Weather Updates. However, what I liked the most about the app in the Zenfone Max is the true-to-life pictures it comes with as well as the UV Index.
Getting tweens to stay out of the sun in the afternoons (especially during their Summer holidays) is pretty much mission impossible. However, with this colourful graphic and notifications warning about high UV rays, it is easier to get them to wear sunscreen and/or stay out of direct sunlight. Not a very important feature, but certainly a very useful one for sure.
Price
For the amazing specifications and features that the Asus Zenfone Max offers, one would have thought that the price would be a in five digits but this incredible phone is priced incredibly too!
Rs.8,999 (2GB RAM/ 16GB Storage/ Snapdragon 410)
Rs.9,999 (2GB RAM/ 32GB Storage/ Snapdragon 615) (the one that is pictured here)
Rs.12,999 (3GB RAM/ 32GB Storage/ Snapdragon 615)
My mother-in-law already loves using this phone since she doesn’t have to keep worrying about charging it, the large screen is easy on her eyes and the textured back makes it easy to grip. What do you think of the Asus Zenfone Max? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
* Disclaimer – PR Sample. Honest opinion.
Great post…! 🙂
after reading your reviews i really wish to buy one for me 🙂 Nice review dear
i recently purchased this one its really nice
Yes it is Aiza. Great features at a great price 🙂