Asus has launched Zenfone Max Pro M1 to compete against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. Tested the device for a couple of weeks now, amazed to see how budget smartphones getting better and batter. Wasting no time let’s start the review.
Stock Android
Contents
For the first time, Asus has come up with the stock android out of the box on any Zenfone smartphone. That’s the first thing I noticed when it got launched in India. The UI is clean and has minimal bloatware which wasn’t the case previous generation Zenfones. Also, the company has promised monthly security updates.
Battery
Zenfone Max Pro M1 comes with a humongous 5000 mAh battery. We tried our level best to drain the battery in a day but it lasted a full day with insane usage. It can easily sustain for 2 days on normal usage without any hurdles. If you are looking for a smartphone with long battery life there is no other way looking around, just go for this one.
Battery stats
- It lasted 30 hours and 43 minutes after a full charge
- Played Asphalt 8 for 50 mins which consumed only 5% of the battery life
- Youtube Video playback for 70 minutes with 9% battery consumption.
- 30 mins of camera usage cost only 10% of the battery
- 37 minutes of browsing consumed only 4%
Design
The company opted for 18:9 aspect ratio display with a screen size of 5.99-Inch. Thankfully there is no “Notch” at the top and there is a small chin at the bottom. I appreciate the design for its simplicity backed by the solid build quality. Although it has a plastic back still feels premium in hand. The phone feels slightly heavy thanks to the monstrous 5000 mAh battery under the hood.
Camera
There are mixed results when it comes to the camera department. The rear camera performs well in daylight conditions but struggles in low light. The bokeh shots are turned out to be pretty with good edge detection. The front camera where it lacks the most, selfies turned to be very soft and artificial.
Display
The smartphone features a 5.99-Inch 1080P display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is crisp and colors pop out pretty well. The adaptive brightness works well unlike previous gen Zenfones. The black coating layer on top of the display looks gorgeous which goes well with the front design.
Fingerprint Sensor
To my surprise, the fingerprint sensor didn’t respond well. It was slow and struggled to unlock many times. The good thing is you have an alternative option like FaceUnlock which rolled out in the latest update. Face recognition feature unlocks the phone way better than the traditional fingerprint sensor. In low light conditions face unlock may not work most of the times as it gets difficult to detect the face.
Great Pricing
Asus has nailed it with the pricing, the base variant starts with just Rs 10999. It is cheaper than the Redmi Note 5 Pro which starts at Rs 14999 which gives another reason to opt Zenfone Max Pro M1.
Prices
- 32 GB + 3 GB RAM – Rs 10999
- 64 GB + 4 GB RAM – Rs 12999
- 64 GB + 6 GB RAM – Rs 14999
Powerhouse
The phone houses the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor with Adreno 509 GPU. The chipset is one of the best going around and performance is excellent if you consider the price tag. The performance is excellent for the price it offers, didn’t face any issues till now. The gaming on this smartphone is smooth, we played Asphalt 8 for an hour without any lags.
Other things I like
- Triple Sim slot which allows two sim cards along with the memory card
- Speakers are loud enough with a decent audio output
- 99 Rs mobile protection plan from Flipkart
Certainly, it is one of the best phones under Rs 15000.
Note: Opinions are based on the base variant (32 GB model).
