Asus is one of the leading company in the Indian smartphone market and the company is consistently launching the smartphone in both budget and premium models. In the row, the company has launched their new budget-friendly mobile with much-needed features for the price range. Asus is famous for their Zenfone Max Series, where the Max series are always priced at a budget segment with a massive battery life and features. In the Zenfone Max Series, now the company has launched their new smartphone which is Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1.
Asus has launched two variants of Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 in India, One with 3 GB RAM + 32 GB Storage and the other with 4 GB RAM + 64 GB Storage. The lower variant is priced at Rs.10999 and the higher variant is priced at Rs.12999. The phone is available exclusively on Flipkart.
I have been using the device for almost 2 weeks now and here is my opinion/review of the smartphone. Before we step into the review, please find the technical specifications of the smartphone.
Technical Specifications:
Dimensions: 159mm x 76mm x 8.46mm
Display: 15.22cm(5.99″) Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS display with Front 2.5D curved glass display
Display View: 18:9 Full view display
Processor:
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform with 14nm, 64-bit Kryo Octa-core Processor
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 509
Internal Storage: 32GB / 64GB
MicroSD Card Support: Yes, Supports up to 2TB
RAM: 3GB/4GB
Camera:
Main Rear Camera: Dual Camera, 13MP Primary Sensor, 1.12μm, f/2.2 aperture, Phase-detection autofocus, LED flash
Second Rear Camera: 5MP Dedicated Bokeh Camera, 1.12μm, f/2.4 aperture
Front Camera: 8MP sensor, 1.0μm, f/2.2 aperture, Softlight LED flash, Bokeh mode
Video Recording: 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) video recording for main rear camera, 1080p FHD video recording at 30 / 60 fps, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
Speaker: 5-magnet loudspeaker
Microphone: Dual microphones
Wireless Technology: WLAN 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi direct
Navigation: GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BDS
SIM Cards: Triple slots: Dual SIM & one microSD card
Sensors: Rear fingerprint sensor, Accelerator, Gyroscope, E-Compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
Battery: 5000 mAh capacity with fast charging
Operating System: Pure Android Oreo 8.1
Weight: 180 grams
Color: Grey, Black
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 Review:
I have written the review based on the interesting factors of the phone like Design, Operating System, Performance, Camera, etc.,
Design:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 comes in a all metal, slim and rounded corner design. The black and grey color adds a premium look to the device. We have 5.99 inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS display with Front 2.5D curved glass display. It has 18:9 Full view display. We have the Earpiece, sensors, Front facing camera, notification light above the screen.
On the left, we have the TRIPLE SLOTS, Two SIM card slots that support dual 4G LTE / VoLTE standby and a microSD slot.
On the right, we have volume buttons and power buttons.
Bottom we have speaker outlet, microphone, charging port and 3.5 mm audio jack port. On the top, we have the microphone. Backside, we have Dual Camera setup with LED flash located on the left top corner, the Fingerprint sensor in the centre of the backside just below the camera setup and Asus branding below the Fingerprint sensor.
We don’t have the physical navigation buttons, as the phone has the full view display. So, we have on-screen navigation buttons.
The Full View Display looks delighted and impressive to use. I like the screen size and display view on the phone. The display is massing while viewing videos and playing games.
Operating System:
Even though the Asus smartphones has many features, but the company has failed in their previous launches in spite of the price, their UI, etc., Asus has worked a lot to beat the competitors and finally launched the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 with the new UI. One of the biggest change in this new smartphone is the migration from ZenUI to Pure Android. ZenUI was not very much impressed the audience in terms of look, features, etc.,
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 runs on Pure Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box. The new Pure Android UI is very delightful to use. The UI doesn’t have any added customization. There are a few third-party apps out of the box like Facebook, Instagram, and ASUS Go2Pay digital wallet service, but these can be uninstalled from the phone. Also, we have the Google stock apps such as Google Photos, Chrome, Calendar, Contacts and more. Face Unlock feature was rolled out via the software update within few days of the launch.
Asus also promised to deliver regular software updates to the device. Let’s hope for the same.
Performance:
The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Processor. This device was launched in two different variants one if with 3GB RAM + 32GB Storage and the other one is with 4GB RAM + 64GB Storage. The device can also support microSD card up to 2TB. I have been using the 4GB+64GB Variant and out of the box you have around 53 GB out of 64 GB for use.
There is also 6GB RAM + 64GB Variant available on this phone, but it was not available right now, we can expect this in coming weeks. The overall performance of the smartphone is very decent for the price range. The phone is capable of all the popular games and manages RAM for better performance.
Native Jio Video Calls are supported in this device and both SIM Slots support 4G LTE & VoLTE network band. We have following sensors in the phone – Rear fingerprint sensor, Accelerator, Gyroscope, E-Compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
The battery is one of the major highlights of the device under this price range. This device holds a massive 5000 mAh battery which is lasting up to 2 days on regular usage. The device took around 2 to 2.5 hours for a complete charge.
Th sound quality is good on the device itself, but Asus is providing an addon called Max-Box along with the box which will boost the audio performance of the device. It will be useful while watching videos and hearing the music.
Camera:
The camera is decent enough in good conditions, and the portrait mode works well enough while taking pictures of people. The Rear Dual camera is capturing the photos in all modes is a decent manner for the price range. The phone is capable of recording 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) video via rear camera. Also, 1080p FHD video recording at 30 / 60 fps and 720p HD video recording at 30 fps is supported.
Asus offers various camera modes on the rear and front camera. Both Rear and the Front camera has HDR, 9 Filters, Beauty shot, 9 Scenes mode, Portrait mode, Bokeh modes.
Please do check out the samples photos taken from the phone with various modes and in various situations.
Asus has already rolled out the Face Unlock feature for the phone, it works well with the front camera with good lighting conditions. In low light, the Face unlock fails many times, but still, for the price range, the feature is an added advantage.
Verdict:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 carries a solid and good specification for the price range. The Battery and Camera performance is really decent enough for the price of the smartphone. Also, the UI plays a major role in this smartphone as it comes with a pure android experience instead of the regular ZenUI. So, if you are planning to buy a smartphone under Rs.14000. This Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is definitely a good smartphone to consider. The Phone is available exclusively on Flipkart and it is currently selling on Flash Sales.
