Review of the smartphone ASUS ZenFone Max

Once the trees were big, the grass is greener, the sky is bluer, and mobile phones have been working on one charge for a week. And today it is impossible to imagine a day without using a charger. For modern cell phones, the battery is never too big, and that is why so much popular are pocket power banks. Against this background, curiosity is a new smartphone from ASUS - ZenFone Max, equipped with a capacious battery and able to charge other devices.

Specifications

Platform : Android 5.0
Color : Black / White
Dimensions : 77.5 x 156 x 10.55 mm (W x D x T)
Weight : 202 gr.
Processor : Qualcomm MSM8916 quad-core, 1.2 GHz
Graphics chip : Adreno 306
RAM : 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM
Data Storage : 16 GB eMMC
Memory slot : micro SD capacity up to 64 GB
Wireless :
WLAN 802.11 b / g / n
Bluetooth V4.0 + EDR + A2DP
Supported network standards : WCDMA / TD-SCDMA / FDD-LTE
Mobile communication :
DC-HSPA +: reception - 5.76 / return - 42 Mbit / s.
LTE Cat4: Receive - 50 / upload - 150 Mbps.
3G: WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
4G: FDD-LTE: 2600/2100/1900/1800/900/850/800 MHz
Navigation : GPS, GLONASS, AGPS & BDS
Display : 5.5-inch IPS-display with a resolution of 1280x720 HD pixels
Corning Gorilla Glass 4,
Oleophobic coating
Support input mode "gloved",
450 nits brightness
Battery : built-in lithium-polymer, with a capacity of 5000 mA · h
Cameras :
Front: 5 megapixel
Main: 13 Mp
Sensors : Accelerometer / electronic compass / proximity sensor / light sensor / Hall sensor

Appearance

Included with the ZenFone Max comes charging and headphones with two pairs of extra ear cushions.



The smartphone is available in two versions: with a black or white case. The design of the front side is typical for the Zen line: clean lines, rounded corners and a decorative panel at the bottom with a distinctive texture pattern.







The case cover is made of high quality plastic with a texture "under the skin." The tactile sensations are really very similar, and thanks to this, the smartphone is well kept in the palm of your hand. There is no hidden fear of dropping it, although the ZenFone Max is quite large.

At the bottom is a large mesh external speaker, and on top - the main camera lens, two-color flash, laser autofocus and one of two microphones.





Unlike many modern smartphones that look quite monotonous, the exterior of the ZenFone Max not only refreshes the textured back panel, but also the decorative frame that encloses the case around the perimeter. It is made of plastic color "bronze metallic", and made slightly convex, so the ribs of the smartphone do not cut into the palm. In addition, thanks to the frame, the substantial width of the side faces is not so noticeable - 6 mm.





The power and volume buttons are located on the right side:



Above is the audio jack:



And below - micro USB and microphone:



Remove the cover. There are no internal antennas on it.



Above the camera are slots for two SIM-cards, and to the right of it is a slot for a memory card.



The speaker is closed with an additional mesh:

Display

In its latest smartphone models, ASUS is no longer chasing high resolutions, limited to HD and Full HD. In my opinion, this is the best option for diagonals 5-6 inches. On the one hand, the image is absolutely smooth, the pixels are already indistinguishable, and on the other hand, the processor and the graphics chip do not have to strain too much.

The ZenFone Max used an IPS matrix with a diagonal of 5.5 inches and a resolution of 1280x720 (267 ppi). The display is covered with an oleophobic coated Gorilla Glass 4. The maximum level of brightness is not very high, but not too low - the average level. Color quality is good, balanced.

Photography

One of the features of ZenFone Max is the presence of laser autofocus for the main camera. The front camera also has a 5 megapixel matrix, so selfies should be better-quality.

The main camera is equipped with a f / 2.0 aperture lens, a 13 megapixel matrix and a two-color flash that optimizes color temperature when taking portraits. The same laser focusing allowed to reduce the reaction time. Traditionally for ASUS mobile gadgets, there are a lot of various shooting modes available, including fully manual, in which you can set:

• white balance
• exposure correction,
• ISO,
• excerpt
• focusing distance.

The histogram allows you to more accurately assess the overall illumination and the difference in brightness.

Software

On ZenFone Max installed Android 5.0 with a proprietary graphic shell ZenUI. A set of branded applications standard:

• ZenFlash (application for working with branded external flashes)
• ASUS Splendid (color scheme setting)
• Snapview
• PhotoCollage (photo editing)
• PhotoEffects (photo editing)
• MiniMovie (create slideshow)
• ZenCircle (social entertainment application)

You can read more about ZenUI and proprietary applications in a separate large review .

Performance and work experience

The quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 , which operates at a frequency of up to 1.2 GHz and is equipped with the Adreno 306 graphics chip, is responsible for the operation of the smartphone. In terms of its performance, it refers rather to the middle segment.

The amount of RAM - 2 GB, this is more than enough for mobile tasks. Of the 16 GB of internal memory available to the user about 11. If desired, you can add another 64 GB as a microSD memory card.


Despite not the latest processor, Max’s performance is more than enough for any tasks: games, Full HD video, surfing on “heavy” sites. Editing photos also happens quite quickly.

The main intrigue is related to the duration of work. As I mentioned at the beginning, the smartphone is equipped with a powerful 5000 mAh battery. In combination with not the most voracious iron, this made ZenFone Max a long-lived: with the load testing in PCMark, the device lasted more than 19 hours.



And in the usual mode of use - periodic surfing, music, watching videos on YouTube - I could not put him even two days. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer claims that in the economy mode of consumption, a smartphone can lie for a month without recharging. The capacity of its battery is twice as low as that of the external ASUS ZenPower battery. Therefore, it is quite logical that Max got the opportunity to act as a power source for other gadgets himself: it’s enough to connect them via a USB cable.

Conclusion

This smartphone can be recommended to those, then often remains without communication due to too quickly - and at the wrong time - a shrunken smartphone. And at hand, unfortunately, there is no charging, or you're on the road. If you travel / fly a lot, you will certainly appreciate the ability of ZenFone Max to hold a charge. At the same time, it will be possible to help a friend or your other half by recharging their smartphones, which sat down much earlier than you. Add to this good performance, a large display, sturdy protective glass and advanced photo equipment. It remains to supplement the smartphone with a sim card with a good mobile Internet, and you can safely move in space-time, remembering the socket much less often.

Recommended retail price: 17 490 rub.

UPD. At the moment, only a smartphone is on sale, without headphones and an additional cable. Recommended retail - 15,990 rubles.