Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 Review – Affordable Battery Monster

Asus launched its latest smartphone in the Asus Zenfone Max series. The smartphone has been named as the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. However, there is one significant difference in this smartphone from the previous ones. Yes, the name is weirdly long but that is not what we are talking about.

This year, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 comes with Stock Android instead of Asus’ skin. It means that the smartphone runs Vanilla version of Android which is, in fact, much faster than most of Android smartphones with Custom Skins out there. Also, the smartphone comes with a dual camera setup on the back. On the front is a bezel-less display which comes in an 18:9 aspect ratio. However, there is still a noticeable presence of front and bottom bezels on the smartphone.

Design and Build Quality

The aspect of any smartphone’s design and build quality is the first thing which is looked at when buying any smartphone. Gone are the days when we used to go to a store and get a physical feel of the device. Nowadays, we have to buy them from online e-commerce stores and same is the case with Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. The smartphone is sold exclusively via Flipkart. However, we are here to help you understand the build quality and design aspects of the device.

We already mentioned that the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 has smaller bezels on the top and bottom. On the back is a vertical dual camera setup similar to iPhone X. Below the camera is a rounded fingerprint sensor module which is situated in the middle. The device is built mostly from metal with some plastic parts used in the sim tray area. However, the device feels sturdy and is quite comfortable to hold in the hand for long hours weighing at 180 grams.

Display

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 has a 5.99-inch IPS LCD along with a pixel density of 403 PPI. Talking about the Display, there are very fewer color shifts seen on the device even at extreme viewing angles which is very good for a display panel. Although the DPI of the smartphone is lower, it is one of the better displays available in this price range. The colors are also accurate but there is some dullness to the smartphone’s display. However, the display gets adequately bright and can be easily viewable in direct sunlight as well

Camera

Coming to the Camera of the smartphone, it is one area where the device falls behind marginally compared to its competitors. However, the camera is not all that bad as you might think. Going into the details, the smartphone has a 13 MP camera with a f/2.2 aperture, supported by a 5 MP camera with f/2.4 aperture and an 8MP front camera. In daylight conditions and bright sunlight, there is no problem at all with the photos and videos.

However, the low-light photography is not at all good on this smartphone where there is quite visible noise and loss of sharpness. Also, there is portrait mode which blurs the background from the foreground and it works perfectly most of the time. In the video department, the device is capable of shooting 4K at 30fps but it is better to shoot at 1080p if you want to have better details in your video. There is also an option to mute audio while capturing videos which is very handy for cinematic shots.

Performance

In the performance department, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 runs without hiccups. The smartphone is a pleasure to use with multitasking or heavy gaming as well due to its processor. Talking about the processor, it has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor which is the latest one and is also present on the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The gaming performance of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is also quite good. There are some occasional frame drops and lags visible during our time with the device. But, those are with some heavy graphics intensive games and that is expected from a mid-range device. However, there will be no problems at all in using the device for gaming while playing light and moderate games.

Battery

One of the strongest aspects for the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is its battery performance. First of all, it is quite astonishing that Asus managed to fit in a 5000 mAh battery on the device. Now, it is quite clear that the battery life of the device would be superior to most devices out there. That is exactly the case here and Asus does not disappoint. In our usage, the battery life on the device held quite well and you can easily run the smartphone for 2 entire days without needing to charge your device.

However, there is one aspect where the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 falls behind and it is the lack of Fast Charging. Yes, there is no fast charging available on the device. Also, the device takes considerable time to fully charge as expected given the fact that it has a massive battery. However, the device can take anywhere from 2 hours to 3 hours for one full charge which is quite a lot of time. On a positive note, you can easily run the device for the next 2-3 days on moderate usage after a full charge.

Pro’s

• Awesome Battery Performance
• Vanilla Android (Less Pre-Installed Apps (Bloatware))
• Complete value for money

Con’s

• Only online availability

Verdict

Overall, our verdict of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is quite a positive one. We already mentioned that the Camera performance of the device is not great. However, this can be easily overshadowed if you are not a shutterbug as it still gives decent pictures. One thing that heavily goes in favor of this device is the presence of massive battery capacity on the device. For a heavy user like me, I could easily get the smartphone to run for two full days with constant switching between applications.

Therefore, the device is sure to last a similar amount of time or more for you as well. Also, the device is extremely affordable when compared to the Redmi Note 5 Pro as well. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 starts at Rs. 10,999 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB variant which is a great deal considering the fact that it has dual cameras and good build.