This season, ASUS only surprises us. Moreover, the reasons are exclusively positive: either a gaming smartphone, or a perfectly balanced ZenFone 5, and now ASUS Zenfone MAX Pro (M1) has come to visit us. It’s a very interesting device; I’ll explain why I decided so now.

First, let's look at the phone as it came out. And here is an elongated gray body. The back is made of metal, pleasant cool aluminum is immediately felt when the phone lies for several minutes in a room where the air conditioner blows well, dispersing the summer heat. There is also some plastic; a frame matching the body surrounds a metal part. The smartphone is assembled perfectly, soundly, you can’t find fault with it. By the way, in addition to the classic silver, there is also a blue option. Very nice: strict and not black, I like this approach.

But the most interesting is yet to come. The fact is that ASUS Zenfone MAX Pro (M1) has a high-capacity battery. Take a breath - there's a whopping 5,000 mAh here. And with such a record-breaking battery, the case thickness is only 8.5 mm. A very modest indicator for a phone with such, dare I say it, cosmically powerful power source. We'll talk about operating time later, but for now let's return to the characteristics.

Colorful big screen

The screen is interesting: elongated, 18:9 aspect ratio, as is possible now. The diagonal is impressive - almost 6 inches with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels. The narrow body is comfortable to hold in your hand; I won’t say anything about using the phone with one palm; in the current realities, it’s time to give up old habits. But how nice it is to watch videos - the phone is designed for entertainment and watching movies, photos, games, everything that a young man or girl with an active social life needs.

There is quite a lot of free space under the screen; control buttons or a fingerprint scanner could be added here, but the designers decided otherwise. The scanner was sent to the back, and the keys for navigating the menu were written directly into the interface.

What can I say about the screen? Big, bright, it's TFT-IPS with protective glass and high-quality oleophobic coating and beautifully curved 2.5D edges. Pleasant color rendition, decent brightness margin - the phone performed well as a navigator in the car.

Powerful! And it's not a joke

The stuffing is absolutely amazing. There is a new powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor: 8 cores, 1.8 GHz frequency, Adreno 509 graphics. You can choose a version with 3/32 or 4/64 GB of memory, and also install microSD if necessary.

The smartphone has a separate slot for a card, which is very practical; you don’t have to sacrifice an additional SIM card if necessary. ASUS even boasts that you can put a 2 TB card here, if you have such a card, write in the comments. Maybe the owners of football clubs really read our site.

If you are not particularly interested in hardware and do not follow the development of mobile processors, then let me explain: this is an excellent chip, the best offer in its class. Powerful graphics, excellent performance and reasonable power consumption. As a result, we get stable system operation, a smooth menu and an impressive performance reserve for the future: you can play whatever you want, enjoying a profitable investment.

There is also an NFC chip for contactless payments, an excellent addition specifically at the request of Russian customers. The data on the phone is protected by both the fingerprint scanner located on the back and the front camera. The phone remembers its owner, scans the face and provides access to data.

ASUS runs Android Oreo 8.1, and they abandoned their own shell. You asked for “pure” Android - you got it! What are the advantages? Nothing extra, you get the system exactly as Google intended it to be. And if you miss branded applications, you can always download them from Google Play.

Loud noise

The speaker is located at the bottom end, it is the only one and is very loud. The guys at the studio asked not to turn on the music at full volume, but I need to test the new product from the heart. So they appreciated all the power and strength. There is even a separate amplifier - the sound in the headphones is good, the volume headroom is decent, and you can always connect headphones via wire. The classic 3.5mm port is in place.

The dual camera lens protrudes slightly above the surface, and a small flash lurks underneath it. Well, let's take a photo! For selfies, we have an 8 megapixel camera, and the main one consists of two modules: 13 megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture and 5 megapixels with an f/2.4 aperture.

Examples of photos can be seen below. The short verdict is this: the camera is good for the money. The phone takes decent pictures during the day, but in the evenings it becomes more difficult. Well, the additional module offers entertainment in the form of shooting portraits with the “bokeh” effect.

Thin smartphone with large battery

Now let's talk about the battery. ASUS managed to cram a battery of impressive capacity into a fairly thin case - as much as 5,000 mAh. We get a rare combination in these days, which produces excellent results. An hour of playing takes about 10-12%, and an hour of watching a video takes about 5%. Yes, there is no mistake here, I didn’t believe it myself at first, I measured it several times. The smartphone works for an indecently long time, allowing you to watch movies without stopping for almost a day. Or play for 7-8 hours. Yes, this is just a dream!

With everyday use, the results differ, it all depends on the load. If you use it actively, the charge will last for two days. If the load is not very heavy, then you can actually squeeze out 5-6 days of work from one charge. Some unrealistic numbers, pure delight.

It takes a little less than three hours to fully charge from the included power supply. Yes, a large battery takes longer to charge than a regular one, but it's definitely worth it. The smartphone is charged via microUSB; unfortunately, USB Type-C is still a luxury for smartphones of this level.

What do you remember?

Let me repeat all the advantages of the phone once again:

• Great screen
• Works for a very long time
• Dual SIM cards
• Separate microSD tray
• Very powerful filling for the middle class
• Fresh Android 8.1

Delicious price

ASUS Zenfone MAX Pro (M1) costs 13,990 rubles - this is the price of the version with 3/32 GB of memory. A more sophisticated version with 4/64 GB of memory will cost 15,990 rubles, which is also an excellent offer.

This smartphone, based on a productive and energy-efficient processor, has a high-capacity battery, a “high” screen with a good brightness margin, a dual rear photo module, an NFC interface, a separate slot for a microSD card, and a high-quality speaker. At the same time, all the filling, seasoned with “pure” Android 8.1, is packaged in a relatively thin metal case and is offered at a very attractive price. In this review of Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) we will find out all its advantages and disadvantages.

Asus has recently been actively expanding its lineup with a variety of mid-price models. So, (our review) the first of the “Zenphones” was equipped with a screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The tradition of the family of devices with high-capacity batteries was continued by the budget ZenFone Max Pro, which also follows some trends in modern smartphone manufacturing. One could even say that this device reflects the requests of Russian users for devices of this class with a high quality/price ratio.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) review: technical specifications

• Model: ZB602KL
• OS: Android 8.1.0 (Oreo), without interface add-ons
• Processor: 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (SDM636), 8 Kryo 260 cores, up to 1.8 GHz, DSP Hexagon 680
• Graphics coprocessor: Adreno 509 (FHD+, 18:9)
• RAM: 3 GB/4 GB, LPDDR4Х
• Storage: 32 GB/64 GB, eMCP 5.1, separate microSD/HC/XC memory card slot (up to 2 TB)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, Bluetooth 5.0, USB 2.0 (OTG), NFC, CTIA 3.5 mm headphone
• Screen: capacitive, touchscreen, IPS, 6 inches, resolution 2160x1080 pixels (18:9), pixel density per inch 404 ppi, contrast 1500:1, color gamut 85% NTSC, brightness 450 cd/sq. m, 2.5D protective glass, oleophobic coating
• Rear photo module: main camera - 13 MP, EGF 25 mm, phase detection autofocus, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, video 4K UHD (3840x2160)@30fps, 4K DCI (4096x2160)@24fps, auxiliary camera - 5 MP
• Front camera: 8 MP, EGF 26 mm, viewing angle 85 degrees, fixed focus, f/2.2 aperture, flash
• Network: 2G, 3G (HSPA+, up to 42 Mbit/s), 4G LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150/50 Mbit/s); LTE-FDD: b3, b7, b20…
• SIM card configuration: nanoSIM (4FF format) + nanoSIM (4FF format)
• SIM card operating mode: Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS)
• Navigation: GPS/GLONASS/BDS, A-GPS
• Radio: FM tuner
• Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, digital compass, light and proximity sensors, fingerprint scanner (0.3 s, 5 prints)
• Battery: non-removable, 5,000 mAh, adapter (5 V/2 A), reverse charge
• Colors: silver, black
• Dimensions: 159x76x8.45 mm
• Weight: 180 g

Review of Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1): design, ergonomics

At first glance, ZenFone Max Pro does not differ too much from other budget mid-range smartphones, unless, of course, you take into account its visual highlight -

in a case with a thickness of 8.45 mm it was possible to place a battery with a capacity of 5,000 mAh.

But at the same time, the weight of the new product is not very large - 180 g. For example, a 5.99-inch "classmate" (our review), but with a 4,000 mAh battery, weighs about the same - 181 g.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) review: sound

The powerful and fairly clear sound of the multimedia speaker is due to a dynamic driver with 5 magnets and a dedicated NXP Smart AMP amplifier. There is no proprietary audio player in the smartphone, so at first you have to rely on “Play Music”. The built-in FM tuner, which requires a wired headset to operate as a shortwave antenna, can save online broadcasts to 3GPP type container files (ACC LC, 44.1 kHz, 2 channels). The Voice Recorder offers the option of recording conversations in normal, low or high quality, packaged in 3GPP, AMR and WAV, respectively.

Review of Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1): hardware, performance

The basis for the new smartphone was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 mobile platform, which is produced using the 14-nm FinFET process and contains eight Kryo 260 processor cores operating at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz. The Adreno 509 graphics accelerator supports Qualcomm TruPallete and EcoPix technologies designed to improve image quality and speed up 3D graphics rendering. In addition, this chip natively supports “tall” displays with an 18:9 aspect ratio and FullHD+ resolution, Bluetooth 5.0 and USB 3.1 interfaces, as well as Quick Charge 4 fast charging. In turn, the built-in X12 LTE modem provides data reception at speeds up to 600 Mbps. Let us remind you that the RAM capacity of ZenFone Max Pro is 3 GB or 4 GB.

Testing Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) . Results in the AnTuTu benchmark

Testing Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1). Results in the GeekBench benchmark

Testing Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) . Results in the 3DMark benchmark

The power and energy efficiency of the mobile platform allow Asus to position its new product, including as a gaming device, luring buyers with the slogan “Live while playing!” Previously, it was reported about the company’s cooperation with the developers of World of Tanks Blitz in promoting ZenFone Max Pro.

Depending on the amount of RAM, the size of the internal memory also varies: for 3 GB - 32 GB, and for 4 GB - 64 GB. The size of this storage (eMCP 5.1) can be increased by installing, we emphasize, a microSD/HC/XC memory card up to 2 TB in the dedicated (!) slot. It is clear that the maximum figure is more for marketing purposes, since additional “storage” even for 1 TB will cost much more than the smartphone itself. If you have a USB-OTG adapter, you can easily connect a regular flash drive to your smartphone. In addition, the user of the new ZenFone Max Pro can count on additional 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage space for one year.

Two SIM cards work with one radio module in DSDS (Dual SIM Dual Standby) mode. Among the 4G frequency bands, as usual, the main interest is the “Russian trio” - LTE-FDD: Band 3 (1,800 MHz), Band 7 (2,600 MHz) and Band 20 (800 MHz). Operation in 4G networks is defined for the LTE Cat.4 mobile terminal category, where the maximum reception speed reaches 150 Mbit/s. The set of wireless communications also includes a single-band Wi-Fi module 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) and a Bluetooth interface, the implemented version 5.0 of which is distinguished by an almost Olympic motto - “further, faster, more powerful.”

A nice addition is the presence of an NFC interface in the new product, which allows you not only to connect devices with each other, but also to read the balance of the Troika transport card, as well as use the contactless payment system Google Pay.

GPS, GLONASS and BDS satellite systems are used to determine location and navigation. Coordination over cellular and Wi-Fi networks (A-GPS) is also available.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) review: battery life

One of the key features of ZenFone Max Pro is the increased capacity of the non-removable battery, which reaches 5,000 mAh. Thus, the new product, for example, can be easily used to reverse the charge on other gadgets. The smartphone comes with a 10-watt adapter (output voltage and current 5 V and 2 A, respectively). These parameters correspond to the first generation of fast charging (Quick Charge 1.0, implemented in the Snapdragon 600). It turns out that you can fill a discharged battery “to the brim” in 2 hours 42 minutes (manufacturer’s data), which approximately corresponds to the real state of affairs. Let us remember that, purely theoretically, such a procedure would take 2.5 hours. That is, the charging process is almost optimal.

The AnTuTu Tester application rated the energy efficiency of the new smartphone at 14,355 points. The manufacturer promises that with a 100% full battery, you can be in standby mode on 4G networks for up to 35 days. In addition, the accumulated charge is enough for 42 hours of calls (3G), or 20 hours of video on YouTube, or 199 hours of music, or 28 hours of web surfing, or 12 hours of mobile games. At the same time, playing a set of videos in MP4 format (hardware decoding) and Full HD quality at full brightness every hour reduced the battery charge by approximately 8.6% (test for 7 hours).

In the Battery settings section, you can enable the power saving option in standby mode. In addition, it is easy to disable or activate automatic switching to power saving mode at the appropriate battery charge level (5% or 15%). Here, for greater savings, it is proposed to minimize the time after which the smartphone goes into sleep mode.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) review: software features

The ZenFone Max Pro smartphone runs on a “pure” version of the Android 8.1.0 (Oreo) operating system without any shells. According to Asus experts, “the new version of the OS has a convenient user interface that helps increase productivity and generally simplifies interaction with the smartphone.” Well, it’s hard to disagree with this statement.

Let us remind you that swiping from the top edge of the screen opens the notifications and quick settings panel. To go to the application menu, you will need to swipe from the bottom edge of the screen. But tapping and holding on the application icon leads to the appearance of an access menu (if supported) to frequently used functions.

The functionality of “pure” Android is still slightly expanded due to support for proprietary ZenMotion gestures, which allow you to turn the screen on and off with taps, and launch applications by tracing letters on a dark screen.

To split the screen between two programs in Android 8.1.0, you should tap and hold on the “Recent Apps” icon. But you can “tweak” the interface a little using the System UI Tuner function (access to it by tapping and holding the settings “gear wheel” icon on the notification shade).

To quickly unlock your smartphone, you are asked to register your face and/or up to five fingerprints. At the same time, fingerprint patterns are read from any angle in about 0.3 seconds, and when using facial recognition, you don’t have to take off your gloves (and glasses too). It is worth recalling once again that biometric protection, although convenient, is less reliable than, for example, a traditional password, PIN code or pattern.

Review of Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1): purchase, conclusions

Modern hardware makes ZenFone Max Pro stand out in the mid-price segment. First of all, the emphasis is on the high-capacity battery, which the developers managed to fit into a relatively thin aluminum case. Other obvious advantages include a productive and energy-efficient processor, a high-quality screen with FHD+ resolution, a separate slot for a microSD memory card, an NFC interface and a high-quality multimedia speaker. Many will also be pleased that ZenFone Max Pro abandoned the proprietary shell, being completely satisfied with “pure” Android.

Against this background, taking into account even the support for shooting in 4K quality, the parameters of the available cameras do not seem too impressive. In addition, the high-frequency range (5 GHz) is absent in the Wi-Fi module, and to fill such a capacious battery, I would like to have quicker fast charging.

However, the price of the new product cannot but rejoice. So, at the start of sales for ZenFone Max Pro in versions 3 GB/32 GB and 4 GB/64 GB they asked for 13,990 and 15,990 rubles, respectively. However, here it turns out to be a serious contender. The fact is that this smartphone in an aluminum case, powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, with 3 GB/32 GB or 4 GB/64 GB memory, was priced at exactly the same money. The parameters of its photo modules with high-aperture optics are more advanced, in addition, it has an infrared port and a high-frequency range (5 GHz) in the Wi-Fi module. At the same time, the battery capacity is smaller (4,000 mAh), there is no NFC, and the Google Android interface is replaced by the MIUI shell, which is characterized by a specific Chinese approach to design.

Review results Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1)

Pros:

• Efficient and energy efficient processor
• "High" screen with FHD+ resolution
• Dedicated microSD card slot
• High capacity battery
• Availability of NFC interface
• High quality speaker
• "Pure" Android
• Attractive price

Minuses:

• Unimpressive cameras
• "Old" fast charging standard
• No high-band Wi-Fi (5 GHz)

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 even before it went on sale attracted the attention of a huge number of people and immediately received the nickname “Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 killer.” And indeed, if you look at its specifications and its price, you will understand that this is indeed a direct and strong competitor to Redmi Note 5, and in some ways the hero of our conversation looks even more attractive.

I bought my copy at the official Asus store, where the first buyers were also given the opportunity to use a promotional code with a decent discount of up to 1,500 rubles. plus a bonus was a branded headset, as well as a certificate for a free display replacement. I took the younger version 3/32 GB in silver color. The official price for the 3/32 GB version is 14,000 rubles, for the older 4/64 GB they ask for 16,000 rubles. Naturally, we are talking about a PCT smartphone with an official guarantee.

EQUIPMENT

- charger unit for 5V and 2A,
- microUSB cable,
- key for the tray
— brief instructions
- warranty card.

KEY FEATURES ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1

— display: 6 inches, FULLHD+, IPS, 18:9 ratio, multi-touch 10 touches
— processor: Snapdragon 636, 8 cores, 1.8 GHz, 14 nm, Adreno 509 graphics
- memory: 3/32 GB or 4/64 GB (it seems like there will be a 6/64 GB version, but not for our market)
— main camera: dual 13 + 5 MP, f/2.0
— front camera: 8 MP, f/2.2
— NFC, bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, WiFi 2.4 GHz, FM tuner
— OS: Android 8.1 Oreo
— 4G LTE: band 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
— battery: 5000 mAh.

SIZES AND DESIGN

Zenfone Max Pro M1 is an option for those who need a large display. Dimensions: 159 x 75 x 8.2 mm, weight 180 g. This is how it looks compared to other devices with widescreen screens of different diagonals:

The design is not brilliant, but it is not depressing either. Zenfone MAX Pro M1 looks adequate for its price. At the back we have a metal plate, which is framed in a plastic frame, painted in the color of the body. Here on the back we see a fingerprint scanner, which works, let’s say, well - I’ve seen faster scanners, but I can’t call it too slow either. There is also an alternative to the scanner, such as face unlock. In the upper left corner there are two camera lenses and a backlight LED. At the same time, the camera practically does not protrude beyond the body and this is good in terms of practicality.

All connectors are located on the bottom end - micro USB, 3.5 mm jack, microphone and speaker. On top there is only an auxiliary microphone for noise reduction.

Power and volume buttons on the right.

A pleasant surprise awaits us on the left side in the form of a full-fledged tray for 3 cards: two nanoSIM and a memory card at the same time and no compromises.

The front panel in any color version is black. The front camera has its own backlight, and next to it there is a color LED notification indicator. Smartphone control is assigned to on-screen buttons and there is no alternative. Yes, there are gestures in the settings, but these are not gesture controls like Xiaomi. Here, gestures mean activating the screen with a double tap, quickly launching applications, etc.

DISPLAY

The screen is good. It is contrasting and juicy. You can adjust the color temperature, but the default colors are already correct. There is a good reserve of brightness, but the minimum brightness threshold is not very high, but still too high. I love that the brightness can be reduced to almost zero - this is an important point when reading in the dark. And I’ll add that 2.5D glass has an oleophobic layer.

HARDWARE

In terms of hardware, we get middle-class hardware, but in this price segment these pieces of hardware are simply TOP. The RAM is used by LPDDR 4 and in the younger version of 3 GB, usually half is free for use. Of the 32 GB of user memory, a little over 21 GB is at your disposal, the rest is used by the system.

In general, in terms of processor and memory, Zenfone Max Pro M1 is a complete analogue of Redmi Note 5 and its performance reserve will be enough for you for everything, including the most advanced mobile games.

OTHER FUNCTIONALITY

There are no questions regarding the operation of GPS, GLONASS, communications, or the set of built-in sensors for this smartphone. Everything is working. FM radio available. There will be no problems with payment via NFC. But you can also find fault if you wish. For example, there is no Hall sensor on board, which could be useful when using special cases, and not everyone will like the lack of a 5 GHz band in the WiFi module. Some users left complaints about the stability of the WiFi connection, and as far as I know, the recent update should have fixed this problem. I didn’t experience any problems with WiFi on my device.

The manufacturer separately boasted of a 5-magnetic multimedia speaker. But in reality the speaker is just good. It is loud, yes, it reproduces music pleasantly, but this sound cannot be called luxurious.

Through headphones the sound was absolutely satisfactory. I liked the sound both in quality and in volume. Sounds really cool for a smartphone.

SOFTWARE PART

Fans of pure Android will definitely appreciate this device. And in general, this is not a typical solution for Asus. Nevertheless, we get the latest Android Oreo without any add-ons on top of it. The system works quickly, one system update has already arrived and was successfully installed by me.

CAMERAS

We still have a thorough camera test ahead of us. However, I already had a first impression of how the cameras work. On the street, in general, everything is not bad, but in my opinion the saturation is too high. The greenery turns out to be too poisonous and it looks a little unnatural, although someone might, on the contrary, like such a riot of colors.

When shooting indoors, where the lighting is not ideal, the photos remain watchable; there is noise, of course, but in moderation. The main thing I didn’t like was the frequent lubrication. That is, when shooting indoors, it is better to take several frames in order to be able to choose the most successful one. Portrait mode with background blur does its job well.

The 8-megapixel front camera has a wide capture angle, and overall it produces good quality. It may not be a full-fledged selfie phone, but the selfies turn out normal.

A positive aspect is support for shooting video in 4K resolution. The negative is the complete lack of stabilization, not even electronic. Sometimes the video crumbles into pixels, especially when moving, but this may be fixed in the future, after all, the smartphone is just out of the oven. But I liked how the sound was recorded on the video - you can’t find fault with a smartphone here.

AUTONOMY

In terms of battery life, this will be one of the best smartphones on the market. You understand - 5000 mAh + not a voracious 636th “dragon” and this device will easily survive without an outlet for a full day, or maybe a couple of days. I have not yet conducted full tests of autonomy, but they will definitely be in the future comparison of Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 with its main opponent Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. And there we will see who is who. There will also be tests of autonomy, we will compare the performance of cameras under different conditions, we will listen to how they sound against each other, etc.

The times when a budget smartphone was chosen solely for its affordable price are a thing of the past, and now even this segment is subject to inflated demands. Competition is the main factor pushing progress forward, so now every manufacturer is trying to offer the best functionality possible at an affordable price, otherwise the model is guaranteed to fail in the market. The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 smartphone stands out from its competitors with its bright design, almost pure Android shell, as well as good performance and cameras for its price. Let's conduct an honest text review of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 and see what the new smartphone from the Chinese brand is capable of.

By tradition, we start our review of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 zb602kl with the packaging - the first thing you see before purchasing. This seems to be the most insignificant detail, but it is precisely this that affects the first impression of the device. Therefore, proper presentation also affects success. The box has a minimalist style and is decorated with a silver-blue removable cover. The delivery package does not indicate anything special:

• Charger;
• MicroUSB cable;
• Paper clip and documentation.

Alas, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 did not include a case, which many Chinese manufacturers have already spoiled us with.

Design

If you don’t look closely, you won’t find anything new in the design of the smartphone - a standard six-inch budget phone with an 18:9 screen. But once you look at the details, the situation changes. The display is surrounded by thin bezels, which has become the norm even for mid-budget devices and is not surprising, because 2018 has become a trend towards bezel-less. But not every brand uses rounded corners, although the solution looks very stylish and makes the design much more neat.

There is a mesh at the top of the screen, under which the earpiece is hidden. On either side of it are installed basic sensors, an ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 selfie camera and an LED event indicator, thanks to which you won’t miss anything important.

The back is made of metal, but small plastic inserts are left in its upper and lower parts to improve the quality of signal reception. In the upper left corner there is a horizontal block with a dual main camera and an LED flash for it. In the center we see a round area in which a fingerprint scanner was built in. Just below is the corporate logo.

A review of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 smartphone introduces the fact that its left side is allocated for a tray in which you can simultaneously install a pair of nanoSIM and one MicroSD to expand the memory.

On the right is the display power control button and the volume rocker. The first one was endowed with a proprietary corrugation, which not only looks beautiful, but also makes it easy to feel in the dark and not be confused with the volume button.

There is only a microphone hole on top, which is necessary for effective noise reduction during calls and video recording.

All the necessary connectors are located at the bottom - a microUSB port (one of the main drawbacks of the hero of our review), a 3.5 mm jack for a wired headset, an external speaker and a microphone.

The design of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 with 4GB of RAM turned out to be quite original and very attractive. The device looks stylish and expensive.

With ergonomics, everything is as expected - the body is quite comfortable and fits well in the hand, but using it with one hand is not so easy. It's all because of the large, albeit full-format, display. If usually in such a situation the one-handed control mode saves you, then in pure Android it is not there. So you can only reach the notification curtain with the fingers of one hand by grabbing the body. Using metal has its advantages - the body is not only more durable, but also does not slip at all.

The build quality, as always, is at the highest level - no creaks, play or tendency to bend could be detected. The keys sit firmly in place and act with a distinct response. The fingerprint scanner accurately recognizes touches, but is much slower than the flagship level. If you have only used budget phones, then you will be quite happy with it, but when switching from a flagship, the difference will be very noticeable. A review of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 32gb showed that, as an alternative, you can rely on face unlock, implemented through the front camera. But keep in mind that the function will work correctly only in good lighting. In the dark it becomes completely useless.

The review of ASUS ZenFone 5 Max Pro M1 64gb moves on to its screen, made using IPS technology. This is an excellent matrix with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels and a diagonal of 6 inches, which gives 402 pixels per inch. With this level of detail, it is impossible to see individual pixels.

The display boasts maximum viewing angles. The only thing is that with a strong tilt, the colors become less bright, and the palette shifts slightly towards red tones. As befits a high-quality IPS matrix, color reproduction looks natural, although if desired, you can change it to suit yourself in the phone settings. We also added the popular night mode, which reduces eye strain. You can adjust its intensity and set it to turn on on a schedule.

An honest text review of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 2018 shows that the minimum brightness level is simply ideal - it will be comfortable to read in a dark room, but I would like to increase the maximum. 450 nits is not enough in bright sun, which is why you have to hide in the shadows or cover the screen with your hand. You can rely on the auto brightness adjustment to work very smoothly and as it should. Multi-touch supports up to 10 touches.

The advantages of the screen include the presence of a high-quality oleophobic coating and the absence of an air gap, due to which the image looks great, and fingerprints are removed with one wave of the hand.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 performance and specifications

Technical characteristics of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 are based on a new mid-segment processor - Snapdragon 636 with 8 cores up to 1.8 GHz. It works in tandem with the Adreno 509 video chip. The RAM can be 3 or 4 GB. As for me, it’s better to overpay a little, but get the top version, which copes with multitasking perfectly and the interface just flies.

Built-in memory 32 or 64 GB according to the eMCP 5.1 standard, which guarantees high speed reading and data transfer. I reviewed the ASUS Zenfon Max Pro M1 on the top modification, which has about 50 GB available after switching on. If desired, you can install a MicroSD card in the additional slot and get even more space for storing information.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 test in Antutu

I can’t say that the sound through an external speaker is great, but for the price it plays great. Noises are not disturbing even at maximum volume.

In our review of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 zb601kl, we will not dwell in detail on the interface; it is much better to evaluate it in the screenshots below, which will allow you to understand whether you like it or not. The shell uses Android 8.1 with Pixel Launcher, which is one of the advantages of the phone. The interface works quickly and is easy to use. It has wide functionality, but at the same time is not overloaded with unnecessary applications.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 battery life

The autonomy of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 64gb zb602kl is ensured by a built-in 5000 mAh battery - another advantage of the smartphone, because not every device can boast such a capacious battery. Asus has always given great importance to the battery, and for good reason, because ZenFone Max Pro feels confident away from a power outlet.

A full charge of the phone lasts for 8-9 hours of play. In an hour of playing Tanks, only 12% of the charge was consumed. In video playback mode, the smartphone lasted 12 hours 37 minutes at half the brightness and volume of the external speaker.

The charging time of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 32gb has become its weak point, because the microUSB port does not support the fast charging standard. Therefore, you will have to be patient and wait about 2.5 hours for the phone to be fully charged, although with a battery capacity of 5000 mAh this is still quite good.

Wireless communications

The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 phone can install two Nano SIM cards at once, and each of them can work in 4G networks. All domestic bands are supported, so there are no problems with the speed and quality of communication. Wi-Fi is supported only at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and in addition to it there is Bluetooth 5.0 and an NFC chip, which no one expected in a budget smartphone. This is a significant advantage over competitors who only equip their flagship devices with it.

GPS coordinates are determined instantly, so the smartphone is perfect for navigating the area. Zenfon Max Pro M1 is one of the few gadgets that supports FM radio.

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 camera review

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 camera test should start by becoming familiar with its characteristics. The main camera is represented by a dual module with a resolution of 13 and 5 megapixels. An additional sensor is necessary to correctly determine the depth of field, which is necessary for high-quality shooting in portrait mode, where you need to carefully blur everything beyond the boundaries of the central plan, and not blur everything, as most budget cameras do.

During the day, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 camera can take excellent shots with natural color reproduction and good detail.

The quality of indoor shooting is also pleasantly impressive, but the automatic settings are not always set correctly. Automation gets confused in the presence of brightly colored sources. As a result, the white balance varies, and objects in motion may appear blurry.

The quality of night photos is at an average level - color rendition remains natural, but detail is lost and difficulties appear with focusing. A special night mode slightly corrects the situation, but it does not provide any significant improvements.

HDR works quickly and does not blur objects in motion. When using it, the detail of objects in front of the lens greatly improves, but for unknown reasons the frame turns out dark.

A review of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 camera shows that portrait photographs are still far from perfect - the boundaries of the central plan are not always determined correctly, especially if the subject is in motion.

Macro photos boast excellent detail. The flash does not spoil the colors and highlights the features of the subject.

The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and copes well with both the foreground and background. She takes high-quality photographs and conveys colors clearly.

The video is shot in FullHD at 30 frames per second with two-channel audio recording. The quality is quite decent, but the automation increases the contrast.

After reviewing the camera of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 smartphone, it seems that the manufacturer used excellent sensors, but the algorithms themselves still need improvement. The optics performed well, but the automation often makes mistakes, blurring portrait shots, darkening HDR and increasing the contrast of videos. I didn’t find a panoramic shooting mode at all, which is very surprising.

Conclusion

The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 smartphone will be one of the best options to buy for its price if the manufacturer improves its software. Its shortcomings negatively affect the quality of photography and video recording, as we discussed above. I think over time there will be no trace left of them, but otherwise this is an excellent phone with powerful hardware, decent cameras and a user-friendly interface that copes well with any task. In addition, in appearance it looks very attractive and original.

Advantages:

• The best filling for the price;
• Pure Android with minimal intervention from the manufacturer, who only added a few useful features;
• High-quality cameras and screen;
• Premium case materials and an NFC chip, which is very rare in the budget segment;
• Separate slot for microSD.

Flaws:

• Unfinished camera algorithms;
• MicroUSB port, and therefore no fast charging.

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Your rating for the smartphone:

Until recently, the niche of smartphones with large batteries was occupied exclusively by inexpensive Chinese brands such as THL or Oukitel. But as you know, demand creates supply and Asus decided to release its long-lived device, which was named Zenfone Max.

Moreover, they did it so quietly - without unnecessary pathos and intrusive advertising - that the release of the model was simply not noticed by many. And it was completely in vain, because in fact it turned out to be one of the best representatives of smartphones, the main feature of which is the operating time on a single charge. The model cannot be called high-performance; those who like to play can block their view at this point and not waste time. On a smartphone everything is exclusively tailored for maximum operating time on a single charge: economical processor, low-resolution screen and 5000 mAh battery.


But the smartphone is interesting not only for this, as usual, Asus relied on design and materials - a recognizable Zenfone-style design, a practical back cover, heavy-duty glass Gorilla Glass 4. The smartphone also boasts a good 13 megapixel camera with a Toshiba sensor and optics from Largan with laser autofocus, and the front camera is not entirely simple - a wide-angle lens (Wide-angle 85 ˚) will allow you to take a panoramic selfie covering an angle of up to 140 degrees.
The disadvantages include overpaying for the brand - the price is higher than that of similar smartphones from less famous competitors. But holding a smartphone in my hands, I understand why this is so. Asus is simply a pleasure to use - the manufacturer's attention to detail, sleek design, quality of materials from which the smart device is made, its own software, etc. I have been using the smartphone for quite a long time and, of course, small flaws and features have been revealed that are not noticeable during a cursory examination, and I will definitely tell you about them. In the meantime, I suggest you familiarize yourself with detailed technical specifications:

CPU: Quad-core Snapdragon 410 clocked at 1.2 GHz
GPU: Adreno 306
Memory: RAM - 2Gb LPDDR3, ROM - 16GB eMMC Flash (there is an expansion slot up to 64Gb)
Screen: 5.5inches, HD 1280x720, IPS. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The screen has an oleophobic coating. Supports operation with gloves.
Battery: Li-Polymer 5000 mAh
Camera: Main - 13 Mp (F2.0 Aperture, laser focusing, dual LED flash with LEDs of different shades), Front - 5 Mp (F2.0 Aperture, Wide-angle lens 85 ˚, ability to take panoramic selfies up to 140 ˚)
Sensors: Accelerator, E-Compass, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Hall Sensor
Net: 2G: GSM - 850MHz/900MHz/1800MHz/1900MHz, 3G: WCDMA - 850MHz(5)/900MHz(8)/1900MHz(2) /2100MHz(1), 4G: FDD-LTE - (CN/IN version Only)
2100MHz(1)/1800MHz(3)2600MHz(38)/1900MHz(39)/2300MHz(40)/2500MHz(41)
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, AGPS & BDS
Connection interfaces: WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth V4.0+EDR +A2DP, Micro USB (with OTG support)
Dimensions: 77.5mm x 156mm x 10.55mm
Weight: 202 g

The smartphone comes in a branded box with minimal equipment, only a USB cable and a 1A charger. No films, glasses or headphones.
Separately, you can find various accessories on sale; they are already on sale for free: tempered glass of different qualities, a smart case in the form of a book, silicone and plastic bumpers, replaceable back covers of different colors. There are also some basic spare parts already on sale, such as a display or touch screen. Over time, batteries will also appear, since they can be easily found on Ali and other sites for other Zenfone models.




When we first met, I was immediately impressed by the large screen; the images on it look very colorful and rich. With a 5.5-inch diagonal and HD resolution, I expected fairly large pixels, but nothing like that is observed - the picture looks excellent, only slightly inferior to Full HD in detail, and even then only in direct comparison. The image tones are shifted to warm tones; there are settings in the settings for finer adjustments. Viewing angles are high, as is maximum brightness. Thanks to ASUS TrueVivid Full Screen Lamination technology, screen content is clearly readable even under bright sun. The screen is protected by durable glass CORNING® GORILLA® GLASS 4, you can verify this by going to the official website. By clicking on the See Devices with Gorilla Glass 4 menu item and selecting the model range of Asus smartphones, we will see Zenfone Max in the list. This glass is the latest version of the protective display coating from Corning developers. It's twice as strong as the previous version in the drop test, has 2.5 times the residual strength, and is 85% more durable in daily use. But no Gorilla can save you from scratches during active use, so I would recommend purchasing and using an additional protective glass. Another nice feature is the high-quality oleophobic coating: fingerprints reluctantly linger on the surface of the screen and are very easily erased. The tactile sensations from operating the screen are the most positive; the finger glides easily across the surface. The touch screen responds to the slightest touch and supports operation with gloves, which will be important in the cold season. It recognizes up to 10 simultaneous touches.
The touch keys under the non-backlit screen are located in a slightly unusual sequence, but this does not cause any inconvenience - I got used to it almost immediately. There is a three-color event indicator near the front camera, but it is not possible to customize it to your preferences using standard methods. The system has firmly established that a missed event is green, a dead battery is red, and the charging process is orange.

The design of the smartphone is both simple and recognizable. Asus adheres to the same style - streamlined shapes, rounded edges, a metal insert under the buttons with a typical Zenfone texture, a large audio speaker grille and other recognizable elements.
Nevertheless, the model also contains innovations that are unusual for the company. The back cover is made of plastic with a leather-like texture. This is a practical solution, because thanks to such a surface, the device lies confidently in the hand and does not slip, and it looks aesthetically pleasing. In addition, keeping such a surface clean is very simple.

The smartphone is well assembled and feels complete. The back cover fits very tightly on the latches and does not squeak or squeak when squeezed. The frame of the smartphone is plastic and painted in golden beige color, which only emphasizes the overall design. The volume and lock control keys have a proprietary notch in the form of circles and are placed on the right side. The headphone jack is located on the top edge, the micro usb connector is on the bottom.

Despite its rather large dimensions, it fits well in the hand and is very comfortable to use. I am more impressed by smartphones with a screen diagonal of up to 5 inches, but I liked the Zenfone Max - it doesn’t feel like a shovel and is quite comfortable to use. The only drawback is the weight, which is 202 grams and it will be uncomfortable to wear in shorts in the summer. But here everyone chooses for themselves: either thin and light but with a charge for a maximum of a day, or larger, but with a good battery.

I decided to hide additional photos conveying the subtleties of the design under the spoiler so as not to overload the review.

Additional Information

The back cover sits tightly on 17 latches and is quite difficult to remove: by hooking it in a special recess with your fingernail, you need to walk around the perimeter of the entire case. It will not be possible to remove the cover by unscrewing only a couple of latches. By looking at the cover you can see the battery, which can be replaced if necessary by slightly disassembling the smartphone. At the top there are two full slots for micro SIM cards. There is a separate memory expansion slot, the declared supported volume is up to 64Gb. In the upper part, in the center, is the main camera lens; it protrudes a fraction of a millimeter above the body, but the glass itself is slightly recessed in the decorative ring, so it does not suffer when in contact with the surface. On the left is a dual LED flash. LEDs of different shades provide a more natural spectrum of illumination when shooting at night. The power is sufficient for shooting in the dark at short distances. To the right of the lens there is a “laser illumination” for accurate and fast focusing.

Let's move on to the most interesting part - the battery. The first thing I didn't like about the smartphone was the long charging time. With a battery capacity of 5000 mAh, it lasts about 6 hours, which makes it impossible to “recharge on the go.” And the point here is not at all in the included charging, which is limited to a current of 1A - when connecting any other charger with a higher current, the picture does not change, the smartphone is not able to accept a current greater than 0.96A. Therefore, it is best to charge it overnight.
The battery capacity was checked using a tester and it fully corresponds to the declared one. I didn’t expect anything else from Asus, it’s not the level to cheat with the characteristics. The battery is truly impressive - the smartphone can easily withstand 3 days of high load, and with more economical use it provides 5 - 7 days of operation on a single charge. Of course, the operating time depends significantly on how you use the smartphone, but during daylight hours it is almost impossible to discharge it, no matter how hard you try. Let me give you a few examples: in playback mode of an HD video on YouTube at maximum screen brightness, he was able to last 15 hours and 17 minutes! In addition, at night my Internet went down and YouTube stopped playing and I only resumed it in the morning. And this is with a load on WiFi, and if you play video from the smartphone’s memory, the continuous playback time is more than 20 hours at maximum brightness. When the brightness is reduced from maximum to a comfortable level, the time increases significantly.


When reading web pages, the operating time is up to 32.5 hours of continuous operation, and the talking time (on the 3g network) is up to 37.6 hours. These indicators were not verified by me personally, but were taken from the official website, but I am convinced that the real indicators will not differ too much. In reality, it looks like this: I use a smartphone all day, when the total screen time for the day is more than 4 hours, and the battery indicator shows another 70% charge. Good survivability :) Synthetic tests also show this, for example Antutu tester scored 25398 points with maximum screen brightness. For comparison, the Oukitel K6000, which has an even larger battery capacity, was able to score only 13850. A more economical processor? Hardly. Better firmware optimization? More likely. The fact is that Zenfone Max lasts much longer than K6000.


The battery test in Geekbench 3 was no less indicative. 6572 points and a total test time of 16 hours 25 minutes. According to this indicator, the smartphone was in the top 3, only slightly behind the Lenovo A5000 (has a smaller diagonal - 5 inches) and Leagoo Shark 1 (battery capacity 6300 mAh). But at the same time, the smartphone scored more points.


And the smartphone itself can charge other devices, that is, it actually acts as a power bank!
Well, for the full picture, here’s a screenshot of my use case. On the evening of April 18, I took it off the charger and used it quite actively, mostly calls and a lot of Web pages. I also listened to music on it and used the camera. He sat down with me only on April 24 in the morning, eventually working for more than 5 days.


What is the secret of such high autonomy? Everything is very simple, the smartphone uses an energy-efficient Snapgragon 410 processor in conjunction with an HD display resolution. This allows you to use battery power as economically as possible. But this is of course a double-edged sword; you shouldn’t count on high performance in this model, especially in gaming terms. Of course, a smartphone will allow you to play casual games, helping to pass the time on the minibus - but nothing more. You can, of course, play more modern and powerful games, but you can’t count on high quality textures. The same tanks sometimes lag a little in battles, so It's definitely not worth taking for gaming.
But any other applications work well. Separately, I would like to note the work of the ZenUi shell, which, despite its apparent sophistication with various effects, works very smoothly. Interfaces switch without delay, flipping through desktops is smooth, opening the phone book without noticeable delays. The amount of RAM allows you to quickly switch between open applications, video plays smoothly, both online and offline. In pages that are especially overloaded with flash, it is clear that it is a bit heavy for the processor, because they do not “toss and turn” as smoothly as we would like. In synthetic tests, the result is comparable to the budget processor MT6735, the result is at the same level. 25314 points in Antutu. Comparing the performance with the 6735, you can see that the Snapdragon 410 has a significant advantage in computing power, but is completely inferior in graphics. In Geekbench 3: 1485 in Multi-core mode and 485 in single-core mode.

Synthetic tests

Zenfone Max runs on the Android 5.0.2 operating system, but with its own ZenUi shell. In terms of aesthetics and versatility of settings to suit your needs, it is significantly superior to the stock shell. Although at first glance it may seem somewhat complicated and confusing.


And this is partly true - a large number of pre-installed applications for cleaning and optimizing the system duplicate each other, Asus has installed too much of its software, which not everyone needs: startup manager, antivirus, memory cleaners, battery economizer, password manager and other programs that are needed not everyone. Personally, I unloaded the system by deleting and disabling those applications that I considered unnecessary. But there are undoubtedly interesting applications that will be useful to absolutely everyone. For example, a sound setup wizard. Let me note by the way excellent sound smartphone with headphones. Even with inexpensive headphones KZ EDR1 and Xiaomi Pistons 2, the device pleasantly surprised with its powerful and high-quality sound. Fans of sharp bass will be pleasantly surprised, and in general the sound is head and shoulders above most modern smartphones. So, the Sound Tuning Wizard allows you to customize the sound as much as possible for a specific task by turning on the music mode - the sound becomes deeper and more powerful. There are frequency boosts and an equalizer, which has both preset modes and completely manual settings.

I also really liked: an energy saving program, a file manager, a program for creating videos and slideshows, as well as a weather widget.

In addition to well-thought-out interfaces and an advanced shell, the smartphone performs its most basic functions well. It often happens that a smartphone with good characteristics is spoiled by an obscene speaker, which at once negates all its advantages. And often even fine adjustments in the engineering menu do not bring the desired result. Asus did not fall flat on its face by equipping the smartphone with a high-quality and loud speaker. They even overdid it a little. By setting the volume to maximum, you can not put your smartphone to your ear, but talk as if through a speakerphone. True, at maximum volume the speaker rattles slightly, but if you turn down the volume by at least one notch, the sound becomes clear. The microphone is sensitive and “on the other end of the line” you can be heard very well. There is a second microphone for noise reduction, its performance is satisfactory. Further, the Internet - Chinese version is limited to certain frequencies in 4G networks, so if this is an important point for you, carefully study the frequencies on which the operators operate. But 3G uses the widest possible range of frequencies, which are relevant both in Russia and Ukraine. Wifi works fine, the apartment has reliable reception and download speed: 20-30 megabits through 2 walls and up to 50 megabits in a room with a router. GPS navigation didn’t disappoint either; until recently it was Qualcomm’s specialty, but now MTK has caught up with them. I’ll just note that the navigation worked properly, the cold start took 1 minute and 8 seconds, which can be seen in the screenshot below. A minute later, 15 satellites were found, 11 of them had an active connection. The positioning accuracy is 4m, the connection is stable on the road. A magnetic compass helps with navigation quite well, especially on foot.


Another positive feature of the model, in my opinion, is a good camera. In most of the “long-livers” that I held in my hands, the camera was a frankly weak point. While most Chinese smartphones had no problems with subject photography and macro photography, only a few cope with landscapes. Zenfone Max takes pretty good pictures in almost any conditions (with the exception of low light, where noticeable noise appears." The proprietary camera application has a huge number of settings and modes, but even if you are too lazy to understand all this, you can count on good photos in Auto mode.In addition, the camera boasts an instant laser focusing system that operates in just 0.03 seconds, which helps to obtain clear images even in adverse conditions.


There are a few examples of pictures taken by the device in “auto” mode, i.e. point and shoot. Originals .

I was also amazed by the panoramic shots - no matter how you move the camera, no matter how much your hands shake - the stitching always happens perfectly. Even if objects move and trees sway, the photo comes out clear, without blur! (The panorama is reduced in size because I didn’t want to upload it to the site, but if you click on it, you can see it in a larger version). The original panorama is also in the archive link that I gave just above.

Even the selfie camera takes passable pictures, and is not installed “for show.”

The camera is certainly not ideal, but it is quite capable of coming to your rescue when you don’t have a digital camera. You can easily send pictures from Zenfone Max for printing and the result will not disappoint you.
The video is also pretty good. The camera can shoot in Full HD resolution, but without stabilization. Or in HD resolution with stabilization. Personally, I like the first option better, because the detail varies significantly. A short video to evaluate the quality of the video (for the first couple of seconds I covered the microphone with my finger, so the sound was mumbling. Then I realized my mistake and removed my finger):

After using the device I had the most positive impressions. In short, a smartphone is suitable primarily for those who need from a device: reliability, quality, long operating time on a single charge, and a good camera. My hit parade of advantages and disadvantages:

Flaws:
- Long charging
- Budget processor, weak graphics accelerator.

Advantages:
- An honest 5000 mAh battery with the ability to recharge other devices.
- Long operating time on a single charge.
- Excellent screen.
- High-quality assembly and materials, protective glass corning gorilla glass 4
- ZenUi proprietary shell and software (PixelMaster, camera, sound improvement, etc.)
- Good camera with laser autofocus
- Good sound in headphones

Video version of the review:

The product was provided for writing a review by the store. The review was published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.

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