Now the company has launched a new variant of this phone, Asus Zenfone Max (2016) at a price of Rs 9,999. Like the biggest feature (battery life) of its previous smartphone, this phone is also expected to have a great battery life. Apart from this, other specifications of the phone have also been upgraded. Asus has launched this new smartphone at the original price of the original Zenfone Max. So now it will be interesting to see how much Asus’s Zenfone series benefits from the new Zenfone Max. Today we will review the new Zenfone Max (2016) and know all the advantages and disadvantages of this phone.
Look and design
The look, body, design, build, dimensions and weight of Zenfone Max (2016) are similar to the previous Zenfone Max. It includes a detachable rear cover, gold trim along the edges and Asus’ trademark chin. The 2016 variant will also be available in two new color variants, blue and orange. If you buy the black or white color variant, you may not be able to differentiate between the new and old Zenfone Max.
Talking about the design and layout, the Zenfone Max (2016) has all the basic features. The power and volume buttons are on the right side. There is a micro-USB port at the bottom and a 3.5mm audio socket at the top. The rear panel is removable and when removed, two SIM slots and an expandable storage slot are visible. The battery is non-removable. Asus has not changed its familiar design in this phone launched in 2016 as well.
The 5.5-inch IPA screen with 720×1280 pixel resolution could have been better. Despite the price of Rs 9,999 (Rs 12,999 for the 3GB variant), Asus hasn’t offered a good high-resolution screen in this phone. This is disappointing when compared to other phones like the Coolpad Note 3 Plus (Review) that offer full-HD displays and 3GB RAM at a lower price. Additionally, the Zenfone Max (2016) doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor. Its absence is disappointing considering the tough competition in the market.
The screen is the same as before and the lower resolution does result in better battery life. If battery life is of utmost importance to you, then a low resolution and less detailed screen may not be a problem for you.
Specifications and software
There is a big difference in the specifications of both the generations of Asus Zenfone Max. The new Asus Zenfone Max (2016) has a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. Although there are newer processors available now, the Snapdragon 615 is definitely an upgrade and better than the Snapdragon 410 in the older Zenfone Max. Apart from this, the other biggest difference is the inbuilt storage being increased from 16 GB to 32 GB. One variant of the new Zenfone Max (2016) has 2 GB RAM, but for Rs 12,999, you can buy the 3 GB RAM variant. It is worth noting that by paying Rs 3000 more, you only get 1 GB more RAM because apart from this there is no other difference between the two variants.
The new phone also has a 5000 mAh battery like the older Zenfone Max. However, the power adapter is better than before and it is 5.2 watts. But this is very less for charging a 5000 mAh battery. It takes 5 hours to fully charge the phone with this charger. If you buy the Zenfone Max (2016), you will definitely want to buy another better charger.
Android Marshmallow has been provided in the 2016 variant. Asus had released a list stating that the old Zenfone Max will get Android Marshmallow update. All the main features of Android M are present in this phone, which includes ‘Do Not Disturb Mode’, ‘Doze Mode’, ‘Now on Tap’ and a new design of app permissions.
However, the user interface is still the Asus ZenUI. On first boot, about 50 apps need to be updated immediately. Apart from this, apps and services keep giving notifications for various things like setting up an account, activating battery saver mode, etc. However, despite some problems, this interface has its own advantages.
Camera
The older Zenfone Max had a camera with laser autofocus system similar to Asus Zenfone Laser. The company’s focus at the time of its launch was to provide excellent camera performance. Now the 2016 variant has also been launched with the same camera. Zenfone Max (2016) has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. Dual-tone LED flash and laser autofocus are provided on the rear. Both cameras can record video at a resolution of 1080 pixels – 30 frames / second.
The camera app in the new Zenfone has been slightly improved. The settings menu has been improved compared to before but most of the app is the same as before. The phone has a lot of photography modes and due to the laser system, focusing is quite fast and accurate.
Camera performance is the same as before in this phone with the same camera and focus system as in the previous two Asus phones. Indoor and close-up shots are great. Outdoor shots are a bit washed out but can be called better. Videos and photos with the front camera come out great, especially when recording at 1080p-30fps.
Performance
The biggest difference between the older Asus Zenfone Max and the 2016 variant is the phone’s performance. While the older device runs on the budget Snapdragon 410 processor, the new device has a more powerful upgraded Snapdragon 615 processor. Last year and earlier this year, the Snapdragon 615 processor has proven to be a better performer in mid-range smartphones. However, currently phones in this price range are offering better and more powerful options and many users may not like an older processor.
Asus Zenfone Max (2016) benchmarking test results were as expected. Most tasks including playing games can be done easily on the phone. The new phone’s performance was better than the old Asus Zenfone Max.
The phone offers good call quality. Apart from this, the phone works great on Wi-Fi and mobile networks along with 4G connectivity. The single speaker provided in the phone is a bit weak but the sound quality obtained while using headphones is fine.
In terms of battery life, the Asus ZenFone Max (2016) lived up to our expectations. In our video loop test, the phone lasted 18 hours and 4 minutes, while the original ZenFone Max recorded a battery life of 25 hours. This is probably due to the Snapdragon 615 being more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 410. However, the battery life is still very good and the phone lasts up to two days on a single charge with normal use.
Our verdict
Asus Zenfone Max (2016) is definitely an attempt by the company to attract more customers from its best-selling product. The performance of the new phone has been improved while the battery life and camera work just as well as before. Although the battery life is a little less than the original phone, it is still enough to attract customers.
But, Asus has not improved many other important features. The phone does not have a fingerprint sensor, with this feature this phone could have given tough competition to many other phones coming in this price range. At the price of Rs 9,999, 3 GB RAM could have been given but paying Rs 3,000 more and getting no difference other than 1 GB RAM is disappointing. ZenUI is worse than better. It could have been made better by giving a full-HD display in the phone.
Despite all this, if battery life is important to you, the Asus Zenfone Max (2016) is a great phone under Rs 10,000. Despite the lack of other improvements and features, the performance of the phone is good. So if you are looking for a phone under Rs 10,000, then the new Asus Zenfone Max cannot be ignored.
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