ASUS Zenfone Max Review: 3 days of battery life in 1 charge

Last January, one of the firsts Zenfones for 2016 has been launched and it is the ASUS Zenfone Max. It’s a smartphone with a midrange specifications but packs a big-ass 5000mAh battery which is aimed at those people who wants to have a longer battery life on their smartphones. But of course, this smartphone doesn’t just have a good battery life but the smartphone also have a pretty good hardware. Check out my review to know more about it.

Hardware and Design

The first thing that might come into your mind when you know that the smartphone has a big 5000mAh battery is its body. You might expect that the smartphone has a very big and thick body but no, the ASUS Zenfone Max balances the weight, design, and the battery capacity of the smartphone. Yes, it is thicker and heavier than most smartphones but it isn’t really thick to the point that the smartphone is uncomfortable to hold.

The smartphone comes in two colors – Black and White but I got the white one. The white Zenfone Max features a ceramic white back cover while that doesn’t feel good as the one on the black Zenfone Max that has a faux leather back, I still think that the smartphone’s build is still pretty solid and good.

Inside the smartphone is a 16GB storage with a MicroSD card slot if you feel that the storage of your smartphone isn’t enough. The smartphone also supports dual Micro Sim and there’s LTE inside if you want to to use the smartphone as a hotspot. Actually, I really enjoy using the smartphone as a hotspot because of its long battery life and a pretty solid LTE connectivity with my Smart postpaid line.

One thing that this smartphone have that the others do not is that you can maximize its battery and use the ASUS Zenfone Max as a power bank for your devices. All you need is a USB OTG which comes with the box and connects it your device that needs to be charged to the Zenfone Max. It’s great for emergency purposes but the Zenfone Max doesn’t have fast charging and it will take some time before you can fully charge your device on the Zenfone Max.

Speaking of charging, the biggest strength of this device is its battery. With its 5000mAh battery, I was able to use the smartphone for 3 days of average use. That’s a combination of light gaming, few SMS, and light browsing on some apps. However, If you’re planning on using the smartphone for heavy usage, expect that the smartphone would last up to 2 day of use. Yes, AT LEAST 2 DAY OF USE. Yes, this smartphone is that good.

The audio quality of the smartphone is probably its worst feature. I really didn’t like it because the speakers aren’t really loud and sometimes I wouldn’t hear the notification sound of the smartphone. It’s really annoying to me.

Display

The ASUS Zenfone Max has a 5.5-inch HD display, the same size on those on its flagship brothers, the Zenfone 2, but this is a different one when it comes to the resolution, this one only has an HD resolution. It’s not as sharp as the one on Full HD displays but the colors and the display are still good. I was not actually surprised that they used HD on this one because this smartphone only uses Snapdragon 410 processor, a CPU that would take a toll on Full HD resolution.

When using outside, the display of the smartphone is still readable although you may still notice some reflections. The display of the device is great for gaming, watching movies and a lot more.

Software and Performance

It’s 2016 but this smartphone still uses the same UI of the Zenfone 2 but it is still continually updated. One thing that you might not like about it is that the phone is filled with bloatware and worse, some of them suddenly notify you which is annoying for some, including me. Nonetheless, the smartphone can run smoothly and without a hitch despite having only a Snapdragon 410 processor.

When it comes to gaming, the smartphone can run most games, however, don’t expect that the smartphone can run the latest heavy games smoothly including NBA 2k16, one of the most popular games on Android right now but hey, the game is still playable although you might experience some lags. Modern Combat 5 works too and it’s good.

Camera

One of the surprises that this smartphone has is its camera, there’s a 13-Megapixel camera with a laser auto-focus and it’s surprising that the smartphone has a pretty good performance when it comes to shooting images. I’ve used the smartphone many times and I didn’t expect that the images were good and isn’t washed out. Check out the photos that I took using the smartphone:

Verdict

ASUS Zenfone Max is one of my favorite Zenfones that I’ve tried. Yes, it might only have a Snapdragon 410 processor which isn’t as powerful as the Zenfone Selfie and the Zenfone 2 but it can still do its job and the camera of the smartphone is pretty great. The battery of the smartphone is something to really love too especially when you’re a gamer or you use your smartphone for hotspot.

I highly recommend this smartphone and it is now available for P8,495.