Smartphone maker Asus has silently launched a couple of devices in the mid-budget segment and while everyone is drooling over the likes of OnePlus 5T and Honor V10, here comes the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) that can easily put the company ahead in the competition with the big guys.
The two things that have become a benchmark of some sorts in the mid-budget segment are a bezel-less display with 18:9 aspect ratio and a dual camera setup, and Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) does come with both these features. Furthermore, there is a decent chipset under the hood and considering the expected price of the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1), all this makes for one of the best VFM smartphones in the market.
That said, there is nothing ‘special’ or ‘new’ in the specs-sheet and this might be the only reason why the emergence of Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) hasn’t been marketed. For the unknown, Pegasus 4S was the company’s first offering to sport a bezel-less screen and with the Zenfone Max Plus (M1) being the second, there wasn’t a big margin of mistakes for Asus.
So, has Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) emerged as the perfect recipe for the Taiwanese company? Let’s see.
Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) Specifications
- 5.7-inch (2160×1080) Full HD+ 18:9 display with 2.5D curved glass, 80% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass protection, and 424 PPI.
- 64-bit Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750T processor clocked at 1.5 GHz and coupled with Mali-T860 GPU.
- 2GB RAM with 16GB of internal storage and 3GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via microSD.
- Dual SIM (nano + nano) and Fingerprint sensor at the rear.
- Dedicated MicroSD card slot.
- Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with ZenUI 4.0 on top.
- 16MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED Flash, PDAF and a secondary 8MP sensor with 120-degree wide-angle lens.
- 8MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture and 85-degree wide-angle lens.
- 4130mAh battery with fast charging.
- Dimensions: 152.6×73×8.8mm and Weight: 160g.
- 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, GPS/GLONASS, Micro USB Type-C support and 3.5 mm audio jack.
Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) Price And Availability
While the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) will be available in Russia soon in Black, Silver, and Gold color options, there has been no word on its pricing. However, with the kind of package this handset offers, anything above 20000 Russian Ruble (INR 22,000 roughly) will be hard to justify for the company.
As for its availability in India, we expect the Zenfone Max Plus to be launched early next year and that too if it gets a positive response in its early life.
Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) Review (First Impressions)
- We don’t know what is it with a dedicated microSD card slot, but whenever a smartphone does come with this feature, it feels like the company has indeed focused on practicality. Moreover, with the top end variant of Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) coming with 3GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, it makes for one of the best performance packages in this segment.
- The MediaTek MT6750T processor, while being a tried and tested chipset, still doesn’t the prowess seen in an SD 650 or SD 625. That said, heavy gaming and multitasking duties will be handled with ease by the Zenfone Max Plus, but with minimal lags and frame drops.
- The biggest highlight of this smartphone has to be the 5.7-inch bezel-less display which offers great details and viewing angles, while color production and brightness level for outdoor use are also up to the mark.
- Compared to the ZenUI 3.0, the 4.0 skin comes with less bloatware and is easy to get used to. That said, it remains to be seen whether the Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) will get an Android Oreo update soon or not.
- The 16MP+8MP rear camera setup is easily one of the best units in the competition which comes with 0.03-second quick focus, good shutter speed, great detailing in pictures under excessive exposure as well as under low-lighting conditions, however, the digital image stabilization is not as good as OIS, which is absent from the specs-sheet.
- As for the front camera, it is as good as the rear unit but lack in low-light imaging as it struggles to capture all the details and grains are visible in shaky pictures, as well.
Conclusion
Considering the expected price of Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) and a 4130mAh battery coupled with segment-leading hardware, the smartphone indeed left us impressed, at least on the first look and if launched below the expected price-bar, Asus Zenfone Max Plus (M1) can be the perfect recipe that Asus has been looking for in the mid-budget segment.