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ASUS ZenFone Max review: The king of battery performance

By Cookie Monster - 12 Aug 2016
Launch SRP: S$249

Performance Benchmarks, Imaging and Conclusion

Performance benchmarks

The ZenFone Max is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core 1.2GHz processor and 2GB RAM. The choice of using a three-year-old processor could be influenced by ASUS' decision to lower costs and offer an affordable, entry level smartphone for consumers. For this review, we compared other budget phablets that compete with the ZenFone Max such as the ZenFone 2 Laser, ZenFone Selfie and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.

ASUS ZenFone Max vs. The Competition
  ASUS ZenFone Max ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) ASUS ZenFone Selfie Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
  ASUS ZenFone Max ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) ASUS ZenFone Selfie Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Launch SRP
  • From S$249
  • From S$279
  • From S$399
  • From S$299
Operating system
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ASUS ZenUI
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop with ASUS ZenUI
  • ASUS ZenUI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop
  • Android 5.1.1 with MIUI 7
Processor
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core 1.2GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core 1.2GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 hexa-core 1.8GHz
Built-in Memory
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
  • 3GB RAM
  • 3GB RAM
Display
  • 5.5-inch / 1,280 x 720 pixels / IPS
  • 5.5-inch / 1,280 x 720 pixels / IPS
  • 5.5-inch / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels / IPS
  • 5.5-inch / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels / IPS
Camera
  • Rear: 13-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture, laser autofocus, dual-color Real Tone Flash and PixelMaster technology
  • Front: 5-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture, wide-angle 88 ˚ lens, autofocus and PixelMaster technology
  • Rear: 13-megapixel, autofocus, PixelMaster and LED flash
  • Front: 5-megapixel, autofocus, PixelMaster
  • Rear: 13-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED Real Tone flash
  • Front: 13-megapixel with f/2.2 aperture, wide-angle 88-degree lens with dual-LED Real Tone flash
  • Rear: 16-megapixel with 5-element lens, f/2.0, 78° wide-angle lens and a two-tone flash
  • Front: 5-megapixel with f/2.0 and face recognition
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR + A2DP, GPS, GLONASS, AGPS & BDS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 +EDR
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi Direct
  • GPS, AGPS, GLONASS and BeiDou positioning
Storage Type
  • 16GB internal storage space
  • microSD support up to 64GB
  • 16GB internal storage space
  • microSD support up to 128GB
  • 32GB internal storage space
  • microSD support up to 128GB
  • 32GB internal storage space
  • microSD support up to 32GB
Battery
  • 5,000mAh
  • 3,000mAh
  • 3,000mAh
  • 4,050mAh
Dimensions
  • 156 x 77.5 x 5.2 ~ 10.55mm
  • 152.5 x 77.2 x 3.9 ~ 10.8mm
  • 156.5 x 77.2 x 10.8~3.9mm
  • 150 x 76 x 8.65mm
Weight
  • 202g
  • 170g
  • 170g
  • 164g

 

Quadrant

Quadrant evaluates a device's CPU, memory, I/O, and 3D graphics performance. Due to similar specs, the performance of the ZenFone Max is comparable to that of the ZenFone 2 Laser, which also means that it is trailing the competition.

 
 

3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited

3DMark Ice Storm is designed to test the gaming capabilities of a device, putting its GPU through a rigorous OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark test that uses fixed off-screen rendering with high quality textures and post-processing effects. The Unlimited version of the benchmark disables v-sync, display scaling and other OS factors, making it ideal for chipset comparison.Since all the recent flagship smartphones max out the scores for the Standard and Extreme tests, we will only be comparing results for Ice Storm Unlimited. Having said that, the ZenFone Max clearly lags behind the Redmi Note 3 and ZenFone Selfie where both of these devices don't cost much more than the ZenFone Max, but are better equipped.


 

SunSpider JavaScript

SunSpider JavaScript measures the browsing performance of a device when processing Javascript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is at delivering a high-speed web browsing experience. Given the performance streak of the ZenFone Max so far, we weren't surprised by the below-average performance turned in.

 

Number crunching aside, the ZenFone Max offered a decent user experience although switching between apps wasn't as smooth as we expected.

 

Camera performance

The ZenFone Max has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, 0.03-sec laser autofocus, a dual-color Real Tone Flash and PixelMaster technology. You can find out more about PixelMaster in our dedicated article here. On the front is a 5-megapixel camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture and 85-degree wide angle lens. For an entry-level smartphone, these imaging specs seem really good!

The ZenFone Max is capable of capturing good outdoor photos under normal/bright lighting conditions.

Noise is a little apparent and details can get murky in low light conditions.

 

Battery performance

Our standard battery test for mobile phones includes the following parameters:

  • Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
  • Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

In our standard video battery test, the ZenFone Max lasted a whopping 19 hours and 35 minutes, which is by far the best battery mileage we've seen in any of our smartphone reviews. Compared to the ZenFone 2 Laser, the ZenFone Max outlasted the former by about 68%! In case you aren't aware, the ZenFone Max with its massive battery capacity is able to double up as a power bank for a secondary mobile device via the included USB OTG cable. Its excellent battery life is attributed to the phone's entry-level specs with a HD screen resolution and a 5,000mAh battery, which has resulted in a low power draw and enabled the phone to last longer than expected. 

 

 

Portability

We measure the portability of a device by calculating its battery life to (weight x volume) ratio. Although the ZenFone Max is the heaviest among the phones compared, its superior battery mileage placed in a very favorable position in the Portability Index.


 

Conclusion

At S$249 without line contract, the ASUS ZenFone Max is a no-brainer for consumers who prioritize battery life above everything else. It certainly does a far better job than the 6,300mAh battery equipped Leagoo Shark 1 smartphone.

However, ASUS' attempt to milk the ZenFone series could backfire as the different ZenFone models could potentially confuse consumers. What sets the ZenFone Max apart from the ZenFone 2 Laser is most definitely its battery capacity. The price difference of S$30 may initially make some consumers scratch their heads, but the choice boils down to whether one is willing to accept a long lasting battery life over a lighter device. As for the ZenFone Selfie, the device is targeted mainly at consumers who love to take selfies, but don't want to pay a price for a premium flagship smartphone that delivers a similar camera performance.

Overall, it's a decent and respectable phone, but it's also in competition with the more modern entry-level smartphone from Xiaomi. At just S$299, the Redmi Note 3 is worthy of your consideration as it boasts a higher resolution display, smoother performance, a fast fingerprint sensor and a more premium design for only a little more than what the ZenFone Max commands. But you won't get a phone that lasts anywhere near the ZenFone Max, which is clearly the ultimate in battery life performance.

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8.0
  • Design 8
  • Features 7.5
  • User-Friendliness 8
  • Performance 8
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Ultra long battery life
Decent camera performance
Affordable
Expandable storage
The Bad
Outdated processor
HD display resolution
Navigation buttons not backlit
Only 16GB onboard storage
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