[Updated]: ASUS Zenfone Max (2016) review: ASUS answers your Battery woes

Update: Earlier we have reported that the Zenfone Max comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection, which is not the case when confirmed from ASUS.

ASUS Zenfone Max is successor of Zenfone Max earlier launched in January 2016, by the company. By now it is established that Max stands for the Marathon battery life you can expect from the phone as both the smartphones comes with massive 5000 mAh battery. The latest iteration of Max has got a 3GB RAM version as well while the earlier one had only 2GB RAM variant, and also the latest one runs on much improved 1.5 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 615 SoC as compared to that of QuadCore Snapdragon 410 on the previeous one.We received the latest Zenfone Max from the ASUS team quite a while ago and I am using the device as my primary phone for more than a week now. Here is about the review and my experience using the Zenfone Max.

ASUS Zenfone Max

Running short of time? Watch our video review

Build and Design: In terms of Build and Design, the phone is quite slim when you consider the 5000 mAh battery resides inside it, but it comes with same Zenfone style which we are seeing from the time of Zenfone 5. Infact when kept with display on the top you cannot identify Zenfone Zoom and Max as separate unit. The phone is easy to grip and comfortable while holding in hands, however if you are used to a lighter phone it might take time for you to adjust with the 202 grams of Zenfone Max.

On Front the phone is dominated by a 5.5 inch FHD screen on top of the display there is ASUS branding in the center and right of it you can find 5MP front camera and proximity sensor. Bottom of the screen has three familiar capacitive non back lit buttons, going further down we have the concentric circle design for the Zenfone trademark chin.

The metallic sides gives a premium look, on the left side its just plain metallic shining rim with no physical buttons, on bottom we have a micro USB slot as well as a primary microphone. On right side of the phone there is a volume rocker placed towards the top and below that power button is placed.

Back of the phone sports 13 MP rear shooter supported by Laser Auto focus and dual tone LED flash, on the bottom you can see Zenfone branding and just beneath that there is the speaker grill. Opening the cover reveals non removable massive 5000 mAh battery, one micro SD card slot, 2 SIM slots both supports 4G. The plastic back cover is fine textured and helps make the grip comfortable and better.

Specifications:

ASUS Zenfone Max(2016) runs on 1.5 GHz Octacore Snapdragon 615 processor as compared to Snapdragon 410 processor of its predecessor. This time we have two variants of the smartphones for RAM offering both 2GB  and 3GB versions. In terms of camera the phone comes with 13 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. On storage front as well you get double the internal memory i.e. 32 GB as compared to 16 GB in previous Zenfone Max.

Zenfone MAX's USP is its massive 5000 mAh battery which makes it stand apart from the crowd of sub 10K category. The phone supports Reverse Charge feature as well, which enables you to charge another smartphone from Zenfone Max using 

Performance: In our daily usage the phone performed day to day activities without any visible lags, however sometimes during gaming sessions we found a bit of lag occasionally. The screen of the phone produces vibrant colors and handles content of any type with ease. For a primary device our unit lasted for around 2 days after full charge, which included most of the screen on time on Social networks, file downloads, occasional gaming and camera usage. For moderate users it should last for 3 days we expect.

Camera: As with other Zenfone Smartphones the camera of Zenfone Max is pretty responsive and the Laser Auto focus does help it focus faster and accurately. The colors are beautifully captured in bright light, however in low light the performance is just above average.

Below are few sample shots taken by Zenfone Max

Verdict:

As we have have mentioned that this phone's USP is its long battery backup , the only reason to buy this phone would be the same for most of the users. If you are looking for a good performer that lasts long without any doubt go for Zenfone Max, however if you are looking something stylish, lighter and slimmer there are plenty of options including Coolpad Note 3, LeEco Le 1S, Redmi Note3 etc all of which also supports finger print scanner and this is missing from Zenfone Max.