The Max branded smartphones from Asus are known for their high battery backup. The Max branded smartphone in Zenfone 3 series also features an excellent battery capacity similar to its predecessors and stands out among its competitors in this category.
It’s predecessor Zenfone Max is known for its massive battery of 5,000mAh battery while this Zenfone 3 comes with the 4,100mAh battery. Zenfone 3 Max is being sold an MRP Rs.17,999 for the 5.5-inch display variant while the 5.2-inch screen variant is priced at MRP Rs.12,999. We have been using the 5.2-inch version over the past few weeks and will pen down our experience here:
Design:
The device sports a metal unibody, with the diamond cut edges. The device sports a 2.5D glass on the front. The back panel is made of aluminium alloy with a camera and the fingerprint sensor at the back aligned to the centre of the smartphone. The gadget features capacitive buttons on the front which are not backlit. The front upper portion features selfie camera lens, an earpiece speaker, along with an ambient light sensor. A LED notification light is placed beside the speakers in the front.
[Also read: Zenfone 3 Deluxe & Ultra now available in India]
The power & volume buttons are placed on the right side, while the bottom part features a microUSB charging socket, with 3.5mm earphone socket on the top. A noticeable departure in this Max smartphone is the use of microUSB standard charging port, while other smartphones in Zenfone 3 series use C-type USB charging port. Similar to its predecessor Zenfone Max, this gadget can also be used to charge other smartphones using an OTG cable. The smartphone features a hybrid SIM slot on the left, which supports two SIM cards (nano + micro) or one microSD & one micro-SIM.
Features:
Zenfone 3 Max 5.2 inch version is powered by a Mediatek 6737 quad-core at 1.25GHz. The device uses 3GB of RAM with an internal storage of 32GB. The gadget is bundled with a 10W charger which makes it little longer to charge completely. It would have been a great addition if Asus had bundled the smartphone with Quick Charge 3.0. The gadgets packs with all the modern day connectivity essentials Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, FM radio.
The device is powered by Android Marshmallow along with ZenUI 3.0 Launcher. The ZenUI has several customisation options with the option to download several free themes from the ‘Themes App’. Inbuilt apps include Instagram, Puffin, Trip Advisor, Mobile Manager..
Zenfone 3 Max Performance:
We used the gadget for nearly ten days didn’t face any major issues so far. Owing to SOC, the phone struck few times while we were playing NFS and few high-end games. For info, the Redmi Note 3, which is priced at Rs 9,999 comes with Snapdragon 650 while this Zenfone 3 Max priced at Rs.13,999 comes with Mediatek 6737 quad-core processor. To compare with Redmi 3S comes with Snapdragon at the cost of Rs.6,999. The overall performance is decent but not on par with Rs.15k+ range phones.
Camera features look pretty decent. Videos and pictures look really elegant thanks to the Asus Pixel Master. With, fairly accurate colour production the 13MP sensor & f/2.0 aperture lens help in detailed landscapes & macros in daylight (See the images below). The front 5-MP camera helps you take some decent selfies. The best take away from this smartphone is its massive battery with 4,100mAh which can be used to charge other smartphones. The gadget comes with a finger print sensor at the back.
Verdict:
This smartphone is a decent choice if you are looking for a gadget with the best battery backup and decent specifications. In case you are a gaming freak and looking to buy a smartphone from Asus then you look for Zenfone 3 priced at almost 10K higher than this!
That’s said!
