Asus Zenfone Max ZC550KL

ASUS likes to play it safe when it comes the design ethos of its ZenFones. So predictably, the ZenFone Max is no different and looks like any other Zenfone you can find in the market. It’s got the signature concentric circular ridges on the bottom bezel and the buttons, and is bulky. Too bulky, to be honest. As a matter of fact, the Lenovo Vibe P1 and the Gionee Marathon M4, both of which sport 5,000mAh batteries, just like the ZenFone Max, weigh 20-30 grams less than the ZenFone Max, which tips the scales at 200g.

While the sub-Rs 10,ooo segment has the likes of Lenovo K3 Note, MEIZU m2 note and the YU Yureka Plus, all sporting full HD displays, ASUS decided to resort to a 720p screen on the ZenFone Max. The screen on the device is definitely not the sharpest we’ve seen lately. That said, the screen brightness, colours, and viewing angles are pretty impressive.

The megapixel count on the ASUS ZenFone Max’s camera matches what’s trending. A 13MP primary sensor and a 5MP front cam. But results vary, as they do on most smartphones.

If you’ve used ZenUI before you’d know it looks colourful and a tad gimmicky. The same is the case with the ZenFone Max’s UI. Moreover, ASUS seems to be on its way to the make the ZenUI the next Touchwiz, with a bunch of pre-loaded first-party apps that are more annoying than useful. We do hope the brand gives the software a refreshing whirl sometime soon in the future, just like Samsung did.

While the Snapdragon 410 chip in the ASUS ZenFone Max takes all the initial usage pretty well, after a while of heavy usage, you start encountering a few lags on the phone. However, the lags are negligible and more often than not, regular processing won’t be an issue with the phone.

The highlight of the ZenFone Max is its 5,000mAh battery. Phone batteries these days have conditioned users to believe that a day’s worth of usage is ideal and nightly charging, plus using a powerbank on-the-go is justifiable. Only after using the ZenFone Max were we reminded of the substantive yet unrecognised contribution a phone’s battery makes to the whole experience. In our standard battery test, where we run an HD video on loop, at 50 percent brightness and volume, till the phone’s battery drains completely, the ASUS ZenFone Max lasted for 24 hours and 30 minutes, which is beyond impressive. With our regular usage, including 4G data usage, playing games, using WhatsApp and Instagram, and making calls, the phone easily lasted almost two days.