ASUS Zenfone Max Review

Table of Contents

Performance and Benchmarks

Powered by a Snapdragon 410 quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, and Adreno 306 GPU, the Max proved to be a solid performer. Although it doesn’t have a lot to boast when it comes to benchmark numbers, it can get through tasks without choking. We played EA UFC and it was able to run well with minimal lags and without much warming.

AnTuTu – 23,246
Quadrant Standard – 14,518
Vellamo – 998 (Multicore), 620 (Metal), 1,467 (Chrome Browser)
3DMark Sling Shot ES 3.0 – 51
PCMark – 2,347

Connectivity and Call Quality

The Max comes with your usual connectivity features like 4G LTE, dual-SIM (micro), WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. There’s no NFC, but not really a huge let down. Both SIM card slots support mobile data and dual-SIM call forwarding. The call quality is good and has no problems connecting to mobile data as long as strong reception is available.

Battery Life

Now, for the part that you probably went here for — the Zenfone Max’s battery life. After running our usual battery benchmarking app, we were able to exhaust its 5000mAh battery for 19 hours and 59 minutes. Then on our video loop test that involves playing an HD video continuously with 50% volume and brightness and on Airplane Mode, it was able to last 26 hours and 32 minutes of continuous playback.

asus-zenfone-max-review-philippines-battery life

On the other hand, real-world usage got us up to almost three days which includes frequent checking of social media sites on LTE connectivity, some calls, and even charging other devices in between (with the use of a USB-OTG cable).

Although, with its included charger, refilling its large battery from 20% – 100% took us about 9 hours of charging time. Using a fast charger from a different device, however, lowered the duration to 4-5 hours before it was fully loaded once again.

Conclusion

The ASUS Zenfone Max indeed is what you would want if you’re tired of being a wall-hugger. We’ve mentioned before that a feature-packed smartphone is of no use when the battery’s dead, and the Max has plenty in store. It’s also got the imaging capabilities of the Laser, so it would be an ideal device for those who shoot a lot, whether photos or videos.

Its capability to charge other devices makes it a good second phone, too, since it’s not that expensive. For Php8,495, you’d most likely leave your power banks at home since the handset is reliable and less likely to give up on you when you’re on-the-go.

asus zenfone max ph_1

ASUS Zenfone Max (ZC550KL) specifications:
5.5-inch HD IPS display @ 1280 x 720 resolution, 267ppi
Gorilla Glass 4
64-bit 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor
Adreno 306 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
Expandable up to 128GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, laser autofocus, and dual-tone LED flash
5MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP, EDR
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Dual-SIM, dual standby
4G LTE
5000mAh Li-Po battery
156 x 77.5 x 10.6mm
202 grams
Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI

What we liked about it:
* Good design and build
* Good camera w/ Laser AF
* Lots of built-in camera features
* Decent performance
* Exceptional battery life
* Affordable price

What we didn’t like:
* Lots of pre-installed apps
* UI looks clunky
* Low usable storage

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

12 Comments

james roe says:

6 years ago

Its an important message for all our viewers and audience. Please compare prices, Specifications, and reviews before buying any product. Else admin is taking an appreciable Initiative. please do not take it as wrong comment. thanks
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Fes says:

7 years ago

Hello boss. I’m looking for a cell phone that will provide me with an accurate GPS cos I travel a lot to unfamiliar locations. My friend uses zenfone max for navigation and he claims the GPS is accurate. Please do you think the zenfone max will do better than other high ends like LG G4 f500 in terms of GPS accuracy? Or do you have any other recommendations? Thank you.
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Ernest says:

8 years ago

Very poor quality phone… so many features but doesn’t work properly.. even facebook live isn’t supported.. my other friends teasesme why i bought this phone and the phone they use is cherry mobile worth 3000 pesos and it exceeds my phones performance.. i’ve already sent this phone to the service center and after 6 weeks of waiting, they replaced this phone with a new one… very dissapointed but i don’t have a choice.. better bought myphone…
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Eds says:

8 years ago

I agree with you Ernest! i just bought my Asus phone last month, August 1 to be exact and now the on/off button isn’t working. I need to bring this tomorrow to the nearest service center. Did you bring your phone to the stall where you bought it or directly to the service center? Thanks!

ISha says:

8 years ago

i disagree with Jade. The phone battery is great, i just bought it and its lasted longer than 24 hours. I’m happy with my 8k purchase.
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Jade says:

8 years ago

This is by far the worst phone i ever had. I regretted switching from iOs to android. Battery 5k mah? Cant last a day. Everything u read and see on web about how awesome this phone is will instantly turn into nightmare once u experienced this phone for at least two days.

Yours truly,
Good friend
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Arvin Uy says:

9 years ago

I bought Asus Zenfone Max ZC500KL last 05, April 2016. Asus Zenfone 5 A500KL (2014 model) is much faster than Asus Zenfone Max ZC550KL. I can tell because I played with my friend using Clash Royale using this two phones. (FYI: I also owned a Zenfone 5 A500KL after I lost it, this was the phone I considered replacing) You can see the difference between the gameplay smoothness which is the Zenfone Max is inferior than the Zenfone 5.
From the 3 games I downloaded after a Factory Reset just to be sure the lagging doesn’t come from the other apps installed, 2 out of 3 games where really lagging.
1.) Sandstorm: Pirates War (New Game) – Lag Meter is 4 out of 5
2.) Minions Paradise – Lag Meter is 2 out of 5
3.) Clash Royale – Not actual lagging but the smoothness of the game is inferior

I can also felt lagging after a reboot, don’t know why, but I followed what the ASUS Support have emailed me, that they suggest that I do a factory reset… and I did, I even update the system first before trying installing anything but it never solved my problem, after that ASUS no longer replied to my emails or complains.

Overall is a good phone with a lot of good features, great camera, good battery-life… but DON’T BUY this if your someone who uses his/her phone for gaming purposes… Just don’t, the only thing left for me to solve this is to resell the phone and buy a new one…
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Ronaldq says:

9 years ago

5 hours turtle charge….
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tagaakda says:

9 years ago

I’m a bit confused, gsmarena specs state that the zenfone max can only support 64gb of expansion via microsd. While here you state that it supports 128gb. So which is it?

mike says:

9 years ago

Would you mind telling us what’s the charger you used getting the 5 hours? How many volts and amps is that charger?
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AngelaM says:

9 years ago

any USB port charger that has 5.0V/2.0A or higher will charge this hefty battery. i have samsung charger with this rated V/A and quickly charge my zerolemon battery with capacity of 7500mAH in just 6 hours :D

Izrael says:

9 years ago

Zenfone 2 Laser launch price Php 8,695 just a few months later dropped to Php 7,995. You pay extra Php 400 for the 5000mah battery of the Zenfone Max. Lugi compared to India, because obviously of the larger market, sa pricing which both devices sells for the amount of around Php 7k. Pero pwede na rin sa mga social media warriors, hindi na kayo masyado ma lowbat at ang pagtiisan mo nalang ay ung 5 hours na fast charge. Hehehe
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