Today through a launch event in New Delhi, Asus unveiled a new mid-range phone named ZenFone Max Pro M1. Since the smartphone belongs to the Max lineup, the budget-friendly smartphones offer the best is packed with best configurations for display, performance, battery, camera and audio. It is also being dubbed as a major rival for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro as both phones are packed with similar specs and features.
Design and Display
The ZenFone Max Pro M1 features a metal unibody chassis that weighs 180 grams. With a thickness of 8.5mm, it is the world’s thinnest smartphone with 5,000mAh battery. It can be availed in colors like Deepsea Black and Gray.
Going by the current trend, the Max Pro M1 offers its users with an elongated 18:9 Full View that measures 5.99 inches. The display produces Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It supports 85 percent NTSC color gamut and up to 450-nits of brightness. The screen is shielded by a 2.5D curved glass.
Performance and Variants
The 5,000mAh battery powers the smartphone. The 10W fast charging feature completely charges it in 2.42 hours, claimed the company at its launch event. The huge battery offers 3G talk time of 42 hours, Wi-Fi browsing of up to 28 hours, and continuous playback of 1080p videos for up to 25.3 hours. The Snapdragon 636 SoC powers the three RAM and storage models of the ZenFone Max Pro M1.
The base model has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The second variant has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of inbuilt storage. The highest configuration model includes 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of native storage. For additional storage, the ZenFone Max Pro M1 provides its users with a dedicated microSD card slot.
The ZenFone Max Pro M1 is the first smartphone from the company to run on stock edition of Android. The Android 8.1 Oreo OS that is available on the phone is not skinned with ZenUI, but it does not include some apps from Asus. Hence, the smartphone cannot is not marketed as an Android One phone.
Cameras and Other Features
The backside of the ZenFone Max Pro M1 includes a vertically stacked dual camera module. Its main sensor of 13-megapixel with f/2.2 aperture is coupled with 5-megapixel depth sensor. The dual camera offers features like soft-light LED, PDAF and 4K video shooting. The f/2.0 aperture 8-megapixel camera with 85.5-degree field-of-view that is available on the front is accompanied by soft-light LED.
Asus has packed in 5-magnet speaker as well as smart amplifier by NXP for amplified audio experience. For louder sound output, the Taiwanese company also announced a passive amplifier called MaxBox for the phone. The accessory can produce two times louder audio than what the ZenFone Max Pro M1 can deliver. Other features of the smartphone include 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and GPS.
Pricing and Availability
The 4 GB RAM + 32 GB storage, 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage editions of the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 are respectively priced at Rs. 10,999, Rs. 12,999 and Rs. 14,999. Its official sales will start at 12 PM on May 3. On the launch date, the ZenFone Max Pro M1 buyers can take advantage of various launch offers.
Flipkart has introduced Complete Mobile Protection alongside the Max Pro M1. It offers coverage for broken display, liquid damage, hardware and software issue for a year with a pricing of Rs. 999. With ZenFone Max Pro M1, it will be with an introductory price of Rs. 49 only.
Vodafone prepaid subscribers with 199 plan or higher and postpaid users with 399 plan or above who buy the Max Pro M1 will be provided with 10 GB of data on monthly basis for one year. For Vodafone RED 499 plan users and above, the telecom operator will be providing 2-year RED Shield device security insurance and 10 GB of extra data per month for a year.
The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 will be also available through no cost EMI through credit cards from leading banks and Bajaj FinServ. The retailer giant will be also providing Rs. 1,000 extra price cut over regular exchange value on select older phones.
