ASUS ZenFone Max Plus Review – a budget smartphone with FullView display

If you have been following the smartphone market lately, you should have noticed that almost every new released smartphone follows the trend of Full-view display. Last December, ASUS finally launched its first Full-view display smartphone – ASUS ZenFone Max Plus and we are lucky to be able to get our hands on it, so here is our ASUS ZenFone Max Plus review!

What is in the box

The ASUS ZenFone Max Plus package comes in a rectangular box with the essential items – the phone itself, a pair of Earphones, Clear Silicone Case, USB OTG Adapter, Quick Start Guide, Eject Pin, microUSB Cable and Charger. The model we get is in Deepsea Black (quite an elegant colour).

The phone is having a premium metal design with a 5.7-inch bezel-less display. On the back, we are having a fingerprint scanner (which is easy to reach) along with the dual-lens rear camera. The metal back is anti-fingerprint but slippery, you may want to put on the free silicone case so it won’t escape from your hands easily. The phone weighs 160g and 8.8 mm for thickness – it is heavy and thick compared to most of the smartphones in the market now.

ASUS ZenFone Max Plus Specifications

• Size: 152.6 x 73 x 8.8 mm
• Weight: 160 g
• Color: Sunlight Gold, Azure Silver, Deepsea Black
• Display: 5.7-inch HD display
• Resolution: 1440 x 720 pixels
• CPU: MediaTek MT6750T Octa-core Processor
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
• Memory: 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM (support up to 256GB with Micro SD card)
• Camera:
  • 16MP Front Camera
  • 16MP + 8MP Rear Camera
• Battery: 4130 mAh
• ZenUI: ZenUI 4.0

Display and Camera

ASUS ZenFone Max Plus is featuring a 5.7-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, however the resolution is only 1440 x 720 pixels. The numbers might sound disappointing, but the graphics actually look smooth and clear enough for both normal usage and entertainment (you probably won’t notice the difference).

The 16MP + 8MP rear camera enables you to take some good photos and full HD videos (even in 18:9 aspect ratio formats). The bad side is, photo taken in low-light condition is relatively noisy and blurry due to the lack of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). Basic camera modes such as Time Lapse and Panorama presents, there is also a Super Resolution mode that allows you to snap images up to 64 MP (wow).

If you like to take selfies, ZenFone Max Plus‘s front camera will definitely suit your selfie needs. Just like ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro that we previously reviewed, ZenFone Max Plus is having a beauty mode with tons of options such as Skin Brighten, Skin Soften and Thin Cheeks. There is a pre-installed Selfie Master app too, and with that, you could go live on social media along with the beauty filter (something that youngsters especially girls would love).

Performance and Battery Life

With the 4GB RAM and MediaTek MT6750T Octa-core Processor, multitasking is running fast and smooth. However, you might face some lagging while playing high-demanding games. From my experience, the phone could run Asphalt 8 or Arena of Valor perfectly with high graphics settings, but not when I was playing Knives Out – the game lags terribly.

The original storage of the phone is 32GB and expandable up to 256GB with microSD card. While for the battery, ZenFone Max Plus is housing a massive 4130 mAh battery so you could expect more than a full day of battery life under regular usage. The battery runs out pretty fast if it is used for gaming though – it drops about 20% after one hour of non-stop gaming. Good news is, the phone can charges up quickly, providing 3 hours of talk time with a mere 15-minute charge.

Some special features such as reverse-charging (basically turns the phone into a powerbank) and Face Unlock (one of the hottest feature) are included in ZenFone Max Plus too.

Conclusion

Although ASUS ZenFone Max Plus is having some flows on it, it is actually offering an impressive specification considering its budget price. With just RM899, you can own a phone with 5.7-inch Full-view display, great cameras (especially the front camera), good gaming experience and long-lasting battery life!

ASUS ZenFone Max Plus is now available for RM899 (about 228 USD) in 3 colours – Deepsea Black, Sunlight Gold and Azure Silver. You can visit ASUS retails stores to get yourself a ZenFone Max Plus, or visit ASUS official website for more information.

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