Rey BelenNowadays with more and more people are hooked to their mobile phones, more than any other devices, chances are that you are one of three things, either a wall-hugger always hooked to a power outlet or you bring a heavy power bank for backup or you end up cramming to go home just to charge up your phone. With the ASUS’ latest smartphone, the Zenfone Max M1, it promises to keep up with your mobile tasks the whole day. With its 4,000 mAh battery, the ASUS Zenfone Max M1 sports maximum battery power.
INSIDE THE BOX
Released in April 2018, the ASUS Zenfone Max M1 is just fresh off the ASUS gates.
So what’s inside the box once you purchase.
The ASUS Zenfone Max M1 has:
- 1 ASUS Zenfone Max1 Unit
- 1 Power Adapter
- 1 Micro USB Cable
- 1 Clear Soft Bumper
- 1 Headset
- 1 Ejector Pin
- Manual and warranty card
REAL WORLD USAGE
With a fully-charged Zenfone Max M1, I started the day early I as went to Makati.
Like my usual thing on transit, I have my mobile data on surfing the internet at full LCD screen brightness – checking Facebook, Instagram, Bleacher Report and watching YouTube.
When I arrived in Makati, I used the Zenfone Max M1 as hotspot to finish some of my works. It took me an estimated combined 3 to 4 hours as I used it intermitently to tether data.
And the whole day, I was also messaging via SMS, WeChat, Messenger, Viber and Kakao using the Zenfone Max M1. I also made some calls.
With all the tasks for the day, while most of the time I have my mobile data on, full brightness of LCD display and few hours of tethering, the Zenfone Max M1 lasted for more than 12 hours without 1 charge in between.
If not for the need to use it as a hotspot, the Zenfone Max M1 would have probably lasted even more. Not to mention that I used bluetooth headphone as well to listen to the videos I stream online.
Plus, I did not use ANY battery-saving optimization built-in the Zenfone Max M1 that could have extended the battery with the power-saving enhancements.
CAMERA
Rear Camera
Zenfone Max M1 has a decent 13MP (F2.0 aperture) dual rear camera lens, with capability to shoot in a 120˚ wide-viewing angle. It also has an LED flash that can come handy in low-light situation. Bear in mind that if you shoot on a wider angle, the resolution drops to 5MP.
- 120˚ wide-viewing angle
- Auto Focus
- 0.03 second laser auto-focus
- LED flash
- Instant cameras switching
The 13MP rear camera is powered with PixelMaster Camera Modes for added photo capabilities:
- Super Resolution (for up to 4X resolution photos)
- Beauty
- GIF Animation
- Time Lapse
- Panorama
- Auto (with low light and HDR features)
- 9 various filters
In good lighting condition, the Zenfone Max M1 camera performs decently.
Front Camera
The 8MP Zenfone Max M1 also performs well at its price range. Coupled with ASUS Beautification app, that many people can most likely appreciate.
SAMPLE PHOTOS
Here are sample photos using the rear camera of ASUS Zenfone Max M1 compared to an OPPO F5 for comparison:
| ASUS Zenfone Max M1 | OPPO F5 |
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Here’s a sample of the Normal Rear Camera Shot and the Wide Angle Shot
| 13 MP | 5 MP Wide Angle |
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Low Light
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Front Camera (Selfie)
Portrait Mode Rear Camera in Low light
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RAW SAMPLE VIDEOS (Low Light Condition)
| Landscape Front Cam Recording | Portrait Front Cam Recording |
| Landscape Rear Cam Recording | Portrait Rear Cam Recording |
Biometrics
Fingerprint Scanner
In the advent of better security on smartphones, the Zenfone Max M1 has a fingerprint scanner. This is a feature that I usually use to save me time.
Good thing about this is that it reacts fast like my other higher-priced smartphones.
Face Detection
Considering the price of the Zenfone Max M1, I was surprised that it also has a Face Detection feature on it. While I don’t use it much, I still find it a great add-on to this smartphone.
CONCLUSION
Overall the ASUS Zenfone Max M1 is great phone. Great for practical buyers wanting the most out of their money.
With its octa-core processor, the ASUS Zenfone Max M1 can basically do in a breeze basic mobile operations such as browse, watch, listen, snap, documents and play games.
The Zenfone Max M1 is fit also for travellers or people on the go who do not want to bring powerbanks or rely heavily on stopping on shops just to charge.
I don’t recommend this phone to people who expects to have a DSLR/Mirrorless replacement on a smartphone for a price a quarter of the high-end smartphones in the market. As the Max M1 takes decent shots on the fly, but not necessarily a camera phone that will blow your minds away.
PRICE
Zenfone Max M1 is priced at Php 8,995 in the Philippines.
Zenfone Max M1 Specs
- Processor: 1.4 GHz Octacore Display: 5.5” IPS LCD with 18:9 Aspect Ratio and 2.5D Arc Glass
- Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1440 Pixels), 245 PPI
- Dual Camera: 13MP (rear) + 8MP (front)
- Memory: 3GB
- Storage: 32GB + 256GB (expandable)
- GPU: Adreno 308
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
- Operating System: Android 8.0 Oreo with Zen UI 5.0
- SIM: Dual Sim (Nano) 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, 2G EDGE & GPRS Networks
- Biometrics: Fingerprint, Face Detection
- Color: Deepsea Black, Sunlight Gold
DISCLAIMER: ASUS Philippines sent me the ASUS Zenfone Max M1 to try. The whole review is done independently by the blogger to produce honest reviews and more real-world usage.
Rey Belen
