ZenFone Max Pro M2 Review: The Best Budget Smartphone to Buy?
Asus recently launched the ZenFone Max Pro M2 and it looks like the perfect candidate for the crown of the best upkeep smartphone. Compared to its predecessor, the ZenFone Max Pro M1, which was a very popular smartphone, the Max Pro M2 (starts at Rs. 12,999) not only seems to set up its flaws, it also seems to bring upgrades that make information technology a slap-up budget smartphone. Having said that, the question here is, is the ZenFone Max Pro M2 every bit good as it seems? Well, this is our ZenFone Max Pro M2 review, so let'southward discover out.
ZenFone Max Pro M2 Specifications
| Dimensions | 157.9 x 75.five x 8.5 mm |
| Weight | 170 grams |
| Display | half-dozen.26-inch Full-Hard disk+ IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 6 |
| Processor | Snapdragon 660 |
| RAM | upwards to 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB, expandable up to 2TB |
| Rear Cameras | 12MP + 5MP EIS, 4K |
| Front Camera | 13MP (f/ii.0) with flash |
| Operating System | Android 8.1 Oreo |
| Battery | 5,000mAh 5V 2A Charger |
| Connectivity | rear-mounted fingerprint, WiFi 802.xi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, three.5mm sound jack |
What's In the Box
Here's what you get the ZenFone Max Pro M2 box:
- ZenFone Max Pro M2 (duh!)
- USB-A to microUSB cablevision
- 5V 2A charging adapter
- SIM ejector tool
- Clear silicon instance
- Leaflets and documentation
Design and Build Quality
Beginning off, the slow, bland design from the ZenFone Max Pro M1 is gone. The Max Pro M2 features a premium drinking glass-like finish on the dorsum and it certainly looks great. It is plastic simply the terminate here gives the phone a very premium look and feel.
So, it's nice but there's one problem. Even though the back hither is not glass, it behaves like drinking glass. What I mean is, the dorsum hither is very prone to scratches. Look at the scratches on our unit here. It's insane… even the glass backed phones we accept don't have equally many scratches equally the Max Pro M2 does. I call back this is the reason Asus bundles a case with the phone. Anyway, the back here has the dual camera setup and the fingerprint scanner, which in my usage, has been fast and accurate, so no bug there.
The scratch-decumbent back apart, I love this new design. Plus, I like how lightweight this phone is, especially when you factor in the massive five,000 mAh bombardment. Let's compare the Max Pro M2's weight with other phones. The Motorola One Power as well has a 5,000 mAh bombardment, but that weighs in at 205 grams, while the M2 weighs in at 170 grams. Information technology's impressive that the M2 is lighter than a lot of phones that accept smaller batteries.
Moving on to the front end, there are changes here likewise. The ZenFone Max Pro M2 comes with the notch and I know a lot of you guys don't like this. I mean, as I've said previously, I think a teardrop notch is the best implementation of the notch, but at to the lowest degree the notch on the Max Pro M2 is not as huge as the one on the Redmi Note six Pro.
Apart from that, there are the usual buttons, the microUSB port (ya, no USB-C!), and the headphone jack.
So, overall, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 looks adept and features all the basics yous need. I know, the dorsum is very scratch prone but it'south not a large deal, at to the lowest degree that's what I think.
Display
The ZenFone Max Pro M2 features a 6.26" IPS LCD display and information technology's non only larger, the display here is amend than the display on the ZenFone Max Pro M1. The color accuracy, the brightness and basically, everything else looks meliorate on the M2 brandish.
Have a look at the whites on the Max Pro M1 brandish and the Max Pro M2.
So, the display here is skillful and on par with the practiced displays in the competition, like the Redmi Notation half-dozen Pro and the Realme 2 Pro. Yes, the Realme two Pro'south display is brighter, only apart from that, the ZenFone Max Pro M2'south display is on par and pretty good.
Apart from the peachy display, the Max Pro M2 is besides the just phone so far to characteristic a Gorilla Glass six in this price range. Now, Gorilla Glass 6 is supposed to bring better drop protection, right? And that's what the ZenFone Max Pro M2'southward ads suggest, so I tested it out. I dropped the telephone iii times to run across if the Gorilla Glass 6 holds upwardly. Well, the good news is, the display of the Max Pro M2 is fine and there aren't even any major scratches. So yep, Gorilla Glass 6 on the ZenFone Max Pro M2 should exist fine against usual drops and kudos to Asus actually for bringing Gorilla Glass 6 in a segment filled with Gorilla Glass 3 phones.
Also, if y'all are wondering, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 features the Widevine L1 license, which means you will be able to spotter HD videos on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Cameras
One of the complaints I had with the ZenFone Max Pro M1 was its average cameras. Well, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 fixes that. Let'due south talk well-nigh the rear cameras in the ZenFone Max Pro M2 beginning.
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Rear Cameras
The phone comes with a 12MP plus 5MP dual photographic camera setup on the back but don't exist fooled by these numbers. I know information technology seems like a downgrade from the 6GB variant of the Max Pro M1 which had a 16MP camera, only trust me, the cameras on the Max Pro M2 are a lot improve. Simply take a await at these photos.
The ZenFone Max Pro M2 takes photos that are precipitous and high on particular, especially when there is good light. Some photos plough out a bit oversaturated, just I don't call back this is an outcome. Even the portrait mode photos in skilful light accept nice details and decent border detection. Yes, the colors can be a little off at times, but it's not a huge trouble. When it comes to low light, the Max Pro M2 takes decent photos, simply sometimes the photos aren't every bit sharp as I'd like and sometimes noise creeps in.
Compared to the Redmi Annotation half dozen Pro and the Realme 2 Pro cameras, it's a tough phone call in good lite. Wait at these photos. All the phones are good here, but I just find the details in the ZenFone Max Pro M2 photo slightly better than the competition, although I similar the colors more in the Note 6 Pro photos. And then ya, it'southward really close. When it comes to low light photos, the Max Pro M2 and Realme 2 Pro exercise well enough, but the Redmi Note half-dozen Pro photos are just sharper and they have less noise.
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Videos
When it comes to videos, the Max Pro M2 comes with 4K support, which is something a lot of budget phones miss out on, so that's expert. Hither'south a 4K video shot from the telephone. Equally yous tin can see, the video quality here is pretty nice, with the colors looking skilful and things looking sharp. Yes, the stability is not very skillful, and that'due south because EIS here kicks in at 1080p.
Well, I as well recorded a 1080p video, and it's definitely more than stable than the 4K video. Notwithstanding, when I compared the 1080p video from the ZenFone Max Pro M2, the Note 6 Pro and the Realme two Pro, I plant that the Note six Pro and Realme ii Pro capture videos that are fashion more stable. It'southward surprising really, because all these phones have EIS. I hope Asus makes the 1080p videos more stable in future updates.
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Front Camera
Coming to the front end cameras, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 takes some decent selfies, when there'south skilful light. As y'all tin meet in the selfies below, the photos in proficient lighting have good particular and colors. However, things aren't as proficient in low light. The selfies in low light mostly turn out to be soft.
When compared to the Redmi Notation 6 Pro and Realme ii Pro, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 compares well in good lighting but non and so much in low low-cal. And if you lot are wondering, yes, there's no portrait mode on the front nevertheless, but Asus is bringing that in an update soon.
Overall, the cameras on the ZenFone Max Pro M2, especially the rear cameras are improved and way meliorate, and while they might non exist the all-time when compared to the competition, they get close and that'southward good enough for a upkeep smartphone.
Functioning
The ZenFone Max Pro brings a peachy upgrade from the ZenFone Max Pro M1 when it comes to the processor. The Max Pro M2 comes with a Snapdragon 660, which is the near powerful processor in this price range. In benchmarks, the Max Pro M2 obviously beats the Snapdragon 636 phones out at that place similar the Annotation six Pro, the Nokia 7.ane, and the Moto I Power.
When compared to phones with the Snapdragon 660, like the Realme two Pro and the Mi A2, the scores of the M2 are more than similar to the Realme 2 Pro, and that'south because merely like the Realme Phone, the high-performance cores on the ZenFone Max Pro M2's Snapdragon 660 are clocked at one.95GHz instead of the regular two.2GHz.
Well, to be honest, the lower clock speed isn't something I really intendance nearly because in my usage, the telephone has been performing really well. Things have been smoothen, be it during 24-hour interval to day tasks or during multitasking. Nosotros accept the 4GB variant of the phone here, and so things should exist even better in the 6GB variant.
When it comes to gaming performance, the phone handles games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 really well. The telephone sets PUBG'due south graphics settings at Medium past default and on that setting, the gameplay is smooth and near flawless. I tried playing the game at high graphics, and while things were mostly fine, at that place was some stutter and lag at times, so ya, I'd recommend you to stick to medium.
Overall, the operation on the ZenFone Max Pro M2 is top notch, no pun intended. It'southward just the best functioning a phone can offer at this cost.
Software
The ZenFone Max Pro M2, like the ZenFone Max Pro M1, comes with stock Android on-lath and that's peachy because stock Android was one of the highlights of the ZenFone Max Pro M1. For those who are dislocated, while the phone does come with stock Android, it's not an Android One telephone. Well, there'due south Android 8.i Oreo hither, and while I was disappointed almost information technology, Asus announced that they will roll out the Android Pie update adjacent calendar month, so that's promising.
Anyway, the stock Android experience here has a few changes. There are a few Asus apps here, forth with the Facebook app and the Asus camera app. Anyway, it'southward non a lot and people really apply some of these apps (like voice recorder, FM Radio etc.), so I wouldn't call it bloatware. There are likewise boosted features like a few gestures (not navigation gestures, gestures like double tap to unlock) and face unlock, which works pretty fast virtually of the fourth dimension.
While everything's fine, the stock Android Oreo experience does not seem well optimized for the notch. Nosotros all know that Google brought notch support with Android Pie, then it's non surprising only this is something Asus must have fixed. So, what happens is, in different apps, the notch just marginally overlaps in the top area of the interface. I am non explaining information technology expert enough, so take a look:
I know, it's non a major issue but I only find this a little abrasive, specially while playing games. Plus there'southward no way to force apps to use the total screen, or hibernate the notch, so ya, there are a few issues in the ZenFone Max Pro M2. Well, permit'south promise Asus fixes this soon.
Overall, stock Android is something that matters to me. I just prefer stock Android here. If you lot ask me to choose betwixt the really bad ColorOS on the Realme phones, the advertizement-ridden MIUI on the Xiaomi phones , and stock Android on the Max Pro M2. I will always prefer the stock Android experience on the ZenFone Max Pro M2.
Battery
The ZenFone Max Pro M2 comes with the same massive 5,000 mAh bombardment from the Max Pro M1 and while the screen is a scrap larger than the M1, the battery performs pretty much the same every bit the M1.
And so, in my usage, the Max Pro M2 easily lasted me for a couple of days on medium usage. Generally, starting the twenty-four hour period at 100%, I would stop the day at effectually 50-60% fifty-fifty on a little extensive usage and that is just actually good. The battery performance is something that really impressed me in the M1 and it impresses me yet again in the M2.
When it comes to charging, Asus bundled the 5V 2A charger in the box and in our first impressions video, a lot of you were dislocated if this is a fast charger or not. Well, the phone does testify "rapidly charging" with the in-box 10W charger plugged in, which I call up is a QuickCharge 1.0 charger, and then it is fast charging the telephone, but it's just not as fast every bit Quick Charge four.0, or even 3.0.
Anyway, so the in-box charger takes 2 hours and 50 minutes to charge the Max Pro M2 from 10 to 100%, which is fine. I mean, the Note half dozen Pro and Realme 2 Pro take effectually ii hours to go from 10 to 100%, only they also have smaller batteries. So, this is the price yous'll take to pay for the larger battery.
I also tried out an 18W fast charger with the Max Pro M2 and it took the aforementioned corporeality of time, that is 2 hours 50 minutes, so I gauge this the maximum charging speed yous can get.
Audio
The ZenFone Max Pro M2 brings improvements from the ZenFone Max Pro M1 on the audio forepart as well. Commencement off, the speaker here is ameliorate. The Max Pro M2 comes with 5-magnet speaker for louder, deeper and less distorted sound quality and NXP SmartAmp technology. Now, all of that is tech mumbo jumbo, merely the speakers hither are definitely louder than the Max Pro M1 and the likes of the Redmi Note six Pro. While the quality here isn't the best or as great as the Annotation 6 Pro, information technology'southward decent enough for a budget phone.
The ZenFone Max Pro M2 also brings better sound quality through the headphone jack. A lot of people take complained about the ZenFone Max Pro M1's boilerplate sound quality with the headphone jack, so I am glad Asus has fixed it with the ZenFone Max Pro M2. I tried my Sony MDR-XB55 in-ear headphones with both the M2 and the M1, and it was clear that the sound quality from the Max Pro M2 is just way amend. The sound is louder, clearer and the quality is a lot better. So, it'due south definitely amend than the Max Pro M1.
Connectivity
On the connectivity front, the ZenFone Max Pro M2 features well-nigh of the basics simply there are a few things missing, which might disappoint a few users. First of all, there'south WLAN 802.xi b/thou/n, which means the phone but supports 2.4GHz WiFi networks. Yes, like Max Pro M1, there'southward no back up for 5GHz WiFi networks and while this is a picayune disappointing., if yous are wondering if it'due south a huge result, you tin bank check out our article on the same.
Other than that, there'southward Bluetooth 5.0, expandable storage upward to 2TB, dual SIM with dual 4G VoLTE back up, and there are the usual sensors like accelerator, due east-compass, proximity sensor, ambience lite sensor and gyroscope.
ZenFone Max Pro M2: Should you lot Buy Information technology?
Pros:
- Premium looking design
- Vibrant display
- Great operation
- Amazing battery life
- Decent cameras
- Stock Android
- Good speakers
- Gorilla Glass vi
Cons:
- No portrait manner in forepart camera
- Average video stability in 1080p
- Scratch decumbent dorsum
- Software problems with the notch
- No 5GHz WiFi support
Okay, that was pretty much information technology when it comes to our ZenFone Max Pro M2 review/ At present, coming to the verdict. Is the ZenFone Max Pro M2 the best budget phone smartphone to buy? Well, yes! The ZenFone Max Pro M2, which starts at Rs. 12,999 is a telephone I will be recommending to a lot of people and that'southward because this is simply the best all effectually upkeep phone out there.
The changes on the design front make the Max Pro M2 a dandy looking smartphone. The cameras, while not the all-time, are adept enough for the cost and the Snapdragon 660 makes up for a really fast and smooth experience. Plus, like the ZenFone Max Pro M1, the stock Android experience is bang-up and the bombardment is simply impressive. Information technology's not perfect. The back is very scratch prone, there are software issues with the notch and there'south still no 5GHz support. Simply are these deal breakers? Definitely not!
When it comes to the competition, at that place's the Redmi Note 6 Pro (starts at Rs. xiii,999) with slightly improve cameras, but it has a slower processor, an inferior design, and a smaller bombardment. There'due south also the Realme 2 Pro (starts at Rs. 13,990) and Realme U1 (starts at Rs. 11,999), and they both have the trendy teardrop notch designs and cracking operation, but I cannot live with ColorOS. At that place are a lot of other phones hither like the Nokia half-dozen.i plus (Rs. 15,990), the Motorola One Power (Rs. fifteen,999), the Laurels 8X (starting at Rs. fourteen,999) and more, just they all fail to match the ZenFone Max Pro M2'due south all around capabilities.
| REVIEW OVERVIEW | |
| Design and Build Quality 8.5 | |
| Display 9 | |
| Performance 9 | |
| Software 8.5 | |
| Cameras 7.5 | |
| Audio 8.v | |
| Battery & Charging 9.5 | |
| Connectivity 8 | |
| Value for Money ix.5 | |
| SUMMARY The ZenFone Max Pro M2 is a phone I volition be recommending to a lot of people, because this is a phone that builds on the solid base of the ZenFone Max Pro M1. It's a great package with almost no dealbreakers. Recommended! | eight.vii OVERALL SCORE |
Source: https://beebom.com/zenfone-max-pro-m2-review/
Posted by: isenberganou1962.blogspot.com
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