Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 Review – Premium Design with Amazing Battery Life

Zenfone Max Pro M1, the first Stock Android Smartphone from Asus had received an amazing response from the India consumers and sold like hotcakes since the day of launch. Based on the feedback received from the community, Asus launches its successor Zenfone Max Pro M2 (ZB630KL) in India in December 2019 with a modern design, powerful processor, and an improved camera. It was launched at a price tag of ₹12,999 for 4GB/32GB variant and just within 3-months of launch, the company has made it more affordable by bringing down the price to ₹9,999. Check out the full review of Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 (4GB RAM) below.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Design

The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 has an Aluminium frame with a glossy back made out of plastic. Even though it lacks a metal back, the curved sides with laminated plastic feel premium (as good as the glass back) and also makes the phone comfortable to hold (a little slippery). The back panel has a 3D glass-like finish that reflects light in several angles. Make a note that, the back panel is a fingerprint magnet and can easily get dirty.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

The power and volume buttons are on the right while the Dual SIM Tray is placed on the left. At the bottom of the phone, you’ll find a Micro USB port placed along with the 3.5mm headphone jack, Loudspeaker, and a primary microphone. The secondary microphone is placed at the top and a Fingerprint sensor is placed on the rear side of the device.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Display

It has a 6.3-inch 19:9 IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels and protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 6. The display has a small Notch that houses the front camera, Selfie flash, and a couple of sensors. The Earpiece grill is placed just above the Notch & also houses a LED Notification light. Compared to Max Pro M1, the top bezel is reduced by adopting the Notched display but a bit thicker at the bottom. The Zenfone Max Pro M2 display supports:

  • Ambient display – Wakes up the screen in case of any notifications
  • Adaptive brightness
  • Night light – Filters out the blue light to reduce the eye strain
  • Smart screen – Extends the screen on time while you are looking at the display and holding the device upright
  • Color adjustments – Warm, Default and Cool (No Color modes)
  • Changeable display sizes – Small, Medium, Large
  • HD Video streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. – Widevine L1 support
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

The Zenfone Max Pro M2 has a brighter display, vibrant colors, High contrast and also provides good viewing angles. The outdoor visibility, especially in the sunlight, is also impressive. In most of the smartphones, the display notch can be hidden using the inbuilt settings but, Asus hasn’t included an option to hide the display notch of Zenfone Max Pro M2. You can still hide it using the 3rd party apps.

Software

The unique selling point of Zenfone Max Pro M2 is its Software. Out of the Box, it runs on Stock Android 8.1 Oreo and comes preloaded with a few 3rd party apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger etc. These preloaded apps can not be deleted but you can disable them if you don’t use it to save some internal storage. Apart from these apps, this device ships with few customized Asus’ apps – Camera, FM Radio, Calculator, and Voice Recorder.

Another feature we loved is the Double tap to turn off or Wake up the screen. By default these options are disabled and can be turned on by going to Settings -> System -> Gestures -> Zenmotion. Make a note that, these features are very useful in most situations but consume more battery.

The Zenfone Max Pro M2 is not a part Android One Program so there may not be monthly updates, instead, you’ll get the updates once in two months or three months. Asus has already confirmed that Max Pro M2 will receive the Android 9.0 Pie update by 15th April 2019 which is currently in the Beta stage.

Battery

The best part of the Zenfone Max Pro M2 is its battery. It has a massive 5,000mAh non-removable battery that supports 10W charging. This device misses out the Fast Charging option but supports 10W charging with bundled power adapter. It took about 2 hours 35 minutes to go from 3% to 100% with the supplied power adapter. You can easily expect about 30+ hours of standby time and about 12 hours of screen-on time with regular usage.

Connectivity

This device is available in Dual SIM configuration and supports 4G as well as VoLTE on both SIM slots (Dual VoLTE). There is also a dedicated MicroSD slot that lets you expand the storage up to 2 terabytes. The major drawback is the absence of the USB Type-C port, but, it includes the 3.5mm audio jack. Also, it doesn’t support Dual-band (5GHz) WiFi. We have used this device with Vodafone and Jio Network and did not observe any network drop or any call quality issues.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Rear camera

The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 comes with a dual-camera setup on the rear side that includes a primary 12MP f/1.8 sensor supported by the 5MP depth sensor. Asus has replaced the Stock camera with its own customized camera that has very poor User Interface. But, it does its job well. Coming to the camera features, it supports:

  • Auto PRO, HDR, Sports and Night mode
  • Depth effect (Portrait mode) – Adjustable
  • Continuous shot
  • 10 Image filters
  • 4K video recording at 30 frames per second
  • Red-eye reduction, Face deduction, and Anti banding
  • Image stabilization
  • Changeable storage location

The pictures taken in the daylight are good with accurate colors and shadows. But, the camera struggles in the low-light and lags a bit in detecting the edges in the Portrait mode. These issues can be controlled using the software techniques and expected to be solved in the coming major software update. The rear camera supports 4K video recording and supports EIS for shake-free HD videos. There is no EIS for 4K video recording.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Front camera

The front camera has a 13MP f/2.0 Sony IMX486 sensor housed inside the notch along with a selfie flash. It supports 3-levels of beautification and also Full HD video recording at 30 frames per second. The selfies taken are fairly decent and the beautification also does the job well. The front LED flash can be turned On/Off manually or set to Auto mode. In Auto mode, the LED turns On/Off automatically based on the lighting condition. If you turn on the flash manually, it stays ON even after taking the photos. So you’ll have to turn off the Selfie flash manually.

Zenfone Max Pro M2 Camera Samples

Zenfone Max Pro M2 Full HD 1080p Video Sample

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 4K Video Sample

Performance

Zenfone Max Pro M2 is fuelled by the octa-core Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform and available in two configurations – 4GB RAM with 32GB Storage and 6GB RAM with 64GB Storage. Due to the Stock Android and less bloat, the performance is fluid and smooth. Also, we didn’t find any lag while opening the apps and games.

We tested this phone with the popular game PUBG and results are impressive. The device heats up a bit with extended gamely but didn’t observe any lag or frame drop during the gameplay. The Audio output is not loud but you can expect a decent output with the 5-magnet speaker and an NXP Smart Amp. We also tested the headphone output with a few entry-level headphones such as Audio Technica CLR-100 and the performance is above the average.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Security

This device equipped with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and supports up to five fingers. The sensor is quick and also gives haptic feedback if it detects the wrong fingerprint. Max Pro M2 also supports Face Unlock and works well in the good lighting conditions. As it’s a stock Android phone, you can use the fingerprint sensor to unlock the device and also authorize Google Play purchases, but, cannot be used to unlock the apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Gallery, etc. Overall, the fingerprint scanner is quick and unlock the phone within a fraction of second.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

In the Box

The Zenfone Max Pro M2 package consists of a Handset, USB Cable, 10W Power adapter, Plastic case, SIM Ejector Pin, and a User manual. As stated earlier, the device looks very premium but a little slippery due to the glass like finish. The supplied transparent case Protects your phone while adding extra grip but, turns yellowish after using it for a couple of weeks. So it’s better to use a good 3rd party case for more protection.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Verdict

Compared to Zenfone Max Pro M1, Asus has made significant improvements in the performance and camera department. Zenfone Max Pro M2 misses out the Metal design, but, the New design is premium and catchy. It looks better in real life than in photos. The Stock Android is Snappy, Smooth also includes some useful additions such as Double tap to wake up, FM Radio, Call recorder etc. The camera could have been better but it justifies its price. The biggest advantage of Zenfone Max Pro M2 is the huge 5,000mAh battery that easily lasts long two days with regular usage. So if you are looking for a smartphone with FullHD display, Stock Android, and Good battery life, the Zenfone Max Pro M2 is the best deal available in the market right now.

Pros

  • Vibrant display
  • Premium design
  • Stock Android experience
  • Amazing battery life with good Standby time
  • Selfie flash
  • 4K video recording
  • Decent camera
  • Gorilla Glass 6

Cons

  • No USB Type-C port
  • No Fast charging
  • Poor camera UI
  • No Slow-motion video
  • Back Panel prone to scratches
  • Average low-light camera

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 Full Specifications

  • 6.3-inch FullHD+ Display, 2280×1080 Pixels, Display Notch
  • 19:9 Aspect Ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6
  • Fingerprint Scanner, Face Unlock
  • Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform, Octa Core, 64-bit, Adreno 512 GPU
  • 4GB or 6GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • 32GB or 64GB Storage,
  • MicroSD up to 2TB (Dedicated Slot)
  • Android 8.1 Oreo (Stock), Upgradable to Android Pie
  • Dual Rear Cameras, (12MP, f/1.8, Sony IMX486 + 5MP, 84° FoV), LED Flash, 4K Video Recording, 0.3 Sec Phase Autofocus, EIS
  • 13MP Front Camera, f/2.0, LED Flash
  • 5,000mAh Battery 10W Charging
  • Dual Nano SIM, 2G/3G/4G, VoLTE
  • Bluetooth 5.0 HID, WiFi b/g/n (2.4GHz)
  • GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
  • FM Radio, USB OTG, Dual Microphones
  • 5-magnet Speaker with NXP Smart AMP
  • Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Audio Jack
  • Sensors – Accelerometer, E-Compass, Proximity, Ambient Light, Gyro
  • Dimensions – 157.90 x 75.50 x 8.50 mm
  • Weight – 170g
  • Model Number – ZB630KL
  • In the Box – Handset, Charger (5V/2A), Micro USB Cable, SIM Ejector, Manual
Buy Zenfone Max Pro M2 on Flipkart

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