Created to solve the woes of running out of battery when no smartphone chargers are around, the ASUS Zenfone Max carries a 5000mAh battery that the company claims could last for 38 days of standby time. Could it really be a reliable partner for everyday use? Read our review and find out.
Note: Since the Max shares almost identical specs as the Zenfone Laser, we will be incorporating some of the aspects from that review into this one. If you want to skip to the part where we test its battery life, head to the third page of this article.
Design and Construction
Coming from the same Zenfone family, the Max has an identical face along with other models in the series. The display spans 5.5 inches across and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 just like the Zenfone Laser. Down below are the usual capacitive buttons that are no longer visible when you use the phone in the dark.
Looking at it from the side, it has a slightly thicker profile than other Zenfone 2 models due to its massive battery. The increase in width isn’t that much noticeable, but it’s the weight that will get your attention at 202 grams. Again, the battery is responsible.
The body is made with metal that rigidly supports the chassis of the device. It is then sandwiched by the display and a plastic back cover. All the buttons are kept on the upper right side. Here we have the volume rocker and power/lock button.
Breaking the all-metal frame is a single 3.5mm audio jack up top and a microphone pinhole alongside a microUSB port at the bottom for charging and transferring files.
The Zenfone Max has also been blessed with the same laser autofocus technology that appeared in the Zenfone Laser, helping you focus on subjects much faster. Together with dual-tone LED flashes, the handset aims to provide its users capable optics at their disposals whenever they demand it. Additionally, the back cover is textured and has a rubbery coating to it, but is made of plastic.
Meanwhile, we still have the back-firing speakers located at the lower end of its rear.
Popping off the cover, we will be exposed to the dual-SIM slots along with the microSD slot for expansion. Also seen here is the Zenfone Max’s non-removable 5000mAh battery. According to the company, the reason why they made it so is to ensure that this 1-cell battery gets the right voltage, in addition to other safety purposes. Also, since this specific model is one of the first units to be handed out, the battery is still exposed. The final version will have their batteries in black wrapping.
In general, the Max slightly carries the familiar look of Zenfones but is heavier and chunkier than the previous models due to the size of its battery. It’s not totally a bad thing since, in return, you get more power for your handset to last longer.
Next page: Display and Multimedia, Camera, and OS, UI, and Apps
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Hello boss. I’m looking for a cell phone that will provide me with an accurate GPS cos I travel a lot to unfamiliar locations. My friend uses zenfone max for navigation and he claims the GPS is accurate. Please do you think the zenfone max will do better than other high ends like LG G4 f500 in terms of GPS accuracy? Or do you have any other recommendations? Thank you.
Very poor quality phone… so many features but doesn’t work properly.. even facebook live isn’t supported.. my other friends teasesme why i bought this phone and the phone they use is cherry mobile worth 3000 pesos and it exceeds my phones performance.. i’ve already sent this phone to the service center and after 6 weeks of waiting, they replaced this phone with a new one… very dissapointed but i don’t have a choice.. better bought myphone…
I agree with you Ernest! i just bought my Asus phone last month, August 1 to be exact and now the on/off button isn’t working. I need to bring this tomorrow to the nearest service center. Did you bring your phone to the stall where you bought it or directly to the service center? Thanks!
i disagree with Jade. The phone battery is great, i just bought it and its lasted longer than 24 hours. I’m happy with my 8k purchase.
This is by far the worst phone i ever had. I regretted switching from iOs to android. Battery 5k mah? Cant last a day. Everything u read and see on web about how awesome this phone is will instantly turn into nightmare once u experienced this phone for at least two days.
Yours truly,
Good friend
I bought Asus Zenfone Max ZC500KL last 05, April 2016. Asus Zenfone 5 A500KL (2014 model) is much faster than Asus Zenfone Max ZC550KL. I can tell because I played with my friend using Clash Royale using this two phones. (FYI: I also owned a Zenfone 5 A500KL after I lost it, this was the phone I considered replacing) You can see the difference between the gameplay smoothness which is the Zenfone Max is inferior than the Zenfone 5.
From the 3 games I downloaded after a Factory Reset just to be sure the lagging doesn’t come from the other apps installed, 2 out of 3 games where really lagging.
1.) Sandstorm: Pirates War (New Game) – Lag Meter is 4 out of 5
2.) Minions Paradise – Lag Meter is 2 out of 5
3.) Clash Royale – Not actual lagging but the smoothness of the game is inferior
I can also felt lagging after a reboot, don’t know why, but I followed what the ASUS Support have emailed me, that they suggest that I do a factory reset… and I did, I even update the system first before trying installing anything but it never solved my problem, after that ASUS no longer replied to my emails or complains.
Overall is a good phone with a lot of good features, great camera, good battery-life… but DON’T BUY this if your someone who uses his/her phone for gaming purposes… Just don’t, the only thing left for me to solve this is to resell the phone and buy a new one…
5 hours turtle charge….
I’m a bit confused, gsmarena specs state that the zenfone max can only support 64gb of expansion via microsd. While here you state that it supports 128gb. So which is it?
Would you mind telling us what’s the charger you used getting the 5 hours? How many volts and amps is that charger?
any USB port charger that has 5.0V/2.0A or higher will charge this hefty battery. i have samsung charger with this rated V/A and quickly charge my zerolemon battery with capacity of 7500mAH in just 6 hours :D
Zenfone 2 Laser launch price Php 8,695 just a few months later dropped to Php 7,995. You pay extra Php 400 for the 5000mah battery of the Zenfone Max. Lugi compared to India, because obviously of the larger market, sa pricing which both devices sells for the amount of around Php 7k. Pero pwede na rin sa mga social media warriors, hindi na kayo masyado ma lowbat at ang pagtiisan mo nalang ay ung 5 hours na fast charge. Hehehe