The new ASUS Zenfone Max Plus (M1) has been officially unveiled yesterday, January 14, at The Atrium, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. It is the first smartphone of the company to join the trend of tall displays (18:9) and upgrades to a more securable technology, the Face Unlock recognition. And, a pair of cameras at the back!
The dual cameras are composed of a 16-megapixel lens with f/2.0 aperture that comes with 0.03 seconds phase detection auto-focus and has superb PixelMaster modes; and a secondary sensor, 8-megapixel with a 120° wide-angle lens. Both are accompanied by a single-LED flash. It can record videos up to 1080p and can take photos while recording video. On the other side, the front camera also has an 8-megapixel lens with f/2.0 aperture and 85° field of view, also supported by PixelMaster camera modes. We didn’t have enough time to test the camera due to limited time, but once we get the review unit, sample photos and videos will be included.
Measuring 152.6 x 73 x 8.8 mm, and weighing 160 grams, it feels light, premium and comfortable to hold. The 5.7-inch screen 1080p screen that has a 2.5D curved glass display is a nice upgrade from its predecessor, the Zenfone Max. Its build quality is great though.
The ASUS Zenfone Max Plus M1’s MediaTek MT6750T chipset comes with a 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. One thing that many people will complain is about the SoC used here, but according to the company, the MT6750T can offer a decent performance, with the help of a large amount of RAM. The dedicated microSD card slot here can support up to 256GB.
Another thing that we notice? The fingerprint scanner was moved in the back. The battery has 4,130 mAh capacity, the largest ever in a smartphone with 18:9 screen. The endurance of the battery is said to be 2x longer than the normal lifespan in a phone, up to 26 days of 4G standby time and 21 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. Amazing right?
Our initial findings? The new ASUS Zenfone Max Plus (M1) is a really, really a good phone for a ~P12K price tag. It is now available nationwide in all ASUS concept stores, including in Lazada Philippines. Our review will come up soon, so stay tuned!
ASUS Zenfone Max Plus (M1) key specs:
| Display | 5.7-inch FHD+ IPS LCD screen, 2160 x 1080 pixels, 424 ppi |
| CPU | 1.5Ghz 64-bit octa-core MediaTek MT6750T chipset |
| RAM | 3GB |
| GPU | Mali-T860 |
| SIM | Dual-SIM, Dual stand-by |
| Storage | 32GB |
| Storage expansion | Dedicated microSD slot up to 256GB |
| Rear camera | Dual 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel with phase detection auto-focus and single-LED flash |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Video recording | 1080p (30 fps) |
| Operating system | Android 7.0 “Nougat”, ASUS ZenUI 4.0 |
| Others | Fingerprint scanner |
| USB-OTG support | |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth 4.0 | |
| GPS, with A-GPS, GLONASS | |
| GSM, HSPA+, 4G LTE (Category 4) | |
| FM Radio | |
| microUSB 2.0 | |
| Dimensions | 152.6 x 73 x 8.8 mm |
| Weight | 160 grams |
| Battery | 4,130 mAh non-removable capacity, fast battery charging |
| Color | Black |
| SRP | P11,995 |
