First Look At The ASUS Zenfone MAX (ZC550KL)

Hi Huneybees,

I hold in my hand the latest ASUS Zenfone MAX! It's the new smartphone that has been raved about for its long lasting battery life.

Here's the specs and a quick lowdown video on the functions of the smartphone: 

• 5.5-inch IPS (1280 x 720 pixels)
• Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• 1.2Ghz quad core Snapdragon 410 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• microSD slot
• dual SIM
• 13MP camera with laser autofocus
• 5MP front camera
• 4G, WiFi
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Android 5.0
• 5,000mAh battery 

There's been an issue with the previous Zenfone series, for the short battery life and that the design was a little too bulky to hold in hand, but with the ASUS Zenfone Max, both issues were settled to deliver another impressive product in their smartphone lineup. 


This one has a metal frame with the volume and power keys on the right side instead of the usual rear panel placement and the phone is at just 5.2mm width, which is so slim given the large battery capacity! I'm also liking the touch of it with the sleek faux leather finish to match the metal frame. Overall, a good grip and stylish phone.

The 5.5-inch screen has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and impresses with vivid colors, wide viewing angles and good brightness makes photos pop and you also manually adjust in the a screen color mode to change the color temperature or use one of the presets (bluelight filter, balanced, vivid). 

Gaming is also not an issue with not just the long battery life but also the quad core Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. I can play heavy duty games all day and my battery doesn't run out! If you are talking about screened turned on 24/7 with massive social media scrolling, I can easily have the phone running for 1.5 days!

Aand as shown in the video above, you can even use the provided OTG cable to charge up other phones. Combined with the camera features and the amazing up to 30x zoom in clarity photos, I'm really considering this for traveling usage. One phone to rule them all! =X

As for cameras, it has a 13MP rear camera with dual tone flash and laser autofocus. Up front is 5MP camera. Both cameras are impressive in terms of capture speed with the laser autofocus on the rear camera takes a split second to focus on the subject. 
Though the massive zooming in does show alot of details on phone screens, but it becomes a little lack of quality when viewed on larger computer screens or TV. Also, when its under lowlight settings, the pictures do get a little noisy...


All in all this seems like a phone to consider especially if you do not like to have too much things in your bag or like a smart gadget that does all, this is a choice to consider. Except there's one little down point to it. Bundled with a 1A/5V charger, it is horribly underpowered and takes between six to eight hours to completely charge the battery from zero to 100 percent. I would be better if it comes with a higher powered fast charger though... 
ASUS ZenFone Max (ZC550KL) in black and white, is already available ASUS brand stores, ASUS authorised dealers, Singtel, and StarHub at SGD$249. I'll update again once I have fully tried out the phone.

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