Asus Zenfone 3 Max (ZC553KL) – Review
Asus Zenfone Max is a good device with an awesome battery. Earlier this year, the Zenfone Max got a bump in the specifications and it was a good option for anyone looking for a solid mobile with a long lasting battery. With the Zenfone 3 series, every single variant of the Zenfone got a refreshing new design. The Max is no exception and we now have the Zenfone 3 Max in the room. It is priced at Rs 17999 which is about 5k more than its predecessor. So let us go ahead and see if the new Max mobile is worth the price.
The Zenfone 3 Max comes in 2 variants. The 5.2 inch variant, ZC520TL and the 5.5 inch variant ZC553KL are completely different mobiles. I have the 5.5 inch ZC553KL with me and lets talk about it in this review.
Design
Zenfone 3rd generation mobiles have identical design language. The Zenfone 3 Max, look a like a merger between the Zenfone 3 and the Zenfone 3 laser. With the Zenfone 3 Max, you get a flat mobile with 2.5D glass on the front, meeting the metal body seamlessly. The navigation keys are not backlit. Above the display you would find the front camera, speaker piece and the usual set of sensors.
The back of the mobile has a fingerprint sensor, which is new to the Max series. The primary camera is flanked by a laser focus sensor and a dual tone LED flash. The top has a mic and a 3.5 mm audio jack. At the bottom, you would find the speaker grills along with micro USB port and a mic.
The mobile feels heavy to hold in the hand. Unlike the earlier Max, the Zenfone 3 Max is slimmer and feels premium in the hand. The curved edges and corners make it very easy to hold in the hand and operate. It is comfortable to hold in the hand and is not slippery. But still I would advice getting a protective case as it is a heavy phone.
Display
Zenfone 3 Max ZC553KL has a 5.5 inch display capable of 1920×1080 full HD resolution. The display is good with color reproduction, brightness levels and contrast ratio. The black levels are not satisfactory. Though it has good indoor visibility, under direct sunlight, the legibility takes a dip. Frankly I was expecting a better display for the price paid. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a bad display, but for 18k, it could have been better.
Hardware performance
The mobile is powered by Snapdragon 430. Yes, 430. You read it right the first time. But still, read it again. The mobile is powered by Snapdragon 430. I don’t understand this decision from Asus. There are SD430 powered devices in the market that are available for a fraction of the price. But let us not rate a mobile on its spec, but its performance. The mobile does manage to get through all the usual day to day task. The UI is responsive but shows little signs of lag. Resource intensive games and applications show signs of strain on the hardware. Screen stuttering and app crash are not frequent, but it does happen. Considering the fact that the mobile is priced above Rs 17k, these performance glitches hurt a lot. I have said this in my Zenfone 3 Laser review and I say it again. Asus must tone down their UI to match the hardware power.
It has 3GB RAM, 32GB of storage, which can be expanded using microSD card up to 128GB. But to expand memory, you will have to sacrifice the dual sim capability of the mobile.
Fingerprint sensor
The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back and it is quite fast. It detects valid finger print from any angle. I wakes up the display from the lock screen and the sleep screen. additionally the fingerprint sensor can be used to answer incoming calls, launch camera app and also capture photos. It is fast and accurate.
Telephony and Entertainment
The mobile supports 3G/4G along with VoLTE. Call quality was superior. Network latching was not a problem and there was no call drops. The audio is through 5 magnet speaker that is powered by a “Smart Amplifier”. This is ideal for all your media consumption needs. Audio through the headphones was also decent. The in-ear headphones supplied in the box is of very good quality.
Software
Speaking of UI, the mobile runs on Android 6.0.1 with ZenUI skinned on top. The Zen UI as usual comes with a truck load of pre-installed applications and a few can be uninstalled. The base android version is 6.0.1 and it gets all the goodness of Android marshmallow. Asus Zen UI is a lot sleeker than the earlier versions. I find the transition animations a bit slow annoying. The Zen UI supports a whole bunch of touch gestures and motion gestures. There are plenty of options under themes to customize and personalize the mobile as per your liking. The Easy mode is a mode with a minimal set of large icons that are easy to accessed. This is an accessible theme for senior citizens and people with special needs. Kids mode is my favorite mode. I can choose a set of apps that my kids can access and put the mobile on Kids mode and hand it over to them. I can also block calls while in Kids mode. Kids mode can also control the play time duration for the kids.
There is nothing strikingly bad about the ZenUI, but it must be optimized for the hardware. Without software optimization, the user experience is not going to be pleasant.
Camera
The primary camera is a 16 MP sensor with f/2.0 lens. The camera focuses by Phased detection auto focus and laser assisted focusing. Asus claims that the focus speed is 0.03 second. Though it is impossible to verify that figure, I can say that the focusing is fast and instantaneous. The focus is accurate only when there is ample light. Under challenging light conditions, it becomes hard to focus on the right target. The camera features electronic image stabilization. The camera UI is simple and yet it has a bunch of features and interesting modes. Along with Manual controls, it offers a bunch of modes like HDR, Beautification, Super resolution, Children, Low light, Night mode, Depth of focus, panorama, GIF animation, miniature, time rewind, etc…
Check out the camera samples below.
The quality of image gives me mixed feelings. It is accurate on colors but the exposure value is a bit unpredictable. The images are generally washed out and the colors don’t pop out. The saturation levels are a bit flat and not close to reality. But the strength of this camera is its ability to shoot good images under all lighting conditions. The HDR mode is also good. I normally keep the auto HDR off and also image optimization off. But the HDR pro mode does please me, by not going overboard for processing.
The front facing camera is just about decent. The images are sharp and have good amount of detail under day light. It fails to impress under low light. But it has a wide angle of coverage, to accommodate that extra person in your groupfies.
Battery
The mobile is here because of its battery and it excels in battery life, like no other. The previous model of the Zenfone Max has exemplary battery life and this current model also matches it. It has 4100 mAh battery and it lasts for more than 2 days on a single charge for my usage. I get about 5 hours of screen on-time. But it takes really long to charge to 100 %. It takes about three hours for a full charge, which is roughly the same as the previous model. I expected Asus to come up with fast charging solution in this new model. But nevertheless, the battery impresses me.
In the box, you also get an USB OTG cable, to use the mobile to charge other devices. It is essentially, a cool looking battery with mobile built on top of it.
Verdict
Why would anyone buy this mobile? Take a deep breath and try to think about it. It has a cool new design, good display, a low end processor, decent camera, a tasking user interface and a great battery. Now are there other mobiles in the market that gives you these options? Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Asus Zenfone Max 2 (2016) are two mobiles that comes to my mind immediately. I would still recommend the older Zenfone Max, as it offers better value for money. The Redmi Note 3 is also an all round mobile.
It is pricey at Rs 17999 and there is no doubt about it. I am not arguing that this device must be priced less. But if Asus wants us to pay Rs 18k for the Max 3, here is what they could have done. Optimize the UI for the low end processor and include fast charging capability on the new variant. That would have been a game changer. There would have been no comparable device, if Asus had taken care of these. I would not recommend the Zenfone 3 Max, unless you are keen on getting a mobile with great design and good display and willing to pay a premium price for it.