Back in August 2015, Asus launched the Zenfone Max with a huge battery. The model was well received in the market. The Zenfone Max had a good battery life along with decent camera and a sturdy build. 7 months later, Asus has announced the second generation Zenfone Max. The New Zenfone Max also has 5000 mAh battery likes its predecessor. But it has Snapdragon 615 octa core processor which is clocked at 1.5 Ghz. The New Zenfone Max comes in 2 variants: 2GB and 3GB variant. The internal memory has been doubled to 32 GB. Also the new Qualcomm MSM8939 chipset gives the device Adreno 405 processor for its graphics capability. All these upgrades are internal and externally, there is no visual change between last year and this new model of Zenfone Max.

Asus India always comes up with innovative ideas to make the product launch interesting. Asus has sent us the Zenfone Max a few weeks back in a time locked box. The mobile was launched today and we got the code to open the box today. A huge thanks and a big thumbs up to Asus India for coming up with this Idea. They have charged the device to 100% 2 weeks before and today when I opened the box, the Zenfone Max had 35% of battery left. Ofcourse, this is not a comprehensive measure of the mobile’s battery capability. This just proves that the Zenfone Max 2016 has a fantastic battery standby.

What's in the box? Have to wait till 23rd for the answer. @asusindia #liveunplugged https://t.co/mopssBxS1A pic.twitter.com/oDjGiEkvlH

— Giridhar (@cgiridhar) May 17, 2016

The Zenfone Max 2016 2GB variant is priced at Rs 9999 and the 3GB variant is priced at Rs 12999  and will be available on Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and other retail outlets starting immediately. The earlier variant of the Zenfone Max has got a price cut and is now priced at Rs 8999.

First Impressions

• The New Asus Zenfone Max is an improved version of its predecessor with refreshed set of hardware internals
• The design has not received any upgrade and I would have loved to see back-lit menu keys as a bare-minimum change
• I love the orange color variant.
• The device is still heavy at 202 grams. I know its because of the battery, but the Honor Holly 2 plus had a huge battery and light weight.
• I loved the laser focus on the Zenfone max and glad to see it has been retained. But would have loved, if the front camera had got an upgrade. After all, Sonakshi is the brand ambassador for the Asus.
• The pricing of Rs 9999 for the 2 GB variant is perfect. But the 3 GB variant would cost Rs 3000 more!
• This is a battery beast. My review unit was charged to 100% 2 weeks ago and it still has 35% of charge left.
• The Android Marshmallow. Finally, its good to see a mobile with Android 6 out of the box.
• Asus promises 3 days of power on regular usage. I will have to test it out to the MAX.
• Availability get a huge brownie point for Asus Zenfone Max. It will be available in both online and offline points of sale and will be available for purchase as per stock availability.
• Overall, this is a welcome launch. Asus has not tried anything crazy. They have chosen their popular model in India and made it better.
• In my opinion, the Zenfone Max is a great device for anyone looking for a powerful smartphone with good battery life. I don’t see any cons as of now, just a few aspired upgrades as listed above.

I will be testing the mobile and will soon publish a detailed review. If you have any questions, please feel free to ping me on @cgiridhar or @gadgetdetail and I will be more than happy to clarify it for you.

Also read my review of the Asus Zenfone Max 2015.

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