Asus launched Zenfone Max Pro M1 in India early this year and it was a huge success. The smartphone had a lot to offer for the price point at which it was selling. We tested the smartphone and published our review too. The only gripe that we had with that smartphone was the cameras. The camera on Zenfone Max Pro M1 was quite good but not on par with the competition. Asus had announced that a 6GB RAM variant of the Max Pro with improved cameras will come soon to the market and here it is. We tested the 6GB RAM variant of the Zenfone Max Pro with the improved cameras and here is what we feel about the smartphone. Is it worth the upgrade? Let us find out in this Asus Zenfone Max Pro 6GB Full Review

Most of the things that we mentioned in our full review of Max Pro 4GB RAM variant stands same for this variant except the camera and memory management.

Unboxing and Box Contents:

Asus Zenfone Max Pro comes in a blend of blue and grey colour to the front with the name of the smartphone itself. To the back, you will find the specifications of the device and the other usual details. Upon opening the box, you are greeted with a small box saying ‘We Love Photo’ and on further digging in, you will find the smartphone itself. Underneath that, you will find the usual manuals, Micro USB charging/sync cable, Wall Adapter. A unique accessory called ‘Max Box’ is also bundled with the package. What it essentially does is that it amplifies the audio that you get from the smartphone’s inbuilt speaker.

Build Quality:

Asus Zenfone Max Pro 6GB has an indentical build as the 4GB RAM variant and it feels great in hand. The build quality is very good and we did not notice any issues with that. The metal build on this smartphone gives it a premium look and a nice grip. So, with regards to build quality, it has the same goodness of the 4GB variant.

Overview:

As said before, all the aspects of the 6GB RAM variant of Zenfone Max Pro is similar to 4GB RAM variant except the camera and RAM. To the front, you will find the massive 5.99 inches FULL HD display along with an 8MP front-facing camera and the usual set of sensors. To the back, you will find the Dual Rear camera set up along with a Fingerprint scanner and Asus branding. To the left, you will find a tray that houses Dual SIM cards and also a MicroSD card. Yes, this is not a Hybrid slot but allows you to use 2 SIMs + MicroSD card at the same time. Sweet! To the right, you will find the volume rockers button and the power button. To the bottom, you will find the 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroUSB port, Primary microphone and the speaker grill.

Display:

Asus Zenfone Max Pro sports a 5.99 inches FULL HD+ display and the resolution is 2160×1080 pixels. Thanks to the 18:9 aspect ratio, the device is comfortable to hold in spite of a massive 5.99″ display.

The quality of the panel used by Asus on the Zenfone Max Pro is very good. The viewing angles are good and the colours are well saturated. The outdoor visibility is also good on the smartphone.

Performance:

Zenfone Max Pro is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor that is built on a 14nm technology. It is coupled with a whopping 6GB DDR4X RAM . 

When it comes to raw performance, Zenfone Max Pro is a beast in this price segment. It handles almost any task thrown at it with ease. We did not notice any significant lag with casual tasks on the device. The RAM management on the 6GB RAM variant is very good. It was a breeze using this device as the memory management was very good. When compared to the 4GB RAM variant, this variant performed better in RAM management. Nonetheless, it handles most of the task thrown at it with ease. Thanks to the stock android on this device, the device is very fluid and the experience is great.

Camera:

Zenfone Max Pro M1 from Asus sports Dual Rear cameras to the back which is the trend in the smartphones launched in 2018. The upgraded camera setup is a 16MP + 5MP combination with an aperture of f/2.0. The front-facing camera is also an 16MP shooter. Asus has also included a Soft LED flash to the front. Sweet!

The camera is the main upgrade in this variant of Zenfone Max Pro. When it comes to the camera performance, it was definitely better than the 4GB RAM variant. The pictures have good amount of detail and in day light conditions, the pictures turn out to be good. When it comes to low light performance, it takes a slight hit here. We did not any major difference between both the variants in low lighting conditions. The biggest improvement that we noticed is in the front facing camera. The selfies taken are a lot better and have a good amount of detail. The colours are punchy and doesn’t look washed out. Kudos to Asus for taking the feedback and improving the camera setup on Zenfone Max Pro! The video quality has also seen an improvement and now you can enable EIS on the rear camera as well. Although, the option is not present by default, a quick workaround the settings will enable EIS for the video which is very much usable.

Here are some of the sample pictures taken with the 6GB RAM variant of Zenfone Max Pro

Face Unlock and Fingerprint Scanner:

Zenfone Max Pro sports a fingerprint scanner to the back and the performance is quite good. In our review of 4GB variant, we said that the performance of fingerprint scanner and face unlock was not the fastest. But we are happy to say that in this variant of Zenfone Max Pro, Asus has squashed the bugs and the performance has been fast now. The face unlock is quick and the same goes with Fingerprint scanner as well.

MaxBox:

Most of the smartphones in this price segment lack a good inbuilt speaker. Asus’s answer to that is MaxBox. It is essentially a sound amplifier for your Zenfone Max Pro. Asus bundles this for free in the package. The setup is very simple

• Unfold the MaxBox
• Place your smartphone on the stand
• Voila! You will notice a significant boost in the sound!

Software:

For the first time, Asus has introduced Stock Android on its Zenfone smartphone instead of ZenUI. Zenfone Max Pro runs on a stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo. Asus has promised regular security updates and two major Android version upgrades. It is stock for the most part apart from few Asus specific applications.

When it comes to the software experience, it was very good. The UI is fast and fluid and we did not notice any significant lag whatsoever. Asus has done a good job with the software on the Zenfone Max Pro.

Battery:

The biggest Unique Selling Point a.k.a USP of Zenfone Max Pro is the mammoth 5000mAh battery. The battery life you get on this device is excellent. It is ahead of the devices in this price segment. With casual usage, you can easily stretch up to 2 days with this device. This smartphone can also be used as a power bank, thanks to the reverse charging support. Asus has done a commendable job with the battery on the Zenfone Max Pro.

Our Verdict:

Asus Zenfone Max Pro 6GB RAM variant is definitely a huge upgrade from the 4GB RAM variant especially in the camera department. The cameras have improved and the RAM management is very good. This smartphone gets a thumbs up from our side and is highly recommended at this price point.