Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 review: Stellar performance, massive 5000 mAh battery are the highlights

Price: Rs 12,999 (3GB/32GB)
Rs 14,999 (4GB/64GB)
Rs 16,999 (6GB/64GB)
Rating: ****


Specifications: 6.26-inch 19:9 IPS, 2280 x 1080 pixels, octa-core Snapdragon 660 processor, 3/4/6GB RAM, 32/64GB storage, dedicated microSD slot (up to 512GB supported), 12MP f1.8 + 5MP f2.0 dual rear camera, 13MP f2.0 front camera with LED flash, WiFi n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, rear fingerprint scanner, Android 8.1, 5,000mAh, 175 grams
Pros: Value for money, great performance, best in class battery life, stylish design, excellent rear and front cameras, stock Android interface, loud speakers
Cons: Plastic body, screen brightness could be better, glossy back prone to scratches, doesn’t support WiFi ac, no option to hide the notch

Asus had a great year as far as smartphones go. They completely revamped their smartphone lineup in the entry, mid-range and premium segment. What really stood out was the ZenFone Max Pro M1 — a mid-range smartphone with massive battery, stock Android and best-in-class specifications. Now, Asus has launched a successor — ZenFone Max Pro M2. Most of the improvements on this phone have been suggested by Max Pro M1 users.

As expected, the Max Pro M2 has significantly updated hardware. It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 660 processor with an option of 3/4/6GB RAM and 32/64GB storage. At Rs 12,999, this is the cheapest smartphone with the Snapdragon 660. Our review unit is the 4GB RAM variant which is also the one we would recommend for most users. The phone gave no problems in day to day task, switching between 20 running apps as well as playing games like PUBG and Asphalt 9. We ran PUBG on high settings with anti-aliasing switched off — the game ran without an issue and the phone was only slightly warm after 45 minutes of gaming.

Apart from the stellar performance, the highlight of the phone is battery life. The 5,000mAh battery regularly lasted us for two full days. It was only with really heavy usage (3 hours of GPS navigation, 3 hours of PUBG gaming, an hour of video calls, multiple benchmarks and 2 hours of voice calls) that the phone’s battery dropped below 20% in a single day. Much to our surprise, the Max Pro M2 weighs just 175 grams even with the large 5,000mAh battery.

In comparison, the Realme 2 Pro with a 3,500mAh battery weighs 174 grams. The main reason for this is that the phone has a plastic body and not metal. Asus has opted for a glossy back with what they call a wave finish design that changes hue with different ambient light. The back has a curved design which gives a good fit in hand and also adds to the overall look of the phone.

While this looks great, the glossy finish also tends to pick up smudges and scratches quickly — within a week of usage there were a number of scratches on the back. It is highly recommended that you use the phone with a back cover. Up front is a 6.26-inch IPS display with 19:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. Asus has used the latest Gorilla Glass 6 for protection – this is amongst the first phones with GG6 in this price segment.

Asus says this phone has a smallest full function notch — the notch houses the speaker, camera, various sensors, notification led and even a front LED flash. The screen shows vivid colours and has good sharpness, but the maximum brightness level is not up to the mark. This leads to poor sunlight legibility which makes it difficult to view onscreen content when using the phone under direct sun.

Also, there is no option to hide the notch at the moment in the phone. The other big upgrade on the Max Pro M2 is in the camera department. The rear has a dual camera setup (12MP + 5MP) with the Sony IMX 486 sensor — just like the Mi A2 — one of our favorite camera phones of the year. The Max Pro M2 matches up to the Mi A2 in its camera performance — photos have good detail, the edge detection is great so is the bokeh effect. Low light photos suffer from visible noise but the images still have enough details to view on phone or share on social media.

Video recording is supported in 4K resolution and we found the video quality to be great for the price. You get a 13MP front camera with f2.0 which captures selfies with good amount of details. One big advantage for selfies on the Max Pro M2 is the front LED flash for low light environments. Only letdown is that there is no portrait mode for the front camera at the time of writing — Asus has promised that this feature will be added via next software update. There are a few other features that we liked on the phone.

The first being the use of stock Android UI which enhances performance and battery life. However, it is not part of Android One, so the software updates will not come as fast as Android One devices. The other things we liked are the loud speakers and fast fingerprint scanner. What we did not like was the slow face unlock and the fact that the Pro M2 does not support the faster WiFi ac connectivity.

In our opinion, Asus has another winner on its hands with the ZenFone Max Pro M2. It offers excellent value for money with a feature set suitable for any kind of user. The closest competition to the Pro M2 is the Realme 2 Pro. It has a Snapdragon 660, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage option at Rs 13,990 with WiFi ac support, better face unlock and marginally better cameras. But the Realme has a smaller battery, skips the stock Android UI and uses Gorilla Glass 3 for protection.