Asus Zenfone Max M2 (Asus X01AD) is the low budget Android mobile phone but its not just another low budget smartphone, Zenfone Max M2 is among the very few low budgets mobile phones which comes with the Stock Android operating system. I have been using this phone for last three weeks and I have already received the software update twice so it’s really impressive that the company is providing the software updates and patches on regular basis, unlike other phones in its segment which are barely getting any updates or patches on time.
In this post, I am going to share the unboxing and quick Review of Asus Zenfone Max M2 X01AD; let’s start with its key specifications and features.
Key Specifications of Asus Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD):
- Hybrid Dual SIM (4G VoLTE+4G VoLTE); Dual Standby; 3 Slots – 2 SIM Card and 1 MicroSD
- 6.26 inches HD+ IPS LCD display, 1520×720 pixels, 19:9 aspect ratio, 269 PPI pixel density, 80.09% screen-to-body ratio, notch, 430 nits Brightness
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor; Octa-core (4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Silver)
- GPU: Adreno 506
- 3 GB RAM with 32 GB Storage
- 4 GB RAM with 64 GB internal storage
- Storage expandable up to 512 GB
- Primary Camera: Dual camera; 13 MP, f/1.8 aperture, 5P Lens, 1.12µm (micron) pixel size, PDAF + 2 MP depth sensor; Single LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP, f/2.0 aperture, 1.12-micron pixel size, EIS, Portrait; Single LED flash
- Face Unlock and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor
- Sensors: Rear Fingerprint Sensor, Accelerator, E-compass, Proximity, Fingerprint, Gyroscope, Ambient Light Sensor
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot, GPS, Micro USB 2.0, USB OTG, FM radio, 3.5mm jack.
- Colours: Black, Silver, Blue
- Dimension: 158.41 x 76.28 x 7.7 mm
- Weight: 160 gram
- 4000 mAh Li-Po battery
- Stock Android Oreo 8.1.0
Unboxing and What’s Inside the Box:
The Asus Zenfone Max M2 has a 6.26-inches HD plus display with the regular notch. Zenfone X01AD comes with Snapdragon 632 SoC with 3GB or 4GB of RAM and it runs stock Android 8.1.0 Oreo. There is a small chin below the screen, similar to most other phones with a regular notch. Let’s go through the Unboxing photos.
Box Contents:
- ASUS Zenfone Max M2 X01AD smartphone in Black colour
- 2-Pin Charger (5V-2A)
- Micro USB Cable
- SIM Ejector Tool
- Transparent protective case
- User guide and warranty information
Review of Asus Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD):
Display, Design and Build:
The basic design and overall look of the Asus Zenfone Max M2 are very similar to the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 released last year; you will be barely able to differentiate among Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Zenfone Max M2 by looking at the rear side of these phones.
The Zenfone Max M2 has a 6.26-inch HD+ capacitive display panel on front with the aspect ratio of 19:9, 1520×720 pixels resolution, and 269 PPI pixel density.
With the Zenfone Max M2, the company has reduced the bezels to optimize overall size of the phone and to deliver a better screen to body ratio. There is a wide regular notch on the front for selfie camera, LED flash, earpiece and sensors. I have found the brightness and colour reproduction satisfying considering its price segment.
Rear side of the phone has vertically placed dual camera setup with a single LED flash right below the lens at top left corner. The fingerprint scanner is placed at the centre in the top half, followed by Asus branding.
The volume buttons and power button are on the right side of the phone whereas, on the left side of Max M2 you have hybrid SIM tray.
3.5mm earphone jack port is on top and speaker grille and micro USB port are placed at the bottom.
The overall design of the phone is clean and it feels good in hand thanks to its metallic finish.
Asus has used the thick plastic frame and a metal plate with a smooth metallic finish for the rear side of the phone.
Performance and Battery of Asus Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD):
Asus has packed Snapdragon 632 SoC with Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD) which is a big upgrade over the Snapdragon 430 used for its predecessor Zenfone Max M1. Made on 14nm process and featuring an Octa-core (4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Silver) CPU, Snapdragon 632 is claimed to provide 40 percent better performance over Snapdragon 626. Asus has made a really wise decision by going with the Snapdragon 632 SoC and stock Android.
I’ve been reviewing the variant with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage and been using this phone for last three weeks and haven’t found any bugs so far, if you have ever used the predecessor of Max M2 which was Asus Max M1 then you will definitely notice how mature and stable the OS of Zenfone Max series has become. When I was reviewing the Asus Zenfone Max M1 I had faced too many bugs and issues which was extremely frustrating but now it seems that the company has worked really hard on the software part to make it absolutely stable and flawless.
Not just the regular day to day usage but gaming performance of the Asus Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD) is also impressive, I have been playing Monument Valley 2, Stupid Zombies, Temple Run, and War Dragons at least once every day and never faced any issues yet. If you have enabled the low graphics settings then even Asphalt 9: Legends and PUBG will be able to run effortless, however, you will miss the joy of playing these resource hunger games on premium mobile phones.
There are two options to unlock the phone, fingerprint scanner and face unlock. The fingerprint is always very fast and accurate which is pretty obvious since fingerprint is now an old tech for mobile phones. The Face Unlock feature is also working well with more than 90 per cent success rate in both bright and low light conditions.
Zenfone X01AD has 4,000 mAh Lithium Polymer battery which takes about two hours to fully charge with the 10W adapter bundled in the box, with normal usage, the battery lasts around a day and a half. Even with the heavy usages, it will run a full day without going out of juice.
Camera Review of Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD):
Zenfone Max M2 (X01AD) has 13+2 MP dual rear camera setup and 8 MP selfie camera. There is a 13-megapixel 5P lens with f/1.8 aperture, 1.12µm (Micron) pixel size, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) plus a dedicated 2 MP depth sensor to create bokeh. On the front, you have an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.12-Micron pixel size; other selfie camera feature includes single LED flash, EIS, Portrait, and Face Unlock.
Initially, when I had used the camera of Max M2 right after its launch in December last year, I had a few issues with the camera app and the picture quality. The bokeh effect was not coming well, it used to show the preview with bokeh effect after clicking the photos but somehow it wasn’t able to store the photo with proper bokeh effect; Luckily, this has got fixed now and working properly as expected. (All photos are in low resolution and optimised)
Photos from rear camera in the daylight conditions are decent enough to share on social media sites but you won’t get many details though. the colors on the photos appearing good with balanced contrast, but the camera performance is not the same in the low light conditions. (All photos are in low resolution and optimised)
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You can take good selfies with the 8 MP front camera with or without filters in daylight but do not expect much in low light conditions.
Verdict:
Overall, I liked the phone and its performances, in my openion it’s definitely a value for money phone. You can consider buying this phone if you are looking for a budget mobile phone with stock Android. You may find a phone with similar specs in this price range but then you won’t get the satisfaction of using the Stock Android. You can get this phone now from Flipkart at price of Rs. 7,999 for 3GB+32GB variant and Rs. 9,999 for 4GB+64GB variant.
Asus Zenfone Max M1 (3GB+32GB) – Black
Asus Zenfone Max M1 (4GB+64GB) – Blue
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