Asus ZenFone Max ZC550KL

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Reviews for the Asus ZenFone Max ZC550KL

80% The king of battery performance
Source: Hardware Zone Archive.org version
Overall, it's a decent and respectable phone, but it's also in competition with the more modern entry-level smartphone from Xiaomi. At just S$299, the Redmi Note 3 is worthy of your consideration as it boasts a higher resolution display, smoother performance, a fast fingerprint sensor and a more premium design for only a little more than what the ZenFone Max commands. But you won't get a phone that lasts anywhere near the ZenFone Max, which is clearly the ultimate in battery life performance.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/12/2016
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 75% performance: 80% features: 75% workmanship: 75% ergonomy: 80%

Asus Zenfone Max – Review
Source: The Techy Archive.org version
The Zenfone Max improves over its predecessor with a slightly better SOC and options to choose an extra gig of RAM. It still offers the stellar battery life that it stood for but what Asus fails to understand is that it’s 2016 and consumer expectations are skyrocketing! At the price, it competes with phones that perform much better and offer similar battery life. Let’s hope the next iteration is well thought of.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 08/16/2016

65% Great battery paired with an average camera
Source: Tech2.in.com Archive.org version
As you may have guessed by now, the only feature that we did like about the new Asus Zenfone Max was its battery. We also understand that no other smartphone offers a 5000mAh battery in this segment. So we think that the big battery is the only reason one should go in for it. If battery life is your priority and all you do is make calls, send WhatsApp messages and shoot emails this could be your smartphone.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/29/2016
Rating: Total score: 65% performance: 65% features: 70% display: 65% mobility: 90% workmanship: 65%

67% Asus ZenFone Max ZC550KL Review
Source: Think Digit Archive.org version
The Asus Zenfone Max (2016) is a good upgrade over the original smartphone in terms of performance and maintains the commendable battery life, but except that, it is still dragging all its shortcomings from the first iteration.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 06/02/2016
Rating: Total score: 67%

Asus Zenfone Max review
Source: GSM Arena Archive.org version
The Asus Zenfone Max doesn't make a promise it can't keep. It's a true endurance champ, thanks to a massive 5,000mAh battery and longevity-driven design and hardware choices. The Snapdragon 410 chipset is one such compromise and perhaps the spot on the Max's spec sheet that's decidedly below par. Yet, it may very well be thanks to it that the Zenfone Max scored a 121-hour endurance rating, with some 20 hours of web browsing, and close to 16 hours of video playback. Qualcomm's lower midranger may not be quick, but it sure is frugal.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 05/30/2016

70% Asus ZenFone Max (2016) Review
Source: NDTV Gadgets Archive.org version
The Asus ZenFone Max (2016) is certainly a decent attempt by the company to capitalise on one of its best-selling recent products and infuse new life into it considering the competitors that have launched since January. The phone delivers improved performance to make it a little more capable, while continuing to offer excellent battery life and a good camera. Although battery life isn't up to the same stellar levels as the original, it's still more than enough to set the phone apart.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/27/2016
Rating: Total score: 70% price: 70% performance: 70% display: 70% mobility: 100% workmanship: 70%

85% Asus Zenfone Max: Talk All Day
Source: Techtree.com Archive.org version
If you're looking for a good sturdy phone to talk on for hours and do some basic work on, you couldn't do much better than one like the Zenfone Max that has such a solid battery. Check out the Gionee Marathon as well though.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/26/2016
Rating: Total score: 85%

70% A Battery With a Phone
Source: Techtree.com Archive.org version
Now that it's fairly certain phone companies haven't come up with a miracle battery for cellphones, the next best thing is to figure out putting in as large a battery into a mobile as possible without increasing the overall dimensions and weight too much. That's exactly what several companies have started toying with. First the Chinese Gionee, with its Marathon M5, then Lenovo Vibe P1, and now the Asus Zenfone Max.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/06/2016
Rating: Total score: 70%

67% Asus ZenFone Max Review
Source: Think Digit Archive.org version
The phone is okay for basic usage and has good battery backup. If you are looking for a smartphone for multitasking and playing graphics-intensive games, you are better off looking elsewhere.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 02/09/2016
Rating: Total score: 67%

Foreign Reviews

Asus ZenFone Max
Source: Connect - Heft 11/2016
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 10/01/2016

Asus ZenFone Max (16 GB)
Source: c't - Heft 14/2016
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 07/01/2016

83% Asus ZenFone Max (16 GB)
Source: Connect - Heft 7/2016
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 06/01/2016
Rating: Total score: 83%

79% Asus ZenFone Max
Source: Inside Handy DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/02/2016
Rating: Total score: 79%

80% Mittelklasse-Smartphone Mit Starkem Akku
Source: Android Pit DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/01/2016
Rating: Total score: 80%

Die Fernbeziehung mit der Steckdose?
Source: Allround-PC.com DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/25/2016

70% die dicken Akku-Dinger
Source: Curved DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/21/2016
Rating: Total score: 70%

88% Asus ZenFone Max (16 GB)
Source: Smartphone Magazin - Heft 4/2016
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 03/01/2016
Rating: Total score: 88% price: 82%

Comment

Model: It is apparent that Asus has capitalized a lot on its battery juice with the Zenfone 3 Max. Asus claims that its battery provides power to users through the day without recharge. Its high-capacity 4100 mAh cell is capable of standby of up to 30 days. Not only that, the battery is also capable of reverse charging, which means that the Zenfone 3 Max doubles up as a power bank to charge other digital devices such as other smartphones, and tablets. The Zenfone 3 Max is no less impressive design-wise. Just like the other versions of the ZenFone 3, it is built of a premium looking aluminum unibody frame with curves on its rear cover that feel comfortable to the grip. In addition, the display bezel is slim at 2.25 mm. The dimensions of the Zenfone 3 Max measure at 149.5 x 73.7 x 8.55 mm and it weighs 148 g. It is equipped with a 5.2-inch touchscreen display (screen-to-body ratio: 75%) with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. While the low display resolution is quite disappointing, it makes for a longer battery life.

The Zenfone 3 Max is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek quad-core processor, 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. Thanks to a MicroSD slot, the storage capacity can be expanded by up to 32 GB (which arguable lies on the lower side). As a bonus, 100 GB free space on Google Drive is provided to users for two years. The phone features a 13 MP front camera capable of shooting Full-HD videos and a 5 MP rear camera. The PixelMaster 3.0 camera is capable of various modes such as backlight (HDR), low light, real time beautification, night, selfie, and time lapse. The fingerprint sensor can be used for unlocking purposes and ID recognition, thus improving security and convenience. The Zenfone 3 Max is able to support up to two SIMs. Both SIM card slots support 3G WCDMA/4G LTE network band, but only one SIM card can connect to 3G WCDMA/4G LTE service at a time. In addition, the phone features an FM radio receiver.

Its speaker is ICEpower enhanced and the dual microphone is fitted with noise cancellation for improved clarity. However, the real life tests aren’t that impressive. The device runs on Android 6.0 with ASUS ZenUI 3.0 and there is no news on any upgrades to the newer Android 7.0. Choices of colors available are titanium gray, glacier silver, sand gold, and rose gold. The ZenFone 3 Max will surely appeal to the average smartphone users. It is priced competitively and looks great. However, for users who are looking more into media or even performance, there are many other choices out there, but these will most probably not offer such a long battery life as the ZenFone 3 Max.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam

Qualcomm Adreno 306: Integrated mid-range graphics card in the Snapdragon 410 SoCs that supports OpenGL ES 3.0 and features unified shaders.

These graphics cards are not suited for Windows 3D games. Office and Internet surfing however is possible.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

410 MSM8916: 64-Bit Cortex-A53 Quad-Core with an Adreno 306 GPU manufactured in 28nm» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

5.50":

It is a very small display format for smartphones. You should by no means be mis-sighted and you will generally see very little on the screen and only have a small resolution available. In return, the device should be very small and handy.

Asus: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is a major Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer based in Taipei, founded in 1989. Under the Asus brand name, the company manufactures a wide range of products, including laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, monitors, smartphones and networking equipment, complete systems and PC components for end users.

Under the ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand name, ASUS manufactures gaming laptops known by gamers for their powerful specifications, dedicated graphics cards, high refresh rate displays and advanced cooling systems.

Beyond gaming, a wide range of notebooks are offered for different needs and budgets, from ultra-slim and lightweight ultrabooks to versatile 2-in-1 convertibles and budget-friendly options. In 2023, Asus had a 7% global market share of the PC market.

Customer satisfaction with ASUS notebooks concerns performance, the features, and the good price-performance ratio of ASUS notebooks. However, as with any brand, there are occasional reports of problems such as overheating, driver compatibility, or build quality issues.

75.92%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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