Asus debuts ZenFone Max at ZenFestival event

Asus chairman Jonney Shih appeared earlier today at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi for the ZenFestival event to announce the lineup of ZenFone and ZenPad models. This includes the previously announced ZenFone 2 Deluxe, ZenFone 2 Laser, and ZenFone Selfie smartphones and the ZenPad 7.0 and ZenPad 8.0 tablets. The newest debut, however, is the premiere of the ZenFone Max.

The ZenFone Max (ZC550KL) is equipped with a high capacity 5000 mAh battery that can even be used to charge other devices like a power bank. Other core specifications include:

• Display: 5.5-inch 720p
• CPU: Quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC
• RAM: 2 GB RAM
• Storage: 8 GB or 16 GB configurations, MicroSD support up to 128 GB
• Cameras: 13 MP rear, 5 MP front
• Software: Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI 2.0
• Connectivity: LTE, 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, Dual SIM

The previously revealed ZenFone 2 Deluxe (ZE551ML) is a higher-end model with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Atom Z3560 or Z3580 SoC, and 4 GB RAM. The ZenFone 2 Laser carries similar specifications, but adds an auto-focus laser to the rear camera. The Laser will come in three screen sizes: 5-inch (ZE500KL), 5.5-inch (ZE550KL), and 6-inch (ZE601KL).

Selfie enthusiasts will appreciate the ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL) as it uses two 13 MP cameras with dual-LED flash for both the front and rear. The wide-angle lenses (88 degrees, f/2.2) allow for better panoramic photos up to 140 degrees. Otherwise, its 5.5-inch FHD screen and other features are similar to the ZenFone 2 Deluxe.

Finally, the 7-inch ZenPad 7.0 (Z370) and 8-inch ZenPad 8.0 (Z380) are Asus' two Android tablets with 1280 x 800 resolution displays. Both are expected to have identical software and processor with Android 5.0 and Intel's Atom x3-C3200 SoC codenamed Sofia. RAM and storage will be 1 or 2 GB and 8 or 16 GB for the smaller and larger models, respectively.

More details on the announced devices can be found in our Sources section below.

Source(s)