After launching its first bezel-less smartphone with an 18:9 aspect ratio display – the Pegasus 4S – in China earlier this month, Asus has now unveiled its second near bezel-less 18:9 display-sporting smartphone called the ZenFone Max Plus (M1). The new handset has been listed on Asus Russia's official website, with a probable launch in other countries including India very much likely in the coming days.
The Taiwanese manufacturer has not revealed the price and availability of the Zenfone Max Plus (M1) as yet. However, looking at the specs and considering the fact that Zenfone Max series phones carry an affordable price tag, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) could well be a mid-range affair.
ZenFone Max Plus (M1) specifications
For starters, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) sports a metal body design and flaunts a 5.7-inch full screen 18:9 display with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels and 2.5D curved glass on top. The device is powered by a MediaTek MT6750T octa-core processor along with Mali T860MP2 GPU, which is the same setup that is found on the Zenfone 3s Max.
It comes with two storage options - 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage – with an option for expanding the storage via a dedicated microSD card slot that can take cards up to 256GB.
In the camera department, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) comes equipped with a dual-camera setup at the back which is a combination of a 16MP primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture and an 8MP wide-angle lens with 120-degree field-of-view. There's also a fingerprint scanner located at the back of the phone.
The front gets an 8MP selfie shooter with a f/2.0 aperture and 85-degree wide angle lens that helps take group selfies. Besides that, the front camera comes pre-installed with features such as skin toning, smoothing, lightening, and eye correction among other things to enhance the selfies.
The Zenfone Max Plus (M1) also features 'face unlocking,' a feature that is seen in several recent launches like the Vivo V7, OnePlus 5T and the Oppo F5.
On the connectivity front, you get 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A- GPS, GLONASS, and dual-SIM support. The phone measures 152.6x73x8.8mm and weighs 160 grams.
The major highlight of the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) is the massive 4130mAH battery, which Asus claims offers enough juice to power the device for up to 26 hours of 3G talk-time, up to 13 hours of continuous video playback or up to 21 hours of internet browsing over WiFi on a single charge. The smartphone also comes pre-loaded with Asus' PowerMaster feature that claims to increase its battery life by 2X. Moreover, the battery comes with fast charging support.
The Zenfone Max Plus (M1) runs ZenUI 4.0 which is based on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and will be available in Deep Sea Black, Sunlight Gold and Azure Silver colour options.
