With the increasing competition in the smartphones space, manufacturers are adding powerful specifications for a better user experience. But high performing specs drain the batteries soon, which can be irksome to users who are always on the run. Asus has launched its Zenfone Max with a marathon battery, but it is not alone in offering such a feature.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Meizu M3 Note, LeEco Le 1s, and others have powerful specs and bigger batteries to ensure users are not left without power midway. Acer had launched its Liquid Zest Plus last month, but the company finally announced the handset's availability in July. Although the smartphone is not available in India, its international pricing makes it a suitable contender for mid-range premium smartphones.
Asus Zenfone Max is available in India for Rs. 9,999 for 2GB RAM and Rs. 12,999 for 3GB RAM while Acer Liquid Zest Plus is priced at $199, which translates to about Rs. 13,000. The comparison of the Zenfone Max and the Liquid Zest Plus will show buyers if the latter is worth the wait.
Display
Asus Zenfone Max features a 5.5-inch Full HD display with the company's proprietary TruVivid technology, Bluelight Filter for Eye Care and 178-degree viewing angle. While the Liquid Zest Plus has the same screen size, the resolution has been dropped to 1280x720 pixels.
Comparatively, the Zenfone Max has an edge over the Liquid Zest Plus in this department.
Camera
Asus Zenfone Max has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with dual-colour LED flash, laser auto focus and f/2.0 aperture. There are multiple camera modes such as Real Time Beautification, Night Mode, Depth of Field, Selfie Mode, Photo Effects, Panorama Mode, Miniature, Time Rewind, Smart Remove, All Smiles and Time Lapse.
Acer Liquid Zest Plus has a 13MP tri-focus camera with LED flash on the back, which is one of the prime features of the handset. Tri-focus enables laser, contrast and phase detection to lock focus that can theoretically enable quick focus.
Both smartphones have a 5MP snapper for selfies.
Battery
Asus Zenfone Max and Acer Liquid Zest Plus have a tie in this department with 5,000mAh batteries. The Liquid Zest Plus supports Quick Charge to rapidly charge the battery, whereas there is no mention of a similar tech in the Zenfone Max, which is disappointing.
Processor, RAM and storage
Asus Zenfone Max is powered by a 64-bit 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, which is paired with 2GB or 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable storage. Acer Liquid Zest Plus is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT6735) processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable storage.
It appears the Zenfone Max offers a better configuration compared to the Liquid Zest Plus.
Software and add-ons
Asus Zenfone Max and Acer Liquid Zest Plus run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Asus uses its own ZenUI for a customised experience. Even at the price these phones come in, there is no fingerprint scanner, which is commonly available in other phones such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Meizu M3 Note and others. Both phones support 4G LTE, but Zenfone Max comes with dual SIM slots. It is unclear if the Acer smartphone supports two SIM cards.
