The Asus Zenfone 3 Max does not look original, like the twin brother of the Zenfone 3 Laser, but still nice. It cannot be called compact or lightweight, but by the standards of the long-livers class, it is rather thin.
Since this year, all Zenphones have turned metal and received fingerprint scanners. Purely visually, Zenfone 3 Max does not look like a typical long-playing smartphone - it does not seem thick and heavy, it can be written down as a plus. From the front, the device looks like any other Zenfon or every other phone. Only the ASUS inscription under the screen stands out (not everyone wants to see the logo in front), medium-thick frames (partially masked behind the bulging side ends) and touch buttons at the bottom of the screen. It is noteworthy that even for this inexpensive model, 2.5D glass is used, it is curved at the edges, but quite a bit, not like the iPhone 6 and other more expensive models. As if it's not 2.5D, but 2.4D or even 2.2D. On the back, you can see the same slight curvature around the edges, the same shape of the camera lens and fingerprint scanner, a couple of horizontal stripes on the top and bottom, and speakers.
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max fits comfortably in the palm of your hand thanks to its streamlined design. It is possible to operate it with one hand, but it is not very convenient. Phone dimensions: 149.5 × 73.7 × 8.7 mm, there is almost no one to compare it with, its “classmates” in terms of autonomy are usually either with a smaller screen or much larger. It can be noted that against their background Zenfon 3 Max is relatively thin and compact. The weight of the new item is 158 grams, the same as the larger 5.5-inch Honor 5X.
The case of Asus Zenfone 3 Max is non-separable, the battery cannot be replaced just like that. The build quality is good and the phone feels like a solid device. But the keys on the side are still a little flimsy and wobble slightly from side to side.
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max smartphone can be bought in three colors: gray, gold and silver.
Screen - 3.9
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max smartphone has quite a solid display for its price tag, except that the viewing angles are not very wide.
The screen uses an HD-resolution IPS-matrix (1280 × 720 pixels). For a diagonal of 5.2 inches, this is not so much - you can see image irregularities on the display close up. Probably, this choice was made in favor of saving battery. The pixel density is 282 ppi. The display is relatively resistant to the appearance of fingerprints, and if they appear on it, they are easily rubbed off. The viewing angles are quite narrow, and at different angles the screen gives off either blue or yellow. The range of brightness we measured turned out to be quite good - from 15 to 524 nits. For darkness, the minimum value is too large, but under the sun the screen is readable. The contrast is normal - 910: 1, not bad for an IPS matrix, but sometimes higher. The color gamut is already quite narrow - 89% of sRGB and falls out of it a little in the green area.
Camera
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max has run-of-the-mill 13MP and 5MP cameras - nothing extraordinary, just fine for capturing anything on the go. Honestly, you can choose a device with better cameras from the same price range.
In addition to the average resolution for today, only autofocus and HDR mode can be noted, everything is quite typical and ingenuous. The quality of shooting is average, high-quality photos can be obtained only with good lighting... In other situations, the camera tends to "make noise", especially when it comes to night. Focusing works fine in general, but after smartphones with laser and / or phase systems, it seems to take a long time. Many colors are often oversaturated, if not acidic. In the arsenal of the camera, shooting Full HD-video, panoramas, HDR and a number of effects. Unlike other Zenphones, the Zenfone 3 Max did not add a large number of modes. Not even manual setting, although this mode is present in all other smartphones of the line.
The 5MP front camera can be called ordinary. It lacks sharpness, which makes selfies look noisy and indistinct indoors. But she will be able to shoot Full HD video.
Photo from the camera Asus Zenfone 3 Max - 2.9
Photo from the front camera Asus Zenfone 3 Max - 2.9
Working with text - 5.0
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max comes with its own advanced keyboard.
It has support for continuous word input (Swype) with additional characters markup on icons. Switching between languages \u200b\u200bis done using a separate key. The keyboard can change its size, design, and also offers a special window for editing text with icons of typical actions (copy, paste, and so on).
Internet - 3.0
The Asus Zenfone 3 Max comes preinstalled with two browsers, Chrome and Puffin.
The first is the standard one for Android, you have probably come across it. Its main plus is synchronization with the desktop version. The Puffin browser turned out to be quite unusual, with its own design, but quite typical functionality. Only two chips are unusual in it - the ability to withdraw touch pad to move the cursor and a virtual joystick with a D-pad and two keys.
Communications - 2.6
Asus Zenfone 3 Max received a typical set of communications:
- simple wifi b / g / n
- lTE Cat.4 support
- Bluetooth 4
- A-GPS
- Micro-USB 2.0
- FM radio (headphones needed)
- two SIM cards (Nano and Micro).
It would be naive to expect something more. Curiously, the USB connector supports OTG for connection peripherals (mouse, hDD, keyboard and so on), there is even a corresponding cable included with the phone. What's more, Zenfone 3 Max is capable of charging other devices, even tablets or iPods.
Multimedia - 3.6
Smartphone Asus Zenfone 3 Max cannot be called multimedia - it has low sound quality, besides, the model only supports common audio and video formats.
As for audio, the phone did not want to deal with AC-3 files, but during the tests it played music in FLAC. From the video, the smartphone is not friendly with TS, RMVB, FLV, WMV and partially with MOV and MPG formats. It is quite expected that it does not pull 2K and 4K resolution.
Zenfone 3 Max comes pre-installed with standard Android audio and video players, so you don't have to talk about them separately. Separately, we note the absence of any headphones included with the phone.
Battery - 3.4
The autonomy of the Asus Zenfone 3 Max can be called high, no doubt about it. The only problem is that although it is indeed above average, it is somewhat inferior to direct competitors. The device was enough for us even for a day and a half, but no more.
The battery capacity of the smartphone is high - 4130 mAh, although it can be higher, for example, in the Oukitel K6000 Pro. In the video test, the smartphone worked for 8 hours and 30 minutes, it would seem a lot, but Huawei Honor 5C had the same, and Samsung Galaxy J3 had even more, although they are not positioned as phones with high autonomy. In mode music player The Zenfone 3 Max disappointed with 67 hours of playtime - something around the average. The iPhone 7, iPhone SE and Lenovo A2010 had much the same. But in games the phone performed well, it took only 16% of charging in an hour, which means that in this mode it can withstand about 6 hours, which is already a high figure. At the same time, the smartphone takes a long time to charge, a little longer than three hours from the native 2A charger.
Performance - 2.6
The performance of the Asus Zenfone 3 Max can be called low. It has enough RAM, but uses a chipset entry level (apparently to save battery power).
The "brain" of the device is a quad-core Mediatek MT6737M (frequency 1.25 GHz), the amount of RAM is 2 or 3 GB. In daily use, the phone works relatively smoothly, but periodically slows down, choking on the heavy interface, and in rather unexpected places. As for games, almost all of them run and are quite playable, but they slow down at high settings. The same Asphalt 8 is better to run on low or medium graphics. If you look at the benchmark results, you can see that the Asus Zenfone 3 Max scores below average, but higher than most long-playing models:
- in GeekBench 4 (processor test) - 1863 points (one and a half thousand below Huawei Honor 5C)
- in AnTuTu (mixed test) - 39634 (slightly higher than Samsung Galaxy J3)
- in 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (graphics test) - up to 6831 (over a thousand more than Honor 4C).
We used a thermometer to see if Zenfon 3 Max is getting warm in games. It turned out that no - half an hour of 3D games did not heat the case higher than 37.4 degrees, which will not cause discomfort for the user.
Memory - 4.5
You can find Asus Zenfone 3 Max in two modifications: with 16 GB or 32 GB permanent memory, normal for a smartphone with such a price tag. In our test model, 9.68 of 16 GB were available to the user. Do not forget that, if desired, this volume can be expanded by installing a memory card (up to 32 GB). Moreover, ASUS promises unlimited 5 GB in its own cloud storage and 100 GB for two years in Google Drive.
Features:
The Asus Zenfone 3 MAX smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and a functional but heavy ZenUI 3.0 interface.
The high volume of the battery can be called special, oTG support and the presence of the appropriate cable included. We also note the metal body and the presence of a fingerprint scanner, although today every second smartphone that goes on sale has them.
The company's own interface is interesting from the point of view of customization for oneself and various functional chips, but it is quite heavy and clumsy, besides, it is packed unnecessary applications, b aboutmost of which are not removed.
I updated the lineup by releasing a novelty in the "Max" series - the Zenfone 3 Max (ZC520TL) model, which we will review.
The distinctive features of this model are the metal body vestment, non-removable back cover, reduced overall dimensions of the body and screen, compared to the ZC550KL version.
The battery also has a lower capacity than its predecessor, but whether this is so critical and what happened in the end, we will consider in a further review.
The price of the device is 12-13 thousand rubles, which is quite acceptable for the current market and even fits into the concept of a "budget smartphone".
Numerous user reviews also indicate that this device is worth taking a closer look at and studying in more detail.
Packaging, delivery set
The gadget is packed in a beautiful snow-white box with an image on the front side of the smartphone itself and an indication of the proprietary "chip" - a 4100 mAh battery.The back of the box gives information about serial number, IMEI of the device and its brief characteristics.
Inside the package are neatly distributed:
- 5V 2A power adapter.
- Quick start guide booklets.
- Warranty card.
- OTG adapter cable for connection external devices and charging other phones.
- A clip for removing the SIM and microSD card compartment.
- USB cable for charging and synchronizing with a computer.
Design, materials
As mentioned above, the new design was to the liking of users.Metal body with plastic inserts, rounded edges, streamlined shapes without sharp corners, matte non-textured surface, 2.5D rounded glass - all this makes the product very attractive, stylish and easy to use.
The phone feels and looks weighty (weight - 148 grams), does not get very dirty and practically does not collect any traces of use.
The device cannot be called a compact device (149.5x73.7x8.5 mm), but there is no discomfort in working with one hand. Available in silver, gold and graphite colors, it looks quite presentable and fresh.
There is a front camera on the front side, speakercovered with a grill, sensors and, as well as an LED event indicator.
In the lower part of the case, there are no touch and mechanical buttons, in this model they were transferred to the screen.
On the back there is the main camera, which is made flush with the body, and has a bright LED one-color flash capable of operating in several modes (shooting, backlight, "SOS" mode).
Above the camera, a microphone is installed that serves to record voice during shooting and performs the function of active noise reduction. Below it all is installed.
It works quite quickly and clearly (0.3 sec.), It is possible to save up to 5 different scans in memory. The main speaker, hidden behind a grill, is installed in the lower part of the case.
On the top there is a familiar headset jack, and on the opposite side you can find micro-USB socket and the main microphone.
On the left side edge on top it has a single hidden compartment under SIM card, and on the right, there are power and volume control buttons, engraved in the form of concentric circles.
Screen
The current model is equipped with a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, made using IPS technology. A protective 2.5D glass from Corning Gorilla Glass is installed as a protector.The pixel density is 282 dpi, which is average, but the detail is not affected.
The thin bezel (2.25mm) and large footprint (75% of the front surface) make the smartphone compact and eliminate the feeling of a bulky, uncomfortable, huge phone.
The brightness of the display is about 400 cd / m2: a good indicator, when working outdoors, the text is clearly visible, at night you can turn it down slightly to a comfortable level.
Also here it is worth noting the adequate work of the automatic brightness correction, everything remains readable and visible in various modes. There are no problems with viewing angles and flickering, since the matrix costs high Quality.
The sRGB color gamut deviates from the standard value, but does not notice much distortion.
To the "pluses" you can also add a high contrast ratio and the correct color balance. The absence of an air gap between the glass and the display allows you to add richness to colors and reduce the response time of the device to touch.
The device copes well with everyday work, the menu scrolls smoothly, without visible delays.
In terms of toys, the smartphone showed itself a little worse, the more demanding games (Mortal Kombat 5, Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8) run at minimum-medium settings.
Benchmark results :
Antutu:
CPU-Z:
No sooner had the Taiwanese manufacturer announced the Asus Zenfone 3 devices, which, in addition to the base model, included the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra and the fashionable Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe, as there are two more interesting devices next in line. The first gadget Asus Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL received an advanced camera with fast laser focus, but the second gadget Asus Zenfone 3 Max ZC520TL - balanced characteristics and a capacious battery. About him will be discussed.
Appearance
The smartphone is presented in titanium gray, silver and gold body design. By the way, the body is all-metal and looks elegant. Surprisingly, in the device we do not see a radial pattern at the bottom: protective glass completely covers the front panel, and instead of this element flaunts the "asus" logo. The back of the device flows into the side edges, and instead of the frame, the manufacturer decided to confine himself to a shiny edging around the protective glass. At the back we see a square frame of the camera lens, below which there is the same cutout for a fingerprint sensor. Now the most interesting thing: the thickness of the device is only 8.55 millimeters, which is not bad considering the long-playing orientation, and hence the capacious battery.
Specifications
Earlier it was reported that for the sake of long-term operation, the smartphone will be equipped with some kind of medium-segment media library processor. But it seems that the manufacturer decided to stick with a more energy efficient Kwalkomm solution - snapdragon 615. Not the most advanced chip, nevertheless, it is quite efficient and can cope with any daily tasks with a bang, because there are four 1.5 GHz cores on board for complex applications and the same number of 1 GHz cores for energy efficient tasks. Random access memory in Asus zenfone 3 max zts520tl 2 or 3 gigabytes, constant - 16 or 32 gigabytes, respectively.
As already noted, the main focus of the device is on a good battery. Its capacity is 4100 mAh, which, in general, is not a record figure for today. But, the smartphone claims 20-hour talk time, 18-hour work with web browsing via Wi-Fi, or 87-hour work with audio recordings. At the same time in standby mode the battery lasts for 30 days. As you can see, the developers have worked with the optimization, especially since the asus often received complaints about the duration. In addition to everything, there is support for OTG with the function of charging other devices.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC520TL 16GB fits the following selection criteria: elite appearance, low price, speed and powerful battery. This smartphone lives without power for a long time and is resistant to workloads thanks to optimization through other characteristics. Minimalism and streamlining in design are opposed big screen - a bonus to aesthetics. And metal, as the leading material, raises the status of the device in the budget segment. In general, for those who want to be cheap, beautiful and not to lose in anything.
Autonomy
Let's start with the phone's ability to work without recharging, as this is the leading advantage that explains the popularity of the models.
The smartphone has a built-in 4100mAh battery, which is a lot in 2018 for a cheap line.
ASUS employees about autonomous work voiced the following figures:
- if included and not touched: 30 days.
- talk non-stop: 20 hours.
- watch HD video: 15 hours.
- surf the internet: 18 hours.
ASUS claims that the phone will last 36 hours in power saving state with 10% charge remaining. Activated through setting. Perhaps the creators and in other characteristics implied a power saving mode, because users note that the phone holds up great, but not so fantastic.
The owners provide their statistics. The results of some: 9 days does not turn off in a quiet state, and with continuous conversation or Internet surfing, the charge is enough for a full working day, even when applications are running in the background.
If you choose which company better smartphone keeps charging, then ASUS for such a price and functionality, if not the best manufacturers, it is confidently included in the top three of the budget segment.
Summary: High performance without power supply. But the indicators from the manufacturer and the results from the owners are different.
Equipment
The phone comes with the box charger, OTG cable and paperclip. No headphones.
Summary: Pros - OTG cable, 2A charging, cons - no headphones.
Design and materials
The design is ergonomic and minimalistic - customers praise. You can't find right corners: buttons, connectors, body, all with rounded edges. The details were made in the same style, oblong and streamlined. This is how many popular models of the elite class look in 2018.
According to the materials, everything is correct. There are three colors of the device to choose from: gray, silver, gold. The back panel is a robust metal case with plastic inserts, and the front part is made of high-strength glass with an oleophobic coating.
- Of the elements:
- On the back is a fingerprint scanner, and above it is a square-framed camera and a flash. Below is a stylized speaker with the ASUS logo above it.
- Above the screen is a front camera, a message indicator, a speaker grid. Sensors: illumination, acceleration, proximity. Below the screen is the ASUS logo in the frame height There are no mechanical or touch buttons.
- There are two buttons on the right edge: sound swing and power.
- At the bottom - a connector for charging microUSB.
- On the top is a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
- On the left panel there is a combined slot for a SIM card.
The slot includes two trays: the first for a micro-SIM and the second for a nano-SIM or microSD flash drive. This means that you can either do without a flash drive with two SIM cards, or limit yourself to one SIM card, but with a USB flash drive. Two SIM cards operate in a waiting order: if one number is not reached, the call is forwarded to the second.
The company is scrupulous about the style and the ZenFone's performance line is proof. Except that the abundance of logos scares.
Summary: The phone is ergonomic and looks expensive. The metal body and the uniform design are good news, but there are two ASUS logos.
Convenience
It is worth commenting on the usability. Due to the smoothed body frames and glass, the smartphone is comfortable and natural to hold in hand. Weight 148 g - considered light.
The metal case is non-marking, but slippery. Users say it's best to wear with a case. Streamlined edges, smooth protrusion of the keys are tactilely pleasant. The response of pressing the buttons is soft.
The volume and power keys are notched to make them easier to distinguish from the case. The camera and fingerprint reader are aesthetically recessed for style consistency, touch comfort and protection from damage.
Summary: Naturally in the hand, comfortable, pleasant to the touch in general and in detail, but slippery.
Screen
The screen is evaluated according to the following characteristics - diagonal, resolution, color rendering, brightness, and material.
The display of the ZC520TL is 5.2-inch toughened glass with streamlined edges with small bezels on the sides - 2.25 mm.
The glass is anti-reflective, non-staining and smooth due to the oleophobic coating. This coating increases finger slip, is anti-fingerprint, scratch-resistant and easy to clean. The glass itself is durable, despite the lack of a protective film.
The limit of brightness and contrast is higher than that of analogs. The maximum brightness is 553 cd / m2, the contrast is 1187: 1. In the sun, the picture is rendered perfectly, but it is shaded at a strong tilt.
Users comment on auto brightness in different ways: some argue that the light change function is triggered with a certain delay, others are satisfied with the speed of the reaction. The minimum brightness does not go to full zero, keeping the richness of colors in the dark. Manufacturers have provided manual saturation control to protect the eyes.
The image is colorful and clear thanks to the resolution and matrix: the colors are juicy from any angle, the pixels are not visible due to the IPS matrix.
Specifications:
- Resolution: HD 720p
- Matrix: IPS
Such a matrix creates the effect high resolution with enhanced contrast and color reproduction, and 720x1280 HD pixels consume less power than 1080x1920 FullHD pixels.
The result is that the difference from FullHD is not obvious, the phone works faster and discharges more slowly. The disadvantage is that with strong slopes, the brightness drops and the color rendition is distorted.
User reviews are positive. The screen is positioned as an advantage of the device in its price category.
Summary: Full color reproduction, high threshold of brightness and saturation, nice anti-reflective glass, but at strong slopes, brightness is suppressed and blacks are distorted.
Touchscreen
Multi-touch - can respond to 5 touches at the same time, supports gesture control.
Three control buttons are simulated on the desktop as on tablets: home, back, latest app... They compensate for the lack of control buttons under the display. The manufacturers left the frame without a button, inserting a large ASUS logo on the bottom.
The touchscreen itself is sensitive to touch. In order not to accidentally unlock the display in your pocket, it is better to put an unlock password in the settings.
Summary: Accepts up to five touches, good response.
Performance and memory
Performance is healthy for classic use. According to users' estimates, the smartphone confidently copes with everyday tasks, which is ensured by the following components: a processor, a graphics processor, android version, RAM and built-in memory, the ability additional memory and functionality.
- Options:
- Processor: 4 cores, 1.25GHz, MediaTek MT6737
- GPU: Mali T720
- Android: 6.0.1
- RAM: 2GB
- Internal memory: 16GB
Supports additional memory: microSD flash drive 32GB.
The characteristics are average. The processor is not capricious: it pulls surfing on the Internet, working with applications in the background, the standard workload while maintaining a nimble response. Suitable for watching videos.
In case there is not enough internal memory, there is a combined slot for a flash drive, no more than 32GB. It is combined on the principle of mutual exclusion with a compartment for a second SIM card in nano format, so that in addition either a SIM card or a card.
Summary: The processor copes with adequate load, it is quite productive, there are no leading versions, memory limitations.
Games and graphics
Undemanding games are played smoothly and quite pleasantly. Models are more expensive for loaded fighting games, but even this ASUS copes with them, though with lags. It is not profitable to use it for active loaded games.
The MediaTek MT6737 processor with the Mali T720 is designed for classic use: calls, the Internet, video, instant messengers and applications, games of average load. Inexpensive smartphones are rarely planned as play games, as a rule, resistance to large-scale loads is compensated by eliminating other amenities.
Summary: Pulls simple games no problem, but lags on loaded.
Camera
The main rear camera is 13 megapixels, the front one is 5 megapixels.
The functionality of the main camera includes options such as autofocus and modes within the PixelMaster technology. The pictures are of optimal quality, as most of them take pictures good phonesincluded in the budget line. Good image sharpness and visibility.
Focusing standard: the camera selects focus based on the area of \u200b\u200bgreatest contrast. Focus can be manually selected by touching the desired area. Aperture f / 2.2 - the camera transmits light well.
PixelMaster technology is all about modes. The special one is called "Super Resolution". With it, you can take a photo with a resolution of 52MP instead of the classic 13. This invention works by shooting four frames simultaneously: these images are superimposed on each other and become a photograph with quality four times higher. There is an HDR mode. The owners note that night photography is not impressive.
Have front camera focus is fixed, you can also play with the settings.
Among the disadvantages: there is no optical stabilization and laser autofocus, while running, the pictures are blurry, and in cloudy weather the pictures are less contrasting.
Summary: 13 megapixels, "Super Resolution", noticeable contrast in the light is a plus, but does not cope with night photography and shooting in motion.
Sound
The sound is standard. The voice speaker works loudly and efficiently, the voice is clear in communication. In the headphones, the volume and sound are of high quality, and the main speaker is average in strength.
In the case of the system speaker, users call the location a disadvantage. When the back of the device is placed on the table, the sound is muffled.
The possibility of not hearing the call can be compensated for by vibration, which is quite powerful in this model. The vibration intensity is adjustable in the settings.
Unlocking
The fingerprint scanner is important here. It is located on the back of the body, right under the camera, very convenient for natural touch. The scanner accepts up to five fingerprints: that is, you can score 5 different fingers different hands, or you can scan one finger 5 times from all non-obvious angles so that the scanner responds to any position. Responds from 0.3 to 1 second if loaded and did not miss when touched.
The scanner is multifunctional: a swipe from top to bottom on the scanner launches the camera, a second touch takes a picture. You can receive a call by touching the scanner.
Summary: Accepts up to five prints, is multifunctional, but the recessed scanner requires a clear touch.
Interface
The proprietary ASUS interface - ZenUI 3.0 is functional, not overloaded, designed for all basic user tasks in 2018.
Two things are important in organizing your desktop: organize your application into categories and change the grid. The former groups applications into frames of one thumbnail, thereby saving desktop space and making it easier to find the right shortcut. Second, you can adjust the number of icons on the desktop. For example, for thumbnails to be large, a 3x3 grid of icons will do. Switching between workers was implemented in 9 variants.
The weather widget is installed by default: it determines the weather by geolocation, accompanying the information with graphs and details, for example, is there fog or not.
In the settings, you can adjust the gesture and touch controls. To double-click on the off screen to see the time or new notifications, just activate this setting for touching.
With the help of a mobile manager, you can monitor the phone's workload and optimize processes in time and remove system junk.
Font sizes, auto-rotate, the ability to disable auto-updates for applications - all the functions of a standard modern smartphone are there.
Summary: Complete universal interface.
Support: communication, internet and wireless technologies
Communication standards: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, LTE-A Cat. 4 - that is, the standards required in 2018. Wi-Fi: 802.11n / b / c - the same. Bluetooth 4.0 and USB connections. No NFC - you can not count on contactless payments.
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS and A-GPS system.
From audio - FM radio. The audio file formats themselves are as follows: MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA.
Summary: Supports major standards, but no contactless payments.
How to choose where it is profitable to buy and how much it costs
When deciding to buy ZenFone 3 MAX, you need to know that there is a whole line of such zenphones and there is a model very similar in the name - ZenFone 3 Max ZC520KL. The one-letter difference in the model name defines the absolute difference in functionality and detail. Which one is best to buy depends on your needs and budget. The ZC520KL smartphone is newer, therefore more expensive and more powerful in performance.
The ZC520TL variant is rarely found in official stores, in some you can even see the initial price of 11,990 rubles. It is easy to find on the Internet cheaper than 11 thousand rubles. The average price in Russia is 9 472 rubles, and in Kazakhstan, for example, for 32 GB - 59 786 tenge.
Summary: Available at a low price, rarely in stock.
Advantages:
- stylish design and streamlined;
- metal case;
- nice interface;
- fingerprint recognition;
- performance.
Disadvantages:
- memory limitation;
- impossibility of contactless payments;
- speaker location;
- slippery body.
Despite the fact that the ZC520ТL in the market has pushed new items, it is still functional and stylish phone at a low price, with a powerful battery. Can be rated high-quality smartphones 2018 in the budget category.
Ruler aSUS smartphones The ZenFone 3 is quite large, and there are several modifications for each model. To deal with everything model range you have to carefully study the characteristics. This time we tested a budget smartphone ZenFone 3 Max (ZC520TL).
The device is based on the MediaTek MT6737T system-on-chip, and the 5.2-inch HD display is responsible for displaying information. But the main feature of the smartphone is a battery with a capacity of 4130 mAh, which, according to the manufacturer, can provide a smartphone in standby mode for 720 hours and 20 hours of talk time. Considering the attractive price, this offer is very interesting.
Specifications
| Display size and type | 5.2 inches, 1280x720 pixels, IPS |
| CPU | MediaTek MT6737T |
| Graphics accelerator | GPU Mali T720 |
| Built-in memory, GB | 16 |
| RAM, GB | 2 |
| Memory expansion | MicroSD up to 32 GB |
| Number of SIM-cards | 2 |
| Communication standards 2G | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
| 3G communication standards | 850, 900, 1900, 2100 WCDMA: Band: 1/2/5/8 |
| 4G communication standards | FDD: Band: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/26/28 TD: Band: 38/41 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b / g / n, 2.4GHz |
| Bluetooth | 4,0 |
| NFC | No |
| IrDA | No |
| USB port | microUSB |
| 3.5mm jack | there is |
| FM radio | there is |
| The fingerprint scanner | there is |
| Navigation | GPS / A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou |
| Built-in sensors | Acceleration sensor, electronic compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor |
| Main camera | 13.0 MP, f / 2.2 |
| Front-camera | 5.0 MP, f / 2.4 |
| operating system | Android 6.0 s user interface ASUS ZenUI 3.0 |
| Protection class | No |
| Battery | 4130 mAh |
| Dimensions, mm | 149.5 x 73.7 x 8.55 |
| Weight, g | 148 |
Appearance
Unlike the main model of the line, ZenFone 3, the back of the tested smartphone is made of an aluminum alloy with a smooth surface and a matte finish. The front side is covered with a 2.5D protective glass. In general, despite its cost, the smartphone does not look like a poor relative - the body is well assembled, does not creak when twisted, but with a light tap on the body, the keys rattle a little.
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The coating of the metal panel is of high quality, so even on the model from the press park, which had already gone through many editions during the testing period, no scratches or abrasions were noticed. In addition, prints are completely invisible on the lid. The front side also turned out to be quite resistant, but the prints on it are already noticeable. Oleophobic coating, if there is, is not the best.
On the front side at the top there is a camera, a sensor unit, and an earpiece. There are no separate control keys on the front panel - the lower part of the display stands out for them.
On the back, at the top and bottom, there are plastic covers that hide the antennas. Visually, they resemble a metal surface, but slightly darker. The plastic inserts and the metal cover are separated by a thin chrome rim. At the top is a microphone, a fingerprint sensor and a camera unit that does not protrude from the surface of the smartphone. The fingerprint sensor, like in the case of the main ZenFone 3, is also slightly recessed, but larger, so it's easier to use. At the bottom, only the system speaker is visible, and this is not the best place to install it.
On the right side surface there are only volume and lock keys. Traditionally for ASUS ZenFone smartphones, they are covered with barely noticeable circular notches.
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On the left, only the hybrid tray is visible, one of the compartments of which allows you to install only a SIM card, and the other - a SIM card or microSD memory card. Tray with pallet for easy installation of tiny cards.
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Only the connection connector is installed on the top end wired headphones mini-jack 3.5 mm, and at the bottom there is a microUSB connector and a second microphone.
Software
The smartphone uses Android 6.0 OS and ASUS ZenUI 3.0 proprietary shell, which was considered when testing the main line model -. In this review, we will provide only screenshots.
Display
ASUS ZenFone 3 Max, depending on the modification, can be equipped with a 5.5 "display or, like the tested smartphone, - 5.2". The resolution of 1280x720 pixels by modern standards for a smartphone with a screen diagonal of more than 5 "may seem insufficient, but in fact, you can see individual points only with your nose buried in the screen. The advantages of this resolution relative to Full HD are the longer autonomous work and lower SoC performance requirements. The display has an oleophobic coating, but you still have to wipe the protective glass from time to time. The viewing angles are quite large and when viewed from an acute angle, the colors are not inverted. When viewing the display for extended periods of time, such as reading, you can activate the blue filter mode, which reduces eye strain.
With manual setting of the maximum brightness of the backlight, the luminosity of the white field is 483.67 cd / m2, and the luminance of the black field is 0.86 cd / m2. Static contrast ratio 562: 1. Far from the best result, but quite sufficient for comfortable use. Automatic brightness adjustment works correctly, changes the backlight brightness level, but the response is slow. With a sharp change in lighting, the backlight brightness is adjusted only after 7-8 seconds. It would be much more convenient if the brightness change occurred slowly, over the same 7-8 seconds. The color temperature is slightly overestimated and rises sharply in dark colors. The deviation of Delta E color depending on the color (RGBCMY) is in the range from 3.5 to 7.6, and in shades of gray - as the luminance increases, the deviation grows from 3.6 to 14.0. In principle, such values \u200b\u200bare permissible for non-professional technique. The color gamut is slightly off the sRGB color space.
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Sound
The earpiece is loud enough, the sound is clear and devoid of obvious flaws. The system speaker is placed on the back cover of the case, so when the smartphone is installed on a flat surface, such as a tabletop, the sound volume drops significantly. But this arrangement of the speaker also has its advantages - the palm behind the speaker acts as a kind of acoustic chamber, thanks to which volume is given to the sound. When the volume is set to maximum, the speaker does not creak or choke, but the sound lacks even a hint of bass, and the high-frequency range is only slightly noticeable. The sound volume is low: when playing a sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz at a distance of 1 meter from the smartphone, a level of 68.3 dBA was recorded. But it's hard to expect more from a budget smartphone.
But the volume level at the analog output is very high, and so much so that headphones with medium impedance can swing without any problems. When applying a sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz and operating at a 32 Ohm load, a level of 567.6 mV was recorded. The sound is generally good, but testing in the Right Mark Audio Analizer package failed due to non-disconnectable audio processing.
Performance
ASUS ZenFone 3 Max is based on 64-bit SoC MediaTek MT6737T, which includes 4 Cortex-A53 cores and ARM Mali-T720 MP2 video engine. This system-on-a-chip is based on a 28 nm process technology. In general, this is a common budget solution, even if it was presented not so long ago. The amount of RAM in the tested modification is 2 GB, and the memory type, of course, is LPDDR3. The ROM in the tested smartphone is only 16 GB.
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System performance was measured in synthetics PCMark, 3DMark, Geekbanch 4 and AnTuTu v6. Memory speed was evaluated using the AndroBench application.
Testing was also carried out in cross-platform javascript tests (Mozilla Kraken JavaScript and SunSpider). The results of these tests significantly depend on the browser used, therefore, to minimize the impact, all reviews will use Google chromeas the most common.
The system performance is sufficient to run any game, but for resource-demanding games, the display quality settings have to be changed to the minimum, and the most demanding ones slow down even with such settings.
Camera
It was not possible to determine the sensor model of the front and main cameras. A 5 megapixel front camera with an f / 2.4 aperture is capable of providing acceptable quality only in good lighting conditions. Under normal residential lighting (about 100 lux), the pictures turn into a complete mess. The main camera is 13 megapixels with an aperture of f / 2.2. You can't really pick on here, because even some flagships have the same aperture opening. There is no laser or phase detection autofocus here, but focusing is done quickly, although not always accurately. In good light, the camera allows you to take good pictures, and in low light the quality is quite passable. The flash is based on a single LED, which provides 16.8 lux at a distance of 1 meter, which is a rather modest result.
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Unfortunately, the transfer of camera control using the Camera 2 API is not supported, shooting in RAW is also unavailable, so it is impossible to estimate the matrix's own noise level, or rather does not make sense because of the noise reduction. To evaluate the image quality, the test pattern was captured with all available sensitivity values. Below are the crop fragments.
Sample pictures
In the video mode, no revelations - video recording in 1080 / 30p mode. Electronic video stabilization is provided only when recording HD-clips. Autofocus in video recording mode works.
Autonomous work
One of the main features of a smartphone is, of course, the battery and battery life. The battery capacity is 4130 mAh, while the SoC and display have a relatively low power consumption. The manufacturer promises that in idle mode the smartphone is able to work 720 hours (1 month), and in talk mode - 20 hours. There are 4 energy saving plans in the energy saving settings plus one customizable one. It is also possible to activate the automatic transition to the super-economical mode when a certain charge level is reached (10, 15, 20, 25 or 30%). Switching to economy mode is also possible according to the schedule, for example, at night. Another interesting function is working as mobile battery... When connecting the OTG cable, the system asks you to select the operating mode: PowerBank or OTG. In our scenarios for testing battery life, the smartphone showed by no means impressive results, but in standby mode it really works for a very long time.
Conclusion
ASUS has got a solid smartphone that looks expensive, but the filling is budgetary. In principle, there is enough performance for any modern task, but this smartphone is clearly not for "heavy" games. Installed cameras quite simple, but still good for its class. The main feature of a smartphone is a capacious battery. Unfortunately, the test results did not show impressive battery life. An ordinary long-lived smartphone, but no more. But for the ability to charge other devices from the built-in battery, the smartphone is a plus in karma.
Minuses:
- low productivity;
- weak camera;
- weak flash;
- lack of electronic stabilization when recording Full HD video.
Pros:
- quality materials and body assembly;
- good display;
- rather long battery life in standby mode and at low loads;
- the ability to charge devices from the tested smartphone.
