Asus ZenFone Max Plus is super cheap, has super-sized battery
Unveiled here at CES and priced at a bargain $229, the 5.7-inch ZenFone Max Plus also features facial recognition.
In addition to a slew of new laptops and computers, Asus announced a new Android phone at CES 2018. Known as the ZenFone Max Plus, the phone will be available in North America from February. In the US it will cost $229 (converted, that's about £175 or AU$300) for the model with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.
This is the first of Asus' ZenFone phones to feature Face Unlock. Already available in the Apple iPhone X (under the branding Face ID), the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 and the OnePlus 5T , facial recognition is a steady-growing trend among phones as an additional or alternative biometric security layer to fingerprints.
In the North America, the ZenFone Max Plus will be available in black and a bluish silver.
The ZenFone Max Plus also packs a whopping 4,130mAh battery -- higher than usual for most phones. According to Asus, the phone can last up to 26 hours on standby and offers 13 hours of video playback.
Not only does it have a long-lasting usage time, Asus claims, but also a long-lasting lifespan. Asus promises an overall lifespan that's double that of other phone batteries, due to a combination of temperature monitoring, overvoltage protection and automatic maintenance settings.
We can't test the battery claims for ourselves until we get our hands on a unit, but on paper a 4,130mAh battery is certainly impressive. The ZenFone 3 Zoom has a 5,000mAh battery and that lasted 20 hours during CNET's lab test for continuous video playback. By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active , for example, has a 4,000mAh battery and lasted 24 hours on average.
The phone comes in black and a bluish silver. Other features include a 5.7-inch display, two rear-cameras, including an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 1.5GHz octacore processor from MediaTek. The phone will be offered in pink too, as well as a model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, though no information has been given as to which markets these units will be available in. It runs Android 7.0 with Asus' Zen user interface layered on top.
Asus ZenFone Max Plus specs
| Asus ZenFone Max Plus | |
|---|---|
| Display size, resolution | 5.65-inch; 2,160x1,080 pixels |
| Pixel density | 427 ppi |
| Dimensions (Inches) | 6.01x2.87x0.35 in |
| Dimensions (Millimeters) | 152.6x73x8.8mm |
| Weight (Ounces, Grams) | 5.64oz, 160g |
| Mobile software | Android 7.0 Nougat |
| Camera | 16-megapixel (standard), 8-megapixel (wide) |
| Front-facing camera | 16-megapixel |
| Video capture | TBD |
| Processor | 1.5GHz octacore processor from MediaTek |
| Storage | 32GB |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Expandable storage | 256GB |
| Battery | 4,130mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Back |
| Connector | Micro-USB |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Special features | Face unlock |
| Price off-contract (USD) | $229 |
| Price (GBP) | £175, converted |
| Price (AUD) | AU$300, converted |
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