The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 starts at Rs 10,999
The recently announced Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 went on sale today in India. It is a power-packed and affordable offering from the company. The company has listed its 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM versions on Flipkart for Rs 10,999 and Rs 12,999 respectively. The 6GB/64GB variant has not been put up for sale yet. The devices currently are available for pre-order.
The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 sports a 5.99-inch FullView IPS display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset with the Adreno 509 GPU. The device is available in three variants 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage, 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage and 6GB RAM/64GB internal storage. It runs on the stock build of Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo and is backed by a 5,000mAh battery.
Asus has launched three variants of the Zenfone Max Pro M1 in India
As for the camera, the 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB variants sport a 13-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup at the back along with an 8-megapixel camera up front. Whereas, the 6GB/64GB variant will feature a 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup on the rear along with a 16-megapixel camera for selfies on the front.
The device as per its specifications to price ratio seems very promising. However, there are many smartphones already present in the Indian market that it will have to compete with. We decided to list five such competitors that the Zenfone Max Pro M1 will challenge for mid-range supremacy.
Below are the smartphones that the 4GB/64GB variant of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 will lock horns with:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (Rs 14,999)
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro features a 12MP+5MP dual rear camera setup
The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is being called a direct competitor to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro by many people. Considering the price and specifications of both the smartphones, it is quite visible that both the devices have a lot in common. However, there are a few features that might influence your purchase decision. The first one being software, the Redmi Note 5 pro comes with Xiaomi’s own MIUI custom ROM, whereas the Zenfone Max Pro M1 features stock configuration of Android. I got a chance to spend some time with both the devices and I noticed that the camera on the Redmi Note 5 Pro is better than the Zenfone Max Pro M1, which might change with a future update as we had a pre-production unit of the M1 for testing.
Honor 7X (Rs 15,999)
The Honor 7X features a 16MP+2MP dual rear camera setup
Honor 7X was the device that users on a tight budget turned to when they were looking for modern features like a near bezel-less display and dual cameras. It seems as if the launch of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 might change that. Both the devices are value for money options for you to purchase. But taking a look at things like the software, price and and battery capacity, it makes us believe that the Zenfone Max Pro M1 has an edge over the Honor 7X.
Oppo F5
The Oppo F5 is powered by the MediaTek Helio P23 processor
From the time the Oppo F5 launched, the competition has gotten tougher and tougher. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 compared to the Oppo F5 has much more to offer and at a lower price point. Firstly, the Oppo F5 is powered by the MediaTek Helio P23 processor compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor which powers the Zenfone Max Pro M1. The Snapdragon 636 is much faster than the MediaTek Helio P23. The Zenfone Max Pro features 32GB of extra internal memory compared to the Oppo F5. The F5 also has a smaller capacity battery of 3200mAh compared to the 5,000mAh battery of the Asus. As for the optics, the Oppo F5 sports a single camera on the back as opposed to a dual camera setup on the M1.
As we mentioned earlier, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 has a 3GB/32GB variant priced at Rs 10,999. That is strategically placed to take on some of the popular devices at the lower end of the mid-range spectrum. Below are some smartphones whose sales numbers might get disrupted by this Asus handset.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (Rs 9,999)
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 starts at Rs 9,999
The Redmi Note 5 when launched made a lot of waves in the Indian smartphone market. It is inferior in many ways to the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The same might have been the case with the Zenfone Max Pro M1, but the company decided to take another route with it. They just reduced the RAM and the internal storage on the device while keeping the rest same. There might be a difference of Rs 1,000 in the price of both the devices, however, according to us, spending that extra Rs 1,000 will get you a lot more in terms of performance (newer SoC), better camera, more battery backup, more recent version of Android and more on the Zenfone Max Pro M1.
Honor 9 Lite (Rs 10,999)
Honor 9 Lite sports a dual camera setup on both the back and the front
If you were going to make the decision based simply on looks, the Honor 9 Lite would be a straightforward choice even now. The all glass build makes that device look premium and feel a lot more expensive than what it really costs. The device also beats the Zenfone Max Pro M1 in the camera department, at least on paper. The Honor 9 Lite sports a dual camera setup on both the front and the back. However, when it comes to the other specifications, the Zenfone Max Pro M1 is hard to beat. Given that the price of both the devices is exactly the same, the Honor 9 Lite will face stiff competition from the M1.