A couple of days of rest allowed us to thoroughly try Asus ZenFone Max Plus, a smartphone that, in its extreme economy, contains good-level components, functions and latest generation technologies to fully enjoy the most sought-after functions on a device. of this type.
How it is made
First of all, Asus ZenFone Max Plus is compact and handy. Specifically, it measures 15 x 7.2 centimeters and all components are enclosed in a thickness of just 8 millimeters. The back is made entirely of aluminum, except for the two upper and lower bands which replicate the design but are made of polycarbonate, thus ensuring better functioning of the antennas.
On this facade we find a slightly protruding double camera flanked by LED flash and the sensor for scanning fingerprints. The right side houses the volume rocker and the Standby button while on the left we find a generous compartment to accommodate two nanoSIMs and a microSD card for memory expansion. On the upper edge we find instead audio jack for headphones and secondary microphone hole, on the bottom instead speaker, main microphone and microUSB socket for battery charging.
The phone is well designed and in some ways resembles an iPhone 6 / 6s Plus in lines and curves. On the front, a black panel welcomes the large 5.7-inch screen.
Overall it holds well in the hand even if it is rather slippery and in the package we do not find neither a silicone cover nor a protective film for the screen, two accessories that are usually offered by Chinese smartphone manufacturers that are around this price range. .
In the box there is instead the 2A power supply with the charging cable, a USB adapter to use the phone as a powerbank and recharge another, manual, warranty sheet, pin to extract the card tray and a pair of earphones with rubber pads of various sizes.
1 of 15 
Data sheet
Usage impressions
For the price it sells for, the Asus ZenFone Max Plus isn't bad. The user interface is not very fluid but it is rather fast both in opening applications and in downloading and uploading content via 4G.
The screen renders well and the captured photos look better than they actually are. The quality is in fact good with the 16 MP main camera while it loses a lot in color rendering and detail with the 8 MP wide angle.
For the writer, the quality is not satisfactory in terms of printing and therefore acquisition of souvenir photos while it is more than satisfactory for shots to be published on social networks. Below is a small demonstration gallery with photos taken on the fly from our office (without retouching except a scaling to 1200 pixels on the long side):
1 of 11 
main rear camera 
wide angle rear camera 
In intensive use, the smartphone heats slightly on the back but the heat is effectively dissipated by the aluminum cover. The processor holds up well in use with more common applications such as telephone, mail, messaging apps, social networks, photos, file managers, notes, calendars but also less demanding games like Candy Crush, while it is slightly less performing with more demanding titles in resource terms like any of the Asphalt series.
The features that we have less liked are basically two. For one thing, the face scanner only works outdoors and with the sun in front, while it cannot recognize a face indoors even if the lights are on and the screen brightness is set to maximum level. We believe it is useless to put such a modern function and perhaps also use it as a tow for sales when its operation is limited to outdoor use only.
Then the question of safety remains, given that the phone for obvious reasons of cost does not have a serious system (like that of the iPhone X or other top of the range) of face scanning: it uses the camera and the recording comes in a couple. seconds and analyzes only the two-dimensional image, which can then be easily bypassed with a photograph. Much better at this point to rely on the fingerprint reader (which instead works great and is also quite fast) or the good old PIN.
Another negative point is the Android version. Not only is 7.0 today too old to be considered but it is also overly customized by the manufacturer. The pre-installed applications – which cannot even be removed – are many and not everyone may want to use them, moreover they are always active in the background and could affect the overall autonomy.
Good for the integrated functions such as the blue light filter to yellow the screen with a touch and rest the eyes especially in the evening and the other numerous options to save data, make the screen smaller and use the screen easily with one hand, clean cache and RAM by speeding up the system in one click, take care of the battery and comfortably use the touch screen with glove mode. We tried it with sincere curiosity and we were really impressed: it works well (our test took place with woolen gloves about 4 mm thick) and at this time of the year it is really comfortable.
Many, perhaps too many customizations, including themes and transition effects, which could have been avoided for a greater lightness and reactivity of the device.
1 of 18 
Conclusions
Asus ZenFone Max Plus is a good phone especially in relation to the price for which it is proposed (at the moment, 123.90 euros on GearBest). More could have been done from the point of view of lightness, perhaps opting for a cleaner version of Android and fewer functions available, but it all depends on the use to be made of it.
It can work very well as a second phone for Dual SIM support and memory expansion, especially with a view to using it as a multimedia device while on vacation. It is also a good choice for the elderly parent who is not looking for speed and technology but only the possibility of receiving in real time the photos of the grandchildren sent in the family Whatsapp chat, without expecting to use it as a camera or push him beyond the Candy Crush pastime.
Pro
Cons
Retail price
