5 Reasons to Buy the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro and 2 Reasons Not To

Still thinking of whether to buy or not the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro in 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant? Then let me share with you top five reasons why you should buy this device and two reasons why you should not. I hope this post will help you decide more on getting your next Android smartphone for the holidays. 

In case you have missed it, I have previously published unboxing (read here) and my battery experience (read here) posts of this device. Feel free to check them out if you have not.

Why You Should Buy

1. LARGE BATTERY: Being a member of the ZenFone's Max family, this smartphone is equipped with a long-lasting and huge 5000mAh battery. This will easily last you one and a half or even up to two days of battery life in one charge. Charging this phone back up will not even you take longer than usual time for devices that do not have fast charging system. Based on my own experience, I was able to fully charge this phone from 0-100% in just less than 3 hours. Not only that, you can also charge other devices using this phone's reverse charging technology.
2. PROCESSOR: One of the highlights of this ZenFone Max Pro is its gaming capabilities. ASUS claims it can run most popular and heavy task demanding games without any problem. Thanks to its 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor with Adreno 509 GPU. And if that does not ring a bell, it is the same processor that powers the ZenFone 5 smartphone.
3. DISPLAY: Gaming on the go is not going to be an issue with this ZenFone Max Pro as it has a huge and crisp 6-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display with Full HD+ screen resolution. Most of all, it is a very bright display. So even if you play or simply use it while outside during daylight, you will still get to enjoy its tall display without a problem.
4. TRIPLE SLOT SIM TRAY: This one is now becoming a rare feature on many smartphones, even in the entry and midrange categories of devices- a tiple SIM slot. Thanks to ASUS, they are still not abandoning this particular function completely, yes it is still available on this device. You can still use two SIM cards and a microSD card for storage expansion all at once. This is especially helpful if you are playing games that require data connection, if one of the network providers is having a down time in data connectivity, you can easily switch to the other one. Both slots support up to 4G LTE network. And the micoSD card slot, ASUS says it can handle up to 2TB of size.
5. PRICE: When it was originally announced in the Philippines, it had an SRP of Php9,995. And then very recently, ASUS Philippines slashed prices off some of their Zenfone devices and the ZenFone Max Pro is one these phones. It can now be had for just Php8,995. That just made this device even more attractive than it already is. I think for that newest asking price, it becomes an even more one of the best "bang-for-the-buck" smartphones around.

READ: ASUS ZenFone Max Pro 3GB Review

Why You Should Not

Like many other smartphones, even the flagship ones, the ZenFone Max Pro is not a perfect device. I guess for the company to be able to bring its price even lower, they had to make some compromises. And for that, it seems to me that the main casualty here is the camera's real-time performance.

1. CAMERA: I mentioned this in my review post, but if there is one major thing that is not so appealing on this device, it would be the camera performance. Though it is of course understandable, especially if we are talking about its affordability in terms of pricing, I still think that ASUS could still have made the camera performance a little bit better on this one.
   
   I am not saying that the camera on this device is worse. In fact the dual rear camera setup can produce above average photo and video qualities. The problem here is the cameras' real time performance. Both the front and rear shooters, are noticeably slow in responding to my taps, most especially when snapping photos. There are instances that I end up having a blurry photo or the image is not being captured at all. This is even more noticeable in low light scenes. So if your subject is moving or the moment is quite too fast, you may also end up having the same issue with this phone.
   
2. NO FORNITE: Sadly, it is currently not compatible with Fortnite Battle Royale mobile game. If Fornite is one of the hottest mobile games you would like to experience, unfortunately this model is not listed in the supported smartphones on Fornite's webpage for Android, at least for now. But PUBG Mobile, Ragnarok M Eternal Love, Rules of Survival, as well as Mobile Legends, those games are definitely playable on this one.

The ASUS ZenFone Max Pro 3GB/32GB variant is still available nationwide from authorized retailers, ZenFone Concept stores, as well as on Lazada and Shopee for only Php8,995. The 4GB RAM/64GB variant, on the other hand, is now available at Php10,995 from its original price of Php13,995.