I had a chance to review it's Mediatek version aka Asus Zenfone 3 Max 5.2. When the 5.5 inch version of phablet, I can't wat for it's comparison. Here is my review of Asus Zenfone 3 Max 5.5 (Z3M 5.5)
Compared to 5.2 inch Zenfone 3 Max, the Z3M 5.5 has a different UI especially when you take a look at the pulldown menu. On the body itself, it has a better score in terms of premium feel over the 5.2 . Display will also be the advantage at Full HD plus the 2.5D Glass too
Same with Z3M 5.2, I had no problems in calls, texts, mobile net, Bluetooth and WiFi. Even though there is a bit of inaccuracy in terms of GPS which is kinda rare in a Snapdragon powered phones that I reviewed. The edge for me of Z3M 5.5 over the 5.2 is no incidence of dropping from LTE to 3G in my home which is cool
Fingerprint reader set-up and recognition are as easy as a breeze as you can set up to 5 fingers.
In terms on gaming in Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5, I almost got no difference in gaming except that this phablet is a bit cooler and only consumed less for a 30 minute gameplay, thanks to that 14 nm made Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 8-core processor.
On benchmarks, the numbers are expected on Antutu on the said processor. It has 10 point multi touch and has 7 out of 9 sensors including gyro. On battery, it really outmatched the Z3M 5.2 on our video battery rundown test at 20 hours and 51 minutes. On my real life usage, I can use it for about 1.5 days with 7 hours of battery life with power saver mode on. I classify myself as a heavy user. Quite sad that they did not have the quick charge support as you will need 2.5 hours to fully charge this device
In extras, I think you never saw it in others but I discovered that the USB OTG function of this phablet if the battery is 19% and below. That is a hassle if you are transferring those files back and forth and you do not have a powerbank in you. For some reason, after you had some pictures and screenshots, I noticed that it had some tendencies that it will gonna corrupt from the thumbnail either you use the stock gallery or even a 3rd party gallery personal fave QuickPic. Both scenarios happen either you save those picture files o internal storage or micro SD. I hope that Asus PH will have an update on the problem that I encountered
Aside from the pulldown menu, the camera UI had a huge change especially on the camera modes section in circular icons. Both cameras can shoot at 4:3 aspect ratio. Image processing speed is faster than Z3M 5.2. Indoor and daylight environment are a-ok but in low light environment, it struggled at some point as well as if you will gonna shoot from 3x zoom and up. Color accuracy is good on this phablet
Asus Zenfone 3 Max 5.5 rear camera samples
Asus Zenfone 3 Max 5.5 front camera sample
Premiuim feel, battery effiiciency and average camera output plus if you hate to buy a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430-powered phone from a local brand will be the strengths of Asus Zenfone 3 Max plus the competitive Php 10,995 price tag which in my opinion, the most reasonable price tag in all of the Zenfone 3 phones so far in the country so far. The issues on the OTG and some corrupted picture files were the ones that bugged me especially when I brought this phablet for media coverages. Good thing, it is still a bit higher score on the Zenfone 3 Max 5.2 at 4.25 out of 5
