Smartphone ASUS ZenFone 4 Max ZC520KL 16Gb - advantages and disadvantages

Asus ZenFone Max 4 (ZC520KL) is a compact, convenient and budget smartphone. This gadget is a lightweight modification of the popular Max 4 (ZC554KL) with a 5.5-inch display, Full HD resolution, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 425 processor and a 5,000 mAh capacitive battery. This article discusses in detail the advantages and disadvantages of the ASUS ZenFone 4 Max ZC520KL 16Gb smartphone.

ASUS ZenFone 4 Max ZC520KL 16Gb

Due to the overall battery and the impressive screen, the deviceZC554KL cannot be classified as compact, because its thickness is more than 8 mm, and its weight is 186 g. The company decided to make a lightweight modification of the smartphone with a 5.2-inch screen and a 4,100 mAh battery.

Equipment and features

The phone comes in a sealed and colorful box, which contains a charger, a microUSB cable, an OTG USB cable and a package of documents, including a warranty card. It is worth noting that in some trim levels there is no paper clip for working with SIM card and flash card trays.The power adapter corresponds to the declared characteristics (5V/2A).

The length of the cord is 91 cm, the thickness is 3.58 mm, it shows itself perfectly from the side of working with current. As a pleasant surprise, the best manufacturer added an OTG type USB adapter to the package. If you take a black phone, the user will be surprised that the back panel is dark blue. Due to this specificity in design, the smartphone is clearly visible among gray and monotonous devices.

In front, at the bottom, there is a fingerprint scanner with metal strips. To the left of the scanner there is a touch button “Back”, and on the right side there is a universal key that performs 3 targets at the same time. If you click on it 1 time, then the task manager is activated, 2 times - the last running application. And if you hold down the button, the multi-window mode will turn on.

According to user feedback, not everyone likes that the back key is on the left. The touch buttons are not backlit, and the anti-glare coating of the keys only partly improves the problem, because they become visible in the sun.

At the top of the screen are the light and zoom sensors, the front camera with flash, and the speaker. On the left side is a slot for SIM-cards and a microphone hole used to remove noise. Users are given the opportunity to install 2 SIM and a flash card at the same time.

If you press the case with your fingers, then a strong creak is heard on the left, which promises to be punched through plastic materials. Overall, the build quality is solid. On the right side are the power and volume keys. At the top there is only a 3.5 socket for connecting a headset.

Below, in the middle, there is a microUSB slot, on the right side - a speaker, on the left - a microphone. Smartphone software does not respond to taps near the left edge. On the other hand, there is a rear camera with two blocks: a reflective edge and a flash.

The panel is made of plastic, but at first glance it seems to be metal. Fingerprints remain on the shiny finish, but it is not scratched. The user is given the option to deactivate the LED, which is required for alerts, but is not configurable.

The LED will glow red if the battery charge is weak, or if the smartphone has Internet mode activated. Green means that the person missed something, for example, SMS. In this case, the indicator will be visible only up close. The LED will start alerting the user every 2 seconds, then turn off. If SMS is received when the screen is locked, then the LED will flash for a little less than 4 minutes.

If you unlock and lock your device again, the flickering will continue for another 8 minutes. This makes it possible to save the battery charge, however, the manufacturer did not take into account the moment of deactivation of the red indicator, if the charge is almost at zero. In a situation where the smartphone is completely seated, it will glow green.

Sound and screen

ASUS (ZC520KL) was equipped with an IPS-type LCD screen with a resolution of 1280x720 px, a diagonal of 5.2 inches, and a pixel saturation of 282. It is in the display that the main difference of the smartphone with the ZC554KL modification lies. It differs not only in diagonal and, of course, in pixel saturation, but also in sharpness, contrast, and configuration.

In terms of physical characteristics, this is an ordinary trendy display with a protective glass, a good oleophobic surface, a polarizing layer, on which there is no air layer between the matrix and the glass. The sensor layer responds to the desired gestures, and also supports 10 touches, which are allowed to be done at the same time. Among the shortcomings, users note poor sensitivity in gloves. With increased light sources, the screen works fine. The saturation of 567 cd/m2 (including the polarization layer) is quite enough to not only watch videos, but also work with content as conveniently as possible. The image practically does not fade.

The contrast is very typical for an IPS type matrix, it is 990:1. This is not quite a small value, but there is nothing to boast of a smartphone here. Distinct black is really visible only when the screen is deactivated. On average, the palette is 2.65, which goes significantly beyond the typical framework. This is due to the fact that in light shades the display functionality works unusually. At the same time, the color temperature is very typical and varies within seven thousand K with a standard of six and a half. It is impossible to call the color transfer too cold, since these parameters are close to real.

On average, the DeltaE bias for the Color Checker, which contains the full list of colors and many shades of gray, is 6.35, so the deviation from the standard is very impressive. Naturally, the colors here are not cold, but the color clarity is negligible.

As for the sound, everything is excellent here. There is a mini-jack for connecting various headsets without an adapter. It is worth noting that the strength of the scale is enough to enjoy music or radio in minibuses and so on.The external speaker is also very loud, which makes it almost impossible to miss a call, the call quality is at its best.

Performance and stuffing

In terms of hardware, the smartphone is similar to the older “brother”. At the base of the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. Graphics accelerator - Adreno 308, clock frequency - 400 MHz, made using 28 nanometer technology. This is a very popular method in an inexpensive line, which is found among devices priced from 5 to 15 thousand rubles.

The modification uses either 2 or 3 GB of RAM. A similar amount of memory is used in the ZC554KL. Of course, the smartphone is not suitable for active games, but it is smart in lightweight applications. In simple words, if the game has a load of 3D effects, then you should not install it.

When working with typical tasks, the phone is quite productive. Of course, heavy programs do not always open quickly and the animation lags slightly, but taking into account the fact how much the device costs, it will be biased to consider these as shortcomings. There is not so much ROM in the gadget - 16 GB. But there is a huge advantage to use 2 SIM cards and microSD at once, which even some flagships cannot boast of.

Communication and communication

The triple Nano SIM card slot and flash drive were mentioned above, but the company did not go any further. There are no two integrated radio blocks here, so you will have to use only one card in the communication mode or work on the Internet. It is worth noting that both connectors support 4G.

There is LTE version 4 - the maximum reception speed is 150 Mbps, transmission - 50. There are all the frequencies necessary for the normal operation of the block in the Russian Federation.There is Bluetooth 4.1 version and Wi-Fi, but there is no infrared port and NFC unit. But the GPS navigation unit is integrated, which works perfectly.

Camera

The device was equipped with a double camera unit, made using the same technology as the older “brother”. The first camera is equipped with optics with an extremely large field of view (90⁰) and aperture 2.0, as well as a sensor with a resolution of 13 MP. There is a phase autofocus. The second is 5 MP, the viewing angle is even larger (120⁰), there is no auto focus.

How does the main camera take pictures? - with the highest resolution in 4:3 format, the auxiliary takes pictures in a ratio of 16:9, but the resolution here is only 2 MP.

The camera interface has not changed much compared to the previous generation of ASUS mobile devices. There is, by the way, a very comfortable mode for professionals with a virtual horizon, which allows you to personalize a large number of shooting modes.

The camera of the device does not show any new products. Normal detail and warm colors for viewing in the process of shooting in the daytime on the main camera are “covered” by a poor dynamic range and unstable operation at night. The block is really not enough stabilized optics. Experts advise using the camera only in normal lighting conditions.

autonomy

The most important thing in any rating of high-quality devices that claim an increased operating time of their own “brainchild” is the autonomy of its work. The popular model was equipped with a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 4,100 mAh. In combination with a rather small screen and absolutely undemanding hardware from Qualcomm, fans looking for the best ASUS model to buy expect the announced three days.

But alas, the compact phone is even inferior to the “brother”, which is significantly noticeable, in particular, if you use a smartphone for games, and indeed, use it actively. Of course, under heavy loads, you can be sure that the battery will not let you down, but it did not work out of the segment of “phones with eternal recharging”.

The device is not optimized enough. For example, the OS noticeably "eats" the charge even in standby mode (about 15%). In general, this is only the specifics of the software, so fans should hope for an updated firmware with the elimination of these disadvantages.

During testing, in which HD videos were played, all kinds of functions were activated, in addition, at maximum display brightness, the gadget worked for 10 hours, which is a very impressive parameter.

The device comes with an adapter from microUSB to ordinary USB, thanks to which it is possible to charge various gadgets. For example, phones with small batteries or electronic cigarettes or even compact cameras.

The average price is 9,000 rubles.

• Design;
• Ability to charge various gadgets;
• duration of work;
• Good cameras for the price.

• Weak performance;
• Lack of NFC block;
• Weakly optimized screen.

Results

4 Max (ZC520KL) is a lightweight and compact modification of the "durable" device from the recent ZenFone series. It has a large number of minor disadvantages, but leaves behind a pleasant feeling. The manufacturer decided to note some parameters of the device, in particular the autonomy of work and the camera. In addition, the key audience is young people who often use social media. networks and posting pictures. In this regard, the basic requirements for the gadget are performed at the proper level.But the unit will not be a good choice for people who like heavy games.

The disadvantages of some users are also the insufficient amount of ROM, since most of it is occupied by software and a proprietary interface, which may require the use of a flash card. Despite this, the rest of the characteristics are perfectly combined with each other and work fine. There is also a nice design and not a compact case.

Like most other Asus models, the software is systematically updated, and therefore some errors will be corrected after the release of a new firmware version. If we talk about specialization, materials and characteristics, then there are practically no similar analogues for this device.