Smartphone ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC520TL 16GB: pros and cons

ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC520TL 16GB meets the following selection criteria: elite appearance, low price, high performance and powerful battery. This smartphone lasts a long time without power and is resistant to workloads thanks to optimization through other characteristics. Minimalism and streamlined design are contrasted with a large screen - a bonus to aesthetics. And metal, as the leading material, raises the status of a device that appears in the budget segment. In general, for those who want cheap, beautiful and nothing to lose.

Key Features of ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC520TL

autonomy

Let's start with the ability of the phone to work without recharging, as this is the leading advantage, which explains the popularity of the models.
The smartphone has a built-in battery with a capacity of 4100mAh - this is a lot in 2018 for a cheap line.

ASUS employees about battery life voiced the following numbers:

• if turned on and not touched: 30 days.
• talk non-stop: 20 hours.
• watch HD video: 15 hours.
• go online surfing: 18 hours.

ASUS claims that in the power saving state, the phone will last 36 hours with the remaining 10% charge. Activated via setting. Perhaps the creators also meant the power saving mode in other characteristics, because users note that the phone holds great, but not so fantastic.

The owners give their statistics. The results of some: 9 days does not turn off in a calm state, and with continuous conversation or Internet surfing, the charge lasts for a full day, even when applications are running in the background.
If you choose which company is better for a smartphone to hold a charge, then ASUS for such a price and functionality, if not the best manufacturers, then confidently enters the top three of the budget segment.

Summary: High performance without power. But indicators from the manufacturer and the results of the owners differ.

Equipment

The phone comes with a charger, an OTG cable and a paperclip in the box. There are no headphones.

What we have:
1. A charger with a 2A micro-USB cable means there is fast charging. Cord length 90 cm.
   
2. An OTG cable is an adapter between two phones to charge from one smartphone to another. So ASUS hints that the ZC520TL model has such a capacious battery that it is used as a portable charger.
3. Pin to remove the sim card slot. Slot for two SIM cards or a SIM card and a memory card.

Summary: Pros - OTG cable, 2A charging, cons - no headphones.

Design and materials

The design is ergonomic and minimalist - buyers praise it. There are no right angles: buttons, connectors, case, all with rounded edges. The details were made in the same style, oblong and streamlined. This is how many popular models of the elite class look in 2018.

All materials are correct. There are three colors of the device to choose from: gray, silver, golden. The back panel is a reliable metal case with plastic inserts, and the front part is reinforced glass with an oleophobic coating.

From elements:
1. A fingerprint scanner is located on the back, and above it is a camera in a square frame and a flash. Below is a stylized speaker with the ASUS logo above it.
2. Above the screen is a front camera, a notification light, and a speaker grid. Sensors: illumination, acceleration, approximation. Below the screen is the ASUS logo at the height of the bezel. The buttons are neither mechanical nor touch.
3. There are two buttons on the right edge: sound swing and power.
4. On the bottom is a microUSB charging port.
5. On the top is a 3.5mm headphone jack.
6. On the left panel is a combined slot for a SIM card.

The slot includes two trays: the first one for micro-SIM and the second one for nano-SIM or microSD flash drive of your choice. This means that you can either do without a flash drive with two SIM cards, or limit yourself to one SIM card, but with a flash drive. Two SIM cards operate in the order of waiting: if one number is not called, then the call is forwarded to the second one.

The company is picky about style and the performance of the ZenFone lineup is a testament to that. Unless, the abundance of logos scares.

Summary: The phone is ergonomic, looks expensive.Pleased with a metal case and a single design, but two ASUS logos.

Convenience

It is worth commenting on the ease of use. Due to the smoothed frames of the case and glass, the smartphone is comfortable and natural to hold in your hand. Weight 148 g - considered light.

The metal case is non-marking, but slippery. Users say that it is better to wear with a case. The streamlining of the edges, the smooth protrusion of the keys are tactilely pleasant. The response of pressing the buttons is soft.

The volume and power keys are notched to make them easier to distinguish from the case. The camera and fingerprint reader are aesthetically recessed for style integrity, touch comfort and damage protection.

Summary: Naturally lies in the hand, comfortable, pleasant to the touch in general and in details, but slippery.

Screen

The screen is evaluated according to the following characteristics - diagonal, resolution, color reproduction, brightness, and material.

The display of the ZC520TL model is a 5.2-inch tempered glass with streamlined edges with small bezels on the sides - 2.25 mm.

The glass is anti-reflective, non-staining and smooth due to the oleophobic coating. This coating increases finger gliding, resists fingerprints, is scratch resistant and easy to clean. The glass itself is durable, despite the lack of a protective film.

The limit of brightness and contrast is higher than that of analogues. Maximum brightness - 553 cd/m2, contrast - 1187:1. In the sun, the picture is transmitted perfectly, but is shaded under a strong slope.

Users comment on auto-brightness in different ways: some argue that the light change function works with some delay, others are satisfied with the reaction speed. The minimum brightness does not go to zero, keeping the richness of colors in the dark.Manufacturers have provided manual saturation control to protect the eyes.

The image is colorful and clear due to the resolution and matrix: the colors are juicy from any angle, the pixels are not visible due to the IPS-matrix.

Specifications:

• Resolution: HD 720p
• Matrix: IPS

Such a matrix creates a high-resolution effect with enhanced contrast and color reproduction, and 720x1280 HD pixels consume less power than 1080x1920 FullHD pixels.

The result is an unobvious difference from FullHD, the phone works faster and discharges more slowly. The disadvantage is that with strong inclinations, the brightness drops and the color reproduction is distorted.

User reviews are positive. The screen is positioned as the advantage of the device in its price category.

Summary: Full color reproduction, high brightness threshold and saturation, nice anti-reflective glass, but at strong tilts the brightness is suppressed and blacks are distorted.

touchscreen

Multi-touch - can respond to 5 touches at the same time, supports gesture control.

Three control buttons are simulated on the desktop as on tablets: home, back, last application. They compensate for the lack of control buttons under the display. The manufacturers left the frame buttonless, inserting a large ASUS logo on the bottom.

The touchscreen itself is sensitive to touch. In order not to accidentally unlock the display in your pocket, it is better to set an unlock password in the settings.

Summary: Takes up to five touches, good response.

Performance and memory

Performance is healthy for classic use.According to users, the smartphone confidently copes with everyday tasks, which is ensured by the following components: processor, graphics processor, Android version, RAM and internal memory, the possibility of additional memory and functionality.

• Options:
• Processor: 4 cores, 1.25GHz, MediaTek MT6737
• GPU: Mali T720
• Android: 6.0.1
• RAM: 2GB
• Internal memory: 16GB

Additional memory support: 32GB microSD flash drive.

Characteristics are average. The processor is not capricious: it pulls surfing the Internet, working with applications in the background, standard workload while maintaining a fast response. Suitable for watching videos.

In case there is not enough internal memory, there is a combined slot for a flash drive, no more than 32GB. It is combined according to the principle of mutual exclusion with a compartment for the second SIM card in the nano format, so in addition either a SIM card or a card.

Summary: The processor copes with adequate loading, quite productive, lack of leading versions, memory limitations.

Games and graphics

Undemanding games run smoothly and quite nicely. More expensive models are intended for loaded fighting toys, but even with them, this ASUS copes, though already with lags. It is not profitable to use it for active loaded games.

The MediaTek MT6737 processor with Mali T720 is designed for classic use: calls, Internet, video, instant messengers and applications, games of medium load. Inexpensive smartphones are rarely planned as gaming ones, as a rule, resistance to large-scale loads is compensated by excluding other amenities.

Summary: Runs simple games without problems, but lags on loaded ones.

Camera

The main rear camera is 13 MP, the front camera is 5 MP.

The functionality of the main camera includes options such as autofocus and modes within the PixelMaster technology. The pictures are of optimal quality, as most of the good phones that are included in the budget line take pictures. Good image sharpness and visibility.

Focusing is standard: the camera chooses focus based on the area of ​​greatest contrast. Focus can be selected manually by touching the desired area. Aperture f / 2.2 - the camera transmits light well.

PixelMaster technology is about modes. The special one is called "Super Resolution". With it, you can take a photo with a resolution of 52mp instead of the classic 13mp. This invention works by shooting four frames at the same time: these pictures are superimposed on each other and become a photograph with a quality four times higher. There is an HDR mode. The owners note that night shooting is not impressive.

The front camera has a fixed focus, you can also play with the settings.

Among the shortcomings: there is no optical stabilization and laser autofocus, on the run the pictures are fuzzy, and in cloudy weather the pictures are less contrasting.

Summary: 13 MP, "Super Resolution", noticeable contrast in the light as a plus, but does not cope with night photography and shooting on the move.

Sound

The sound is standard. The voice speaker works loudly and with high quality, the voice is clear in communication. In the headphones, the volume and sound quality are high, and the main speaker is average in strength.

At the system speaker, users call the location a disadvantage. When the device is placed on the table with the back side, the sound is muffled.

The possibility of not hearing the call can be compensated by vibration, which is quite powerful in this model. Vibration intensity is adjustable in the settings.

Summary: Clarity of the voice speaker, but unfortunate placement of the system speaker.

Unlock

This is where the fingerprint scanner comes into play. It is located on the back of the case directly below the camera, very convenient for a natural touch. The scanner accepts up to five fingerprints: that is, you can score 5 different fingers of different hands, or you can scan one finger 5 times from all non-obvious angles so that the scanner responds to any position. Responds from 0.3 to 1 second if loaded and not missed when touched.

The scanner is multifunctional: a swipe down the scanner launches the camera, a second touch takes a picture. By touching the scanner, you can receive a call.

Summary: Takes up to five prints, is feature rich, but the recessed scanner requires a firm touch.

Interface

ASUS proprietary interface - ZenUI 3.0 is functional, not overloaded, designed for all basic user tasks in 2018.

There are two things that matter when organizing your desktop: organize your application into categories and change the grid. The first groups applications into a single thumbnail frame, which saves desktop space and makes it easier to find the desired shortcut. Second - you can adjust the number of icons on the desktop. For example, to make the thumbnails large, a 3x3 grid of icons is suitable. Switching between workers was implemented in 9 variants.

The weather widget is installed by default: determines the weather by geolocation, accompanying the information with graphs and details, for example, is there fog or not.

In the settings, you can adjust the management of gestures and touches. To double-click on the screen off to see the time or new notifications, just activate this setting for touch.

With the help of a mobile manager, you can monitor the workload of your phone and optimize processes in time and remove system junk.

Font sizes, auto-rotation, the ability to turn off auto-updates of applications - there are all the functions of a standard modern smartphone.

Summary: Completed universal interface.

Support: communication, internet and wireless technologies

Communication standards: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, LTE-A Cat. 4 - that is, the standards required in 2018. Over Wi-Fi: 802.11n/b/c - similar. Bluetooth 4.0 and USB connections. No NFC - you can not count on contactless payments.

Navigation: GPS, GLONASS and A-GPS system.

From audio - FM radio. The audio file formats themselves are as follows: MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA.

Summary: Supports major standards, but no contactless payments.

How to choose where it is profitable to buy and how much it costs

Having decided to buy ZenFone 3 MAX, you need to know that there is a whole line of such zenphones and there is a model very similar in name - ZenFone 3 Max ZC520KL. The difference in one letter in the name of the model determines the absolute difference in functionality and details. Which one to buy depends on your needs and budget. Smartphone ZC520KL newer, so more expensive and more powerful in performance.

The ZC520TL variant is rarely found in official stores, in some you can even see the original price of 11,990 rubles. On the Internet it is easy to find cheaper than 11 thousand rubles. The average price in Russia is 9,472 rubles, and in Kazakhstan, for example, for 32 GB - 59,786 tenge.

Summary: Available at a low price, rarely available.

• stylish design and streamlining;
• metal case;
• nice interface;
• fingerprint recognition;
• performance.

• memory limit;
• impossibility of contactless payments;
• speaker location;
• slippery body.

Despite the fact that the ZC520TL has been pushed on the market by novelties, it is still a functional and stylish phone at a low price, with a powerful battery. It can be defined in the ranking of quality smartphones in 2018 in the budget category.