ASUS launches ZenFone Max Plus (M1) with 18:9 display, 4,130 mAh battery

ASUS has unveiled its new smartphone, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1). This is ASUS’ second smartphone to feature an 18:9 display — following the Pegasus 4S earlier this month — and it’s a very similar product, packing a large battery and dual rear-camera setup, as well as closely-matched design. It does, however, feature some key differences.

Details of the device were published on ASUS’ Russian portal (via Gadgets360), where it was stated that the handset would arrive with a 5.7-inch, FHD+ display (2160 x 1080 pixels), MediaTek 6750T chipset, and 2 GB/3 GB RAM and 16 GB/32 GB ROM memory versions.

There’s also dual camera setup on the back, with 16 MP + 8 MP sensors, alongside a fingerprint scanner, with an 8 MP wide-angle sensor on the front (the same as can be found on the Pegasus 4S). Meanwhile, the battery life should be pretty solid thanks to its 4,130 mAh capacity, but Android 8.0 Oreo fans might be disappointed to learn that the device ships with Android 7.0 Nougat (with ASUS’ ZenUI 4.0 skin on top).

Other tidbits include microSD card support up to 256 GB and a headphone port. No USB Type-C or quick-charge standard, though.

So, despite housing the same MediaTek chip, camera setup and screen size, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) delivers a bigger battery and higher resolution display compared to the Pegasus 4S — which houses a 4,030 mAh and has only HD+ resolution. That device, however, does arrive with a greater baseline memory configuration at 3 GB RAM / 32 GB ROM — you can’t accuse ASUS of denying consumers some options, small as the differences between these phones may be.

There are still no details on price, release date, or availability from ASUS, but we’ll let you know when we have more news; given the Russia listing, it’s likely that the Max Plus (M1) will first go on sale there though.

What are your initial impressions of the ZenFone Max Plus (M1)? Let us know in the comments.