QUEZON CITY, Philippines – ASUS Philippines dropped an upgraded variant of the Zenfone Max Pro, powered by a faster processor and higher capacity memory and storage during the “Max Pro: Game Zone” event recently in SM City North EDSA on Saturday afternoon.
ZenFone Philippines’ first-ever mobile gaming festival, Max Pro: Game Zone was arranged in partnership with SM Cyberzone. International and local gaming developers joined forces in the fanfare, which was highlighted by the arrival of the upgraded Zenfone Max Pro.
A month ago, the ZenFone Max Pro M1 was introduced with the MAX A-TEAM, a group of influential names in the world of Philippine gaming: Kaisaya, Asurai Gaming, TriNhil, and GLOCO Gaming. The partners introduced the upgraded Battery King amid calls for support for local game developers, a movement they dubbed the “MAX FORCE”.
“It is a ubiquitous notion that more potent and engaging games are truly going mobile, making the choice of handsets even more critical to the player. We at the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) are keen to this market movement and are distinctly honored to be a chosen partner of ASUS for their maiden gaming phone, the ZenFone Max Pro.” GDAP President, Alvin Juban, shared. “Let the pros know and let the games begin!”
ASUS Philippines Country Manager, George Su, also stated: “In ASUS, we believe that the incredible does not stop simply by providing the technology for it. We feel that it is only right to go beyond our duty and support the elements that drive the passions of our ZenFans. We are very happy to take part in Philippine gaming not just by providing a powerful tool for immersive gameplay, but also through taking part in the community that players thrive in – whether these games are hardcore, casual, international, or local.”
ASUS also announced several partnerships for the Zenfone Max Pro at the event:
- Vainglory, an internationally acclaimed arena (MOBA) game
- Ranida Games, developer of locally renowned game, Philippine Slam!
- Monstronauts, Inc., an up-and-coming local crowd favorite developer
- Synergy 88! a group of local creatives
The ZenFone Max Pro is also set to become PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile’s official event partner in the coming months.
The new Zenfone Max Pro features a refreshed chipset, moving up from Snapdragon 633 to Snapdragon 636. Aside from the performance improvement, it sports expanded storage and memory modules, from 3 GB RAM + 32 GB ROM to 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM.
Camera specs also went up, from 13 MP f/2.2 + 5 MP dual rear camera to 16 MP f/2.0 + 5 MP dual rear cameras. The Selfie camera is now wider, up from 8 MP f/2.2 to 8 MP f/2.0.
Everything else stays the same: a 5.99-inch notch-less display, dual SIM support, and a 5,000 mAh Li-Pro battery that makes it one of the highest-rated smartphones in terms of battery capacity.
The ZenFone Max Pro 4GB + 64GB variant is available nationwide for pre-order from June 30 until July 22, 2018. Pre-orders are bundled with a JBL T450BT Headset and ZenFone Max Pro Clear Case worth 3,698 Php.
UPDATE: We were informed by ASUS that the 4GB RAM + 64 GB ROM Zenfone Max Pro is now available nationwide.
A week ago, ASUS dropped the price of the Zenfone Max Pro M1, which is now going for 9,995 Php on Lazada.
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro ZB602KL technical specifications
- Display: 5.99″ 2160×1080 IPS LCD
- OS: Android 8.1 (Oreo)
- SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dedicated)
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
- CPU: Octa-core 1.8 GHz Kryo 260
- GPU: Adreno 509
- Memory: 3 GB RAM + 32 GB ROM
- Expansion: microSD (dedicated)
- Camera (rear): Dual 16 MP f/2.0 + 5 MP f/2.4
- Camera (front): 8 MP f/2.0
- Connectors: 3.5mm, microUSB
- Communications: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Fingerprint sensor: Yes
- Battery: 5000 mAh Li-Pro
- Colors: Meteor Silver, Deepsea Black
- Price: P13,995 get it on Lazada