ASUS Launches the All-New ZenFone 5 and ZenFone Max Pro (M1) in Malaysia


[Tech & Gadgets]

 
Headed over to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 31 May for ASUS Malaysia’s official launch of the all-new ZenFone 5, and the ZenFone Max Pro (M1). The new ZenFone 5 was designed to be a next-generation 6.2-inch dual-camera smartphone that’s the first ever ZenFone to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI), while the ZenFone Max Pro (M1) is targeted at gamers with its powerful processor and high-capacity battery.
The ZenFone 5 is powered by the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 636 Mobile Platform that provides smooth, responsive, power-efficient performance and AI capabilities. ZenFone 5 has an intelligent dual-camera system that adapts and learns, hence this new models is part of the new “Intelligent phone” generation, an improvement over smartphones. Users are encouraged to focus on creativity as the flagship Sony® IMX363 sensor, 120° wide-angle secondary camera and AI-enhanced camera features — including AI Scene Detection, real-time portrait effects, AI Photo Learning and real-time beautification will assist to provide the best possible photo for the scene.
The ZenFone 5 is crafted with premium materials and has a strikingly beautiful ultra slim-bezel, all-screen design, a 6.2-inch display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio in a glass-covered body that’s as small and compact as most standard 5.5-inch phones.
  
                        
 
The intelligent dual-camera system in the ZenFone 5 uses the flagship Sony® IMX363 image sensor, with large 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.8 wide-aperture six-element lens that captures up to 5X-brighter and clearer photos in low-light conditions, as well as enabling dramatic Night HDR shots. The 120° wide-angle secondary camera has a field of view that’s 2X wider than a standard smartphone camera, for capturing more expansive landscapes, more natural group shots, and easier photos in cramped spaces.
Following the trend of the new generation of “intelligent phones”, the camera system incorporates advanced AI algorithms and advanced big-data analytics, so ZenFone 5, while the special AI-enhanced features in ZenFone 5 adapt and learn.
·        AI Scene Detection: The ZenFone 5 use AI to rapidly analyze the subject and match it to one of its 16 scene types, optimizing the camera settings for almost any kind of shot from sunsets to pet pics.
·        AI Photo Learning: AI Photo Learning lets users teach ZenFone 5 how they like your photos to look. It then automatically adjusts the camera settings for future shots — so photos will always reflect the user’s unique style preferences.
·        Real-time Portrait: This feature ensures that the main subject stays pin-sharp, while the background is given a sense of depth with a graduated bokeh effect — created using depth information intelligently analyzed from the subject — for a beautifully artistic photo.
·        Real-time Beautification: AI Beautification intelligently reads 365 facial points and applies personalized beautification based on an analysis of over two million possible enhancements. It works in real time with any face — regardless of age, shape, skin tone or gender — producing natural-looking results. Those who are into live-streaming video would be happy to know that this feature works there too.
·        Pro mode: The Pro mode that gives users full control of all the camera settings, including white balance, exposure, focus, ISO, and an impressive range of shutter speeds from 1/10000 to 32 seconds, with support for unprocessed RAW files.
 

 
The ZenFone 5 has achieved a DxOMark Mobile score of 90 points, with an exceptional score of 93 in Photo tests. The full article with the results is available at http://www.dxomark.com/ASUS-zenfone-5-camera-review-excellent-mid-range-option/
The latest powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform – an advanced 14µm 64-bit octa-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) is paired with 4GB RAM, delivering over 40%-higher CPU performance and 10%-higher graphics performance than the Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, while maintaining excellent battery life.
The ASUS AI Boost optimizes performance for games or demanding tasks, while to keep the phone cool, four 0.06mm-slim carbon cooling pads efficiently dissipate heat and maintain top performance at all times.
Powering the device is a high-capacity 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast-charge technology and AI Charging that dynamically adjusts the charging rate by monitoring the user’s charging habits, slowing down the battery’s ageing process.
The ZenFone 5 supports dual 4G LTE SIMs with Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE (DSDV) capabilities. This allows both SIMs to be on active standby, and also supports enhanced HD voice calls over 4G LTE on both SIMs.
The 6.2-inch Full HD+ all-screen display, with its 90% screen-to-body ratio and 2.5D-curved glass, provides a bigger viewing experience. The all-screen display also supports the DCI-P3 colour space, with a wide colour gamut that enhances colour saturation for amazingly vivid image reproduction. The ZenFone 5 features intelligent display technology that uses smart sensors to automatically adjust the display’s colour temperature in real time according to the ambient lighting. It also features Smart Screen On, which prevents the screen from turning off when the user’s face is detected, avoiding the problem of the screen turning off when the user is reading content for extended periods without touching the screen.
Delivering the sound are two five-magnet stereo speakers that deliver deep, rich and expansive stereo sound, driven by dual smart amplifiers. The phone supports Hi-Res Audio files encoded at up to 24-bit/192KHz sample rates — 4X better than CD quality, and comes with a set of premium Hi-Res Audio-capable earbuds in the box that supports DTS Headphone:X™ for 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound over headphones.
 

  
The phone can be unlocked using the rapid face unlock, or in 0.3 seconds using the rear fingerprint sensor, and the integrated NFC capability. AI Ringtone intelligently adjusts the ringer volume according to the ambient noise level, so users won’t miss calls even on a busy street or in a noisy restaurant, and calls received in the middle of the night won’t disturb sleepers.
ZeniMoji is a fun new feature — exclusive to ASUS — that lets users animate cute avatars using their own voice, facial expressions and head movements. Uniquely, ZeniMoji avatars can be used in video chats or live-streaming, as well as in text chats, to make them more entertaining.
The ZenFone 5 is available on Lazada priced at RM1,299 and comes in two (2) colours.
  

 
ASUS Malaysia also launched the ZenFone Max Pro (M1), a high-performance addition to the new ZenFone Max Series. The ZenFone Max Pro packs a massive 5,000mAh battery, a 6-inch FHD+ Full View display and a dual-camera system into a compact body that’s no larger than many standard 5.5-inch smartphones. The design of the phone features a 180g-light metal body with diamond-cut edges and 2.5D-curved display glass, and is available in two finishes: Deepsea Black and Meteor Silver.
An advanced Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform, combines smooth, responsive performance with superb battery life, and a powerful Adreno 509 GPU that delivers enhanced mobile gaming and browsing performance. To prove that point, we got to play Free Fire (a battle royale survival game) on the phone with the graphics set to max to see how it would perform. I didn’t notice any discernible lag while the graphics and gameplay was smooth! Pretty impressive for a phone at this price point!
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform is an advanced 14nm 64-bit octa-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) with up to 6GB RAM, and which delivers over 40%-higher CPU performance and 10%-higher graphics performance than the Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, while maintaining excellent battery life. In addition to improved performance, the Adreno 509 GPU supports Qualcomm TruPallete™ and EcoPix™ technologies for superior colour contrast, lifelike visuals and more efficient rendering of advanced 3D graphics.
ZenFone Max Pro ships with pure Android™ 8.1 Oreo™, the latest version of the Android user interface.
 

 
The main feature of the ZenFone Max Series is definitely the huge battery capacity, designed for serious travellers and those who need maximum battery endurance, with its high-capacity, high-density 5,000mAh battery. The ZenFone Max Pro offers users up to 20 hours of YouTube video playback, up to 42 hours 3G talk time, and up to 28 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. On a single charge, users can enjoy playing more: for example, up to 45 rounds (based on an estimated average playtime of 15 min per round, for a total of 11.3 hours of gameplay) of Mobile Legends, or up to 2 seasons of Games of Thrones.
The ZenFone Max Pro can charge its 5,000mAh battery from 0% to 100% in just 2 hours and 42 minutes, compared to some rival products with a 4,000mAh battery that need well over 3 hours.
The 6-inch Full View FHD+ (1080 x 2160) display features 450cd/m2 brightness, 1500:1 contrast ratio and an 85% NTSC colour gamut, while the ultrawide 18:9 aspect ratio and slim bezels provide a greatly expanded viewing area. Multitasking is also easier, as two apps fit comfortably side-by-side on the screen.
The ZenFone Max Pro comes with a five-magnet speaker driven by an NXP smart amplifier that delivers higher volume with lower distortion. Compared to single-magnet speaker performance, ZenFone Max Pro delivers 41% louder sound, 14% better low-frequency response and 12% less distortion.
 

 
The ZenFone Max Pro has an advanced dual-camera system at the back and has a high-resolution up to 16MP sensor with a high-quality f/2.0 wide-aperture lens. The secondary camera is used to create an artistic bokeh effect for portraits and close-ups, putting the subject in sharp focus while progressively blurring the background for a gentle yet powerful effect that really makes the subject stand out.
ZenFone Max Pro shoots video at up to 4K UHD resolution, while the front camera enables selfies with softlight LED flash and a live beautification feature that instantly retouches shots to remove blemishes, balance facial features, enhanced skin tone and more.
 

 
ZenFone Max Pro comes with two SIM slots supporting 4G LTE speeds up to 400Mbps, and an additional microSD slot to expand storage by up to 2TB. Its convenient triple-slot tray lets users install two SIMs and a microSD card in one easy step. ZenFone Max Pro comes with a new face unlock feature that lets users unlock the phone simply by looking at it, and a rear fingerprint sensor that unlocks the phone in an instant.
ZenFone Max Pro is available in two stunning finishes to match the user’s style: Deepsea Black and Meteor Silver. It is available on Lazada Malaysia priced at RM799 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage, and RM599 for the 5GB RAM + 32GB storage.
  

 

 
 
 
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