Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M2) ZB631KL review

Performance

The ZenFone Max Pro M2 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, with a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage. The 32GB model comes with 3GB RAM and the 64GB model comes in a choice of 4GB or 6GB RAM.

The overall performance is good. One of the advantages of stock Android is that it is a lot easier to run, making it ideal for budget smartphones. You can make it feel even faster by going into the developer settings and changing the animation and transition speed to 0.5x. But even without that, apps open and switch reasonably quick and scrolling is smooth in all the well-optimized apps. Overall, everyday performance is not a concern.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  6696
• Realme U1
  6004
• Oppo F7
  5901
• Realme 1
  5741
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  5673
• Honor 8X
  5651
• Realme 2 Pro
  5531
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  5169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  4933
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  4929
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  4910
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  4625
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  4446
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  4388
• Sony Xperia XA2
  4215
• Realme 2
  3881

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  1899
• Honor 8X
  1618
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  1617
• Realme U1
  1567
• Oppo F7
  1531
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  1524
• Realme 1
  1511
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  1497
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  1465
• Realme 2 Pro
  1462
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  1342
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  1340
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  1331
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  881
• Sony Xperia XA2
  865
• Realme 2
  790

AnTuTu 7

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  204876
• Realme U1
  144436
• Oppo F7
  139414
• Realme 1
  138524
• Honor 8X
  137276
• Realme 2 Pro
  132958
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  130927
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  124039
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  123883
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  115605
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  115571
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  115509
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  77964
• Realme 2
  75434

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  39
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  15
• Honor 8X
  14
• Realme 2 Pro
  14
• Realme U1
  13
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  13
• Oppo F7
  12
• Realme 1
  12
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  10
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  10
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  10
• Sony Xperia XA2
  9.6
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  6.5
• Realme 2
  6.1

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  36
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  14
• Honor 8X
  13
• Realme U1
  12
• Realme 1
  12
• Realme 2 Pro
  12
• Realme 2
  12
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  12
• Oppo F7
  11
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  11
• Sony Xperia XA2
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  9.7
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  9.7
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  9.6
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  9.4
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  6.1

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  32238
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  21378
• Honor 8X
  20416
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  19320
• Realme U1
  17290
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  15200
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  15025
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  14903
• Realme 2 Pro
  14576
• Sony Xperia XA2
  14312
• Oppo F7
  11873
• Realme 1
  10880
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  10536
• Realme 2
  6703

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Honor Play
  3294
• Honor 8X
  2341
• Realme U1
  2307
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  2240
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
  2051
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2
  1993
• Oppo F7
  1953
• Nokia 6.1 Plus
  1951
• Realme 1
  1940
• Realme 2 Pro
  1911
• Oppo F9 (F9 Pro)
  1904
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro
  1893
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  1812
• Sony Xperia XA2
  1545
• Realme 2
  1039

We also ran a few games, namely popular titles like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9. Asphalt 9 was an instant failure as the accelerometer didn't work properly in the game for some reason and the car was uncontrollable. PUBG Mobile, however, worked quite well. The frame rates weren't exactly smooth and stable at the highest available visual setting, which in case of the ZenFone Max Pro M2 was "HD" with "High" frame rate (30fps) but the game was still perfectly playable. And you can always reduce the image quality for an even more stable frame rate. The phone also runs relatively cool so extended gaming sessions shouldn't be an issue.

Audio

The ZenFone Max Pro M2 has a single loudspeaker at the bottom. The actual audio quality of the speaker isn't very good. The speaker sounds fairly tinny and somewhat unpleasant. It sounds its best till around 60% volume, after which the actual volume level doesn't increase, just the distortion. It also gets tinnier and worse sounding, so it's best to keep around the 50% mark.

This is another area ASUS should look into improving. Claiming 5-magnet speaker for every device isn't enough. The actual audio quality also needs to be up to higher standards.