The mid-range segment is being bombarded with new smartphones with each passing month. It is akin to being injected with new life and almost every phone manufacturer is doing its bit to help the situation. Interestingly, it is the lower spectrum of the mid-range segment which is witnessing the huge amount of action.
Recently, Asus introduced a pretty decent smartphone in this segment, Zenfone Max Pro M1, at a starting price of Rs 10,999. This is for the 3 GB RAM with 32 GB storage variant. The one we have with us is the more capable 4 GB RAM / 64 GB storage variant. This one costs Rs 12,999. And while we have elaborated on both phones’ various aspects below, we would just like to say that we are pretty impressed with the new Zenfone so far.
ASUS ZENFONE MAX PRO M1 SPECIFICATIONS
Processor & GPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor with Adreno 509
Display: 5.99-inch, IPS LCD, Full HD+ (1080 x 2160) resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio
Operating System: Android Oreo 8.1
Camera: Dual camera with 13 MP + 5 MP primary & secondary lenses with f2.2 & f2.4 aperture respectively, PDAF, HDR, Bokeh mode. 8 MP front with f2.2 aperture.
Battery: 5,000 mAh battery with fast charging (10w charger included)
REDMI NOTE 5 PRO SPECIFICATIONS
Processor & GPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor with Adreno 509
Display: 5.99-inch, IPS LCD, Full HD+ (1080 x 2160) resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio
Operating System: Android Nougat 7.1.1 with MIUI 9.2
Camera: Dual camera with 12 MP + 5 MP primary & secondary lenses with f2.2 & f2.0 aperture respectively, PDAF, HDR, Portrait mode. 20 MP front with f2.2 aperture.
Battery: 4,000 mAh battery with QC2.0 (fast charger not included in the phone retail package)
DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY
Zenfone Max Pro M1 – Most of the times, the primary material used for the main body is common in various devices, and this is across phones in different segments.
The M1 is built out of metal and giveS a very solid feel when held. It is slightly fatter than the Note 5 Pro probably due to the large 5,000 mAh battery. Yet, its bulk is completely acceptable and the good grip is an added advantage of the same. The phone is impressively finished in matte black color.
Additionally, another positive of the thickness is that there is no camera hump on the back. While it doesn’t matter to me personally, but it’s still good to see and feel a smooth back without any hump. Overall, it is a neat design and the M1 is a better looking handset than a number of phones in its segment.
Redmi Note 5 Pro – This is an impressive looking phone something which we have mentioned in our previous articles as well. The build quality is good and it feels good to hold as well. However, the Note 5 Pro is more slippery compared to the M1. The fact that the Pro is thinner doesn’t help the grip much either.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro is built out of metal too with plastic inserts at the top and bottom (below and above the antenna lines). There is a slight color mismatch between the two materials but it’s not a big deal. Still, the M1 takes the cake in the build quality department.
DISPLAY, SOFTWARE & UI
Display – The M1 sports the trendy full-screen-type display with a humongous 5.99-inch display which delivers Full HD+ (1080 x 2160) resolution. The display panel is IPS LCD. So far, this is same with the display of the Redmi Note 5 Pro as well.
Color reproduction from both displays is good with good contrast and saturation. In fact, the M1’s display has a bit higher contrast in comparison, it’s a slight difference but noticeable enough. Yet, it is hard to choose between the two displays in terms of which one is better. I believe I’ll personally go with the M1 because colors in maximum images tend to appear a bit sharper. Once again, it is a very minor difference and both displays are more or less equally good.
When it comes to the software – The M1 comes with the pure Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box, which makes it two good things about it – Oreo is the latest Android OS and it is the pure version without any custom skin or UI. By default, there are basic icons on the Home screen – call, message, internet (Chrome) and camera. A swipe up on the screen brings up the App Drawer.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro on the other hand falls behind as it still comes with the Android Nougat 7.1.1. On top of that, there is the MIUI 9.2 which is Xiaomi’s custom UI over a stock Android. Once again, personally I’m not a fan of any sort of custom skin, however, many people like it at the same time.
PERFORMANCE (including Gaming)
This is the real thing, isn’t it!
While both the M1 and the Note 5 Pro are evenly matched on paper having the same Snapdragon 636 processor along with 4 GB of RAM, things do not become much different in real life performance either. When it comes to navigating the Home screen, App Drawer, notification drop-down list and the Settings menu, the performance remains consistently snappy in both handsets. There’s hardly anything to complain in this regard.
Even switching between various opened apps through the App Switcher gives nothing to complain about. The loading times of various apps are also more or less equal in both phones. There are occasional stutters, for instance, while scrolling a page in Facebook and the same can be observed in other social media apps as well. Visibly, the performance in both the phones is evenly matched in day-to-day usage.
Regarding security, there is a fingerprint sensor at the back on both the phones as well as the face recognition system. Here, we have observed that the Redmi Note 5 Pro is a little better when unlocking the phone with its fingerprint sensor. The Note 5 Pro is a hair-touch quicker and it is more accurate or reliable in the sense that it unlocks the phone each time the registered finger is put on the sensor.
In comparison, the M1 didn’t read the finger 100% of the times and there are regular instances when multiple attempts are required before the finger is finally read. However, it does work most of the times.
When it comes to the Face recognition feature, it works correctly all the time on both phones, so there’s nothing to choose between the two. In both the phones, the user is required to keep the eyes open to unlock the phone but not required to look at the front camera. Expectedly, the feature doesn’t always work in lowlight conditions.
Gaming – Any smartphone with a display measuring almost 6 inches would likely be used for watching multimedia content as well as for playing games. After all, who would want to just scroll the pages of Facebook on a 5.99-inch display?
In this case, the M1 comes across a bit better overall than the Redmi Note 5 Pro. First of all, navigating through various game menus is quicker on the M1. Random momentary lags are there but not as apparent as in the Note 5 Pro. During gameplay as well, the M1 seems to perform a touch better but it is hard to differentiate here.
Graphical reproduction during gameplay is equally smooth given that, along with the processor, the Adreno 509 GPU is also same in both the phones. Regarding the M1 being smoother when it comes to navigating through the game menus, we are yet to see if it remains the same over the prolonged use of the phone.
CAMERA
M1 – Dual camera with 13 MP + 5 MP primary & secondary lenses with f2.2 & f2.4 aperture respectively, PDAF, HDR, Bokeh mode. 8 MP front with f2.2 aperture.
Redmi Note 5 Pro – Dual camera with 12 MP + 5 MP primary & secondary lenses with f2.2 & f2.0 aperture respectively, PDAF, HDR, Portrait mode. 20 MP front with f2.2 aperture.
Below are a few samples from the Zenfone Max Pro M1.
Below are a few samples from the Redmi Note 5 Pro.
For a detailed camera comparison between the two phones, read Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Zenfone Max Pro M1 Camera Comparison.
BATTERY
M1 – The M1 is sort of a beast here with a generous 5,000 mAh battery. In normal usage with no gaming, it can embarrass its competitors quite convincingly. In this situation where the phone is used for regular tasks like calling, messaging over various apps, browsing internet and social media, some light camera usage (no video recording) and no gameplay, it can easily live up to 2 days.
Redmi Note 5 Pro – with its 4,000 mAh battery is not bad either. With similar use, it can last up to 1 and half days before needing a charge. With heavy usage depending on individual to individual, the battery life will decrease accordingly. However, it hasn’t got uncomfortably low for us yet with both the phones so we are equally satisfied in this aspect.
Lastly, there’s one aspect of battery where the M1 trumps the Note 5 Pro and that is the charger itself. While both the phones support fast charging, only the M1 comes with a fast charger (10W) while the Note 5 Pro comes with a regular charger. In the Redmi’s case, the fast charger has to be bought separately. We do not understand this logic really!
The Redmi Note 5 Pro takes nearly two hours and 15 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%. On the other hand, the M1 charges up to 50% in 45 to 50 minutes, but from there the charging speed slows down a little, and the phone takes a total of slightly over 2 and a half hours to charge to 100%. It seems that the fast charging in M1 does not make a big difference in the overall charging time.
CONCLUSION
This has been an interesting comparison for us. We like both the handsets almost equally and they are closely matched in terms of design and hardware specifications. These two are possibly the two closest rivals in this segment – same screen size and resolution along with same processor and RAM.
However, the Zenfone Max Pro M1 has some clear advantages too over the Redmi Note 5 Pro, like running the latest as well as the pure Android Oreo (against the customized Android Nougat), more preferable build quality and the obviously longer battery life courtesy of the 5,000 mAh unit. Not to forget that the M1 comes with the fast charger in the phone’s retail box. Lastly, the price difference of Rs 2,000 (Redmi Note 5 Pro starts at Rs 14,999 since May 1) is also worth considering.
So, even with the mostly similar performances between the two, the positives of the Zenfone Max Pro M1 over the Redmi Note 5 Pro do make it a better phone to have.
We hope that you will like this comparison. Let us know in the comment section below which of the two handsets you prefer and why.
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