Not too long ago, we’ve reviewed the ZenFone 3 Max 5.2-inch version – a.k.a. the ZC520TL, and I find it quite a lackluster upgrade from the first ever ZenFone Max. So how does the brand new ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch version – a.k.a. the ZC553KL – fares in our brand new tests?
[alert type=”info” icon-size=”normal”]Since many of the things are identical in the ZenFone 3 Max family, this review will largely be based upon the 5.2-inch version. We’ll briefly skim through those aspects that are identical, and you can check out our in-depth coverage on each aspect in detail on our ZenFone 3 Max 5.2-inch review right here.[/alert]
Unboxing
The design is the same – both internally and externally. With such a simple design, there’s really nothing much to talk about regarding its design.
Externally, it’s still the sleeve packaging.
Same flap that separates the phone from all the other included things too.
Internally, it’s still having that horribly-placed SIM ejector tool that’s nearly impossible to remove from its seat.
Underneath the phone itself are the charger, OTG cable, USB cable, and some documentations.
In summary, these are all the things you’ll be getting.
[nextpage title=”Design”]
Again, same story here. The design is still identical, albeit just a tad larger overall. Placements for all the buttons, ports, jacks, whatever – they’re at the same location.
One thing I do have to point out is the antenna lines. I don’t know why I failed to realize this but they’re sunken in the phone chassis itself. That means dust and dirt can slip inside and there’s no easy way to clean it. Not much of a problem for those who uses a case, though.
Other than that, everything else is identical too – with the fingerprint sensor right below the flushed flat rear-camera, and the only minor difference here is the other black cutout part. This is for the laser autofocus module – which is one of the main highlights to get the ZC553KL.
The ports at the bottom and top are still the same too.
[nextpage title=”Connectivity”]
Let’s start off by saying that I’m still feeling a bit disappointed with its connectivity options. Firstly, the ZenFone 3 Max lineup of smartphone exists solely because of its humongous battery capacity. Secondly, they included a combo SIM/microSD slot instead of separating them into dedicated slots like Samsung did. Just why?!
Other than that small little tangential complaint, everything else is pretty much identical to the 5.2-inch variant.
[nextpage title=”Display”]
Ah, this is one of the parts where ASUS didn’t copy-pasta from the 5.2-inch variant. While the display did scale up from a 5.2-incher to a 5.5-incher, they also bumped the resolution from a measly 720p to the much-appreciated resolution of 1080p. Thank you, ASUS!
Other than that, the colors reproduction is the same too – with sharp colors all throughout the curved screen. Obviously, it’s sharper than before thanks to its higher resolution.
Just like any other curved 2.5D screen, it suffers from the fact that any tempered glass screen protector will not be covering the entire screen – unless a special one is made.
Great update so far, but it’s definitely not enough. Let’s take a look at the biggest upgrade – the camera.
[nextpage title=”Camera”]
Let’s go through one by one and see what has been changed here. Firstly, it has been bumped up to a now-standard 16MP rear-facing camera with a f/2.0 aperture. I presume that ASUS did bring their signature TriTech autofocus technology to the ZC553KL too, since it does have 0.03-second laser autofocus, 0.03-second phase detection autofocus, and continuous autofocus. The reason why I said I presumed, is because there’s no mention of the word “TriTech autofocus technology” on the ZC553KL’s product page, but the description under the camera section is very similar to the one on this page.
However, the ZC553KL does not have OIS – but ASUS included a 3-axis EIS for more steady photography. Neat – but just how does the picture look? Take a look below.
The camera can be summarized pretty easily here. Under brightly-lit conditions, it actually looks great for social media purposes. The images are quite sharp, but it’s rather noisy. However, everything changes when pictures are taken indoors. Sometimes, the white balance is out of whack for unknown reasons. I presume that this is a software bug, as the white balance can be fixed after restarting the Camera app.
As for the selfie camera, it has been bumped up to an 8MP camera with an aperture of f/2.2. How is it, anyway? For someone who doesn’t even take selfies, I can say that’s it’s good enough for daily uses.
Wait – there’s more!
With such a huge battery, I had fun and took a little time lapse video. I just framed the shot outside my window and across the street, hit record and boop comes a 20-minute video. I used Hyperlapse to take this video, by the way.
I’m impressed by how #TakHabisHabis the battery really is. I mean, seriously – it managed to sustain the battery level throughout the 20 minutes of continued 1080p video recording.
[nextpage title=”Software”]
It’s the quite similar with the other ASUS devices that are equipped with ZenUI 3.0. However, as I’ve said before, the ZenFone 3 Max 5.2-inch variant had some of the of the features disabled – presumably due to its hardware limitations.
On the 5.5-inch ZC553KL variant, it seems like ASUS has enabled back all of the features – so you can have the pleasure to experience what the ZenFone 3 has. This is an obvious enhancement to the user experience!
If you’re worried about the amount of bloatware in ZenUI 3.0, then fear not. Just like the other main ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 3 Max 5.2-inch variant, all of the bloatware are removable or disabled. On top of that, many of ASUS’s in-house apps can be uninstalled as well!
I did realize that whenever I pressed uninstall or disable apps, there’s a brief moment of complete unresponsiveness. It does resolve itself after about a second or two, but I thought I’d just point that out as it did raise some concerns at first.
While on the subject of responsiveness, let’s move on and talk about the next section.
[nextpage title=”Performance”]
I fired up the product pages of the ZenFone 3 Max 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch and compared. Its specs are definitely the next big upgrade from its 5.2-inch brother. Firstly, ASUS opted for the Snapdragon 430 chipset this time, with a 1.4GHz octa-core processor and Adreno 505 graphics. Good move by ASUS for dumping Mediatek chipset away!
Other than that, it seems like ASUS retained the same 3GB RAM capacity too, but at least they bumped the internal storage to 32GB.
So how does it perform in our slew of tests? How much of an improvement does the ZC553KL yield when compared to its smaller 5.2-inched Mediatek brother?
Well, here’s the score for Epic Citadel.
Not bad! It’s not the best performer, but then again, it is definitely an improvement over the other ZenFone 3 Max, as its resolution was bumped up to a full HD 1080p, and still maintained at about 35FPS in average. However, the temperatures are still a tad too warm. Its warmth can be felt when I touched the metal back after a few consequent runs on Epic Citadel benchmark.
While that might not convince you how much better the ZC553KL really is compared to its 5.2-inch brother, then check out Vellamo scores. It pretty much tells the same story too.
Overall, not too bad in terms of performance. I do wish that ASUS used FinFET-based (a.k.a. 3D transistors) chipsets instead of those with planar transistors.
You can know more about the benefits of FinFET here.
[nextpage title=”Battery”]
The first generation had an insane 5,000mAh battery, 5.5-inch 720p screen, and Snapdragon 410. The performance wasn’t good at all, but its battery life is insanely good. Then about a year after that, the ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch came out. It still has a 5.5-inch screen, and it’s now using a 1080p display and Snapdragon 430 chipset. For whatever reason, ASUS didn’t use a 5,000mAh like they did on the original ZenFone Max. What?!
So let me get this straight. The original ZenFone Max is a 5.5-inch smartphone with 5,000mAh battery, and its newer but smaller ZenFone 3 Max ZC520TL is a 5.2-inch smartphone with 4,100mAh battery.
If I apply the same concept here to the ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch ZC553KL, it just doesn’t make sense. The ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch ZC553KL could have even better battery life.
With the upgraded specs on the ZC553KL, it did suffer quite a lot in terms of its battery life too. Take a look at PC Mark’s battery life test.
Now that’s quite a big dip! The ZC520TL actually lasted for 11 hours and 57 minutes – which is the second best ever, after Samsung’s Galaxy A7 (2017) that we’ve reviewed here.
Also, they’ve not implemented any form of faster charging (not even Fast Charging) for the ZenFone 3 Max. It still takes forever to charge from near-zero battery to 100%, but at least it’s a 10W charger.
I did use the included OTG cable and tried reverse charging another device too. Practically, it means the ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL will become a power bank to charge up another device.
The ZC553KL did manage to sustain another smartphone’s life – as in it’s tethered to life support. The ZC553KL outputs 5V at 0.5A, which is only enough to sustain life on another smartphone.
[nextpage title=”Wrapping up the ASUS ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch (ZC553KL) review”]
Here’s the deal – the ZC553KL is definitely the proper upgrade from the first generation ZenFone Max. It is aimed towards those who want a long-lasting battery. Performance is as what I’d expect to get from a sub-RM 1,000 phone. By sub RM1k, I meant that the ZenFone 3 Max 5.5-inch ZC553KL is officially priced at RM 999.
In some ways, I still wish that ASUS would go for two independent SIM card slots and a separate microSD card slot instead of having a combo slot. Then, go for a chipset that uses FinFET transistors (learn more here), and go for a 5,000mAh battery.
Where to buy?
You’d properly know what I’m not a fan of paying full price – and that’s why I quickly scoured the internet and found out that you can actually get a brand new ZC553KL for less than RM900, and it’s available in Sand Gold, Titanium Gray, Glacier Silver and Rose Pink.
Click here for the full list of deals for the ZC553KL over at Lazada!
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