The latest device in Asus' ZenFone line of smartphones has been announced. Coming not long after the release of the ZenFone 3 Zoom, Asus' new oddly-named "ZenFone Max Plus (M1)" will be launching sometime in February.
The 5.7-inch device will include facial recognition functionality as well as a sizable 4,130mAh battery. The latter will reportedly offer users up to 26 hours of standby battery life and 13 hours of video playback - pretty high numbers as modern smartphones go but time will tell whether or not they prove accurate.
In the wake of the iPhone throttling controversy, you may be pleased to hear that Asus is aiming to "double" the Max Plus battery's overall lifespan - at least, in comparison to most other phones on the market. The company has made this possible via an optional "double battery lifespan" feature which comes as part of the Max Plus' suite of "intelligent power management technologies" collectively known as Asus PowerMaster.
The handset will also feature 10W fast charging. According to Asus, you can "fully charge the [Max Plus] in 3 hours or provide 3 hours of talk time with a mere 15-minute charge." The device will also be able to intelligently prevent battery overcharging.
The Max Plus is running on Android 7.0 Nougat and contains a 2,160 x 1,080 (18:9) Full HD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, an "Octa-core processor," an ARM Mali-T860 GPU and 100GB of free Google Drive storage for one year.
The Max Plus is also home to dual rear cameras. The primary shooter is a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens and a number of advanced PixelMaster camera modes including one that increases the camera's resolution to a whopping 64 megapixels. The second rear camera is half the resolution of the first but allows for 120-degree, wide-angle recording.
If you're interested in grabbing a Max Plus for yourself, the device will launch with a $229 price tag and two color options - "Azure Silver" and "Deepsea Black."