Asus Max M2 First Impressions Review

Asus really loves to listen to their consumers when it comes to phone upgrades. But will the Asus Max M2 be a testament to that? People wanted a better gaming experience? More bokeh? More battery? Well, in this unboxing and review let's see if they stood up to people's standards :D

Unboxing

Inside the box are the following pieces:

• The Max M2 Unit
• one set of earphones
• one set of rubber for the earphones
• USB Cable
• Asus Plug
• Jelly Case
• Warranty/user manual

Asus Max M2 Display and Build

I love the unit I got- it is in BLUE! Space Blue to be exact, which looks matte. While the Max Pro M2 is on the glossy and stylish side, I've always loved matte covers more as they have lesser chances for fingerprints and dust sticking to them. Plus the fact that it is in a striking royal blue color makes it more pleasing to the eye and can be used as a fashion accessory too.

Sometimes, less is really more.

For the display, it features:

• 6.3” All-Screen 19:9 HD+ vivid display 
• resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels, 19:9 ratio (269 ppi density)

Unlike it's brother the Max Pro M2, it is not protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 so you will need to have a tempered glass with it for extra durability. It also features a notch design as was the trend last December 2018 when it was released.

You got your power buttons and volume buttons on the right side and the SD Card slot in the left. Mic and Headphone jack up top as usual and the usb port below with the speaker and another mic.

PS: That metal backplate is really a nice breather from all the glass like plastic phones that I have been seeing lately. Feels and is more durable to be honest.

Asus Max M2 Camera

I'm giving you test photos of me using the normal mode and the depth effect mode. When it comes to low light, the Max M2's rear is pretty decent but you can't really use it for low light selfies as it has more noise.

Normal Mode (Rear Cam)

Normal Mode (Selfie Cam)

While the selfie camera went down from 13MP to 8MP, it really is more about the software and how you use it. I personally like the M2's selfie mode unlike the Asus Max M1 which looks a bit unnatural at times.

Depth Effect Mode

The depth effect mode takes a bit of a learning curve unlike the Max Pro M2 which is infinitely easier to use for some reason. I suggest to play with all sorts of the apertures it has first and seeing which one works the best for you so when you need to really do some great shots, you know the settings you will need to use.

I also love how it has depth effect on both the rear and selfie sides, unlike some phones which can only give bokeh on either rear only or selfie cam only.

The shots up top are made with the rear camera and this one below is made with the selfie camera.

Plus points for having a pro mode function unlike it's predecessor. I do miss the wide angle lens it has though, I wish they just made it better instead of having a depth effect mode at times.

Video is great, you can record at 4k but it has no stabilization. You'll be needing a gimbal for smooth transitions.

Specs and Price of Max M2

Here's a link to the full specs of the Asus Max M2.




I also love how slim it is considering the point that it is housing a 4000 mAh battery and pretty heavy duty memory and storage inside. Gotta love that battery capacity as it can stay up to a week or more when on standby, and can go for up to a day's worth of wifi, data and gaming on the side much like the Max Pro M2.

I can say that it is only an updated version of the Max M1, with the Max M2 having an expandable up to 1TB of storage instead of the previous 256GB. And it also has FM Radio.

The CPU and GPU of course is better updated too. You can play games more smoothly here than compared to the M1. It also does not heat up as fast.



Priced at 8995 Php, I think the Max M2 is a great upgrade if you are coming in from the Max M1 or a phone with lower battery or something that cannot give a great gaming experience.

Should you buy it?

I think the Asus Max M2 is a perfect rendition of that "Jack of all trades" phone which is superb at price, performance, battery and camera. 

I might actually get this one instead of the Max Pro M2 just because of the metal backplate. But then considering all of its specs and functions, vs the price, it is a pretty great deal.