I picked up a Zenfone 4 Max ZC554KL at Best Buy for $199, and they threw in a $1 Simple Mobile BYOD Sim Card and a $40 Mobile Plan card and knocked $50 off.
So far so good, but I'm just putting it into full service. Battery life is really, really good so far - I've had a Blu R1 Plus and a Huawei Mate 8 recently, both with 4000mah batteries, and this is much better in the real world. I use hundreds of apps and Google navigation and am hoping this may finally be a phone that can handle a full day without a charge.
The phone has the rare LTE Band 12 (and all the other US GSM bands) which I need for service with MetroPCS. Cases and screen protectors are available on Amazon and AliExpress with a decent variety for a newer phone. So far I haven't noticed any lag to speak of with the octa-core Snapdragon 430 and the 3GB of RAM. I don't game so that doesn't matter.
The only things I find missing or annoying are the reversed Micro USB port (larger side to the front/screen) and the lack of 5Ghz Wi-Fi. Beyond that, I might actually keep this phone in service for awhile - the battery life is the key for me, and it will charge okay even without using the 2A factory charger - another plus for my usage. The phone has fast charging and it shows.
The Moto E4 Plus is the other phone now available with a 5000mah battery and LTE Band 12, but it's got 2GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 427 Quad-Core, and for the same money the Asus is a better bet for me.
So far so good, but I'm just putting it into full service. Battery life is really, really good so far - I've had a Blu R1 Plus and a Huawei Mate 8 recently, both with 4000mah batteries, and this is much better in the real world. I use hundreds of apps and Google navigation and am hoping this may finally be a phone that can handle a full day without a charge.
The phone has the rare LTE Band 12 (and all the other US GSM bands) which I need for service with MetroPCS. Cases and screen protectors are available on Amazon and AliExpress with a decent variety for a newer phone. So far I haven't noticed any lag to speak of with the octa-core Snapdragon 430 and the 3GB of RAM. I don't game so that doesn't matter.
The only things I find missing or annoying are the reversed Micro USB port (larger side to the front/screen) and the lack of 5Ghz Wi-Fi. Beyond that, I might actually keep this phone in service for awhile - the battery life is the key for me, and it will charge okay even without using the 2A factory charger - another plus for my usage. The phone has fast charging and it shows.
The Moto E4 Plus is the other phone now available with a 5000mah battery and LTE Band 12, but it's got 2GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 427 Quad-Core, and for the same money the Asus is a better bet for me.
Last edited: