Asus ZenFone Max Shot and ZenFone Max Plus M2 are the latest smartphones to be part of the Taiwanese technology giant’s smartphone line.
Officially unveiled in Brazil a few hours ago, the two ZenFone models are the first smartphones in the world to contain Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon System in Package (SiP). Both smartphones are now on sale in the South American country- at the moment there is no news on international availability, but certainly, Asus will provide more details in the coming days.
Asus ZenFone Max Shot and ZenFone Max Plus M2 feature almost identical designs with large display notches and 6.26-inch screens. The phones work with Android 8.1 Oreo as the operating system, but the Taiwanese company has guaranteed that both will soon receive updates to Android 9 Pie.
According to the Brazilian division of Asus, ZenFone Max Shot is sold at a price of 1,329 BRL (about 305 euros) for the 3 GB + 32 GB model, while the 4 GB + 64 GB model has a starting price of 1.549 BRL (about 356 euros). ZenFone Max Plus M2, on the other hand, has a price of BRL 1,299 (about 299 euros).
Snapdragon SiP, which powers the new ZenFone smartphones, is Qualcomm’s attempt to further reduce the size of mobile chipsets. In essence, Snapdragon SiP integrates various components that are normally part of the Snapdragon SoC, including the application processor, power management, RF front-end, and audio codec, in a single semiconductor system in the package. SiP chips are designed to help leading brands simplify production processes and make new devices faster.
“Snapdragon SiP is designed to offer all the connectivity, security and accessibility that our customers need to create innovative products and superior user experiences, and I am proud to see the first SiP Snapdragon devices thanks to the commitment of Asus, “said Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm, in a press statement.
ZenFone Max Shot and ZenFone Max Plus M2, therefore, have a 14nm octa-core processor clocked at 1.8 GHz and Adreno 506 GPU. Among other specifications, ZenFone Max Shot and ZenFone Max Plus M2 are equipped with 6.26-inch full-HD IPS display (1080 × 2280 pixels) with 19- 9 ratio, 4,000 mAh battery, 4G, dual-SIM support and microSD card slot.
