Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 Vs Realme U1: Who’s The Gamechanger Here?

Asus finally unveiled its second generation Asus Zenfone Max Pro in India. Backed by top mid-range specs, the smartphone is priced very competitively under 15,000 rupees.

The new Asus phone packs dual rear cameras, 19:9 notched display, massive battery and more.

While on the other side we have Realme U1 starting at a price of Rs 11,999. Can Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 stand against Realme U1, a 1,000 rupees cheaper device? Xiaomi also has its new Redmi Note, but the real budget challenge is between Realme and Asus.

Let’s find out who wins the battle between Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 and Realme U1.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro vs Realme U1 M2: In-Depth Comparison

After over a million handsets and 8 months of success, Asus is back into the budget flagship game. Realme and Asus are the two new budget kings! Let’s see what happens when they go against each other.

Design & Build

The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 features a heavily plasticized body made to look like glass, but it isn’t glass. On top we get premium Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection. Realme U1, on the other hand, comes with a polycarbonate body with a glass mirror finish.

Both have polycarbonate builds, more durable than glass bodies on like Honor 8X or Nokia 6.1 Plus.

Both the smartphones come with great finishes, but the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection on Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is an added advantage.

Display

Realme U1 features a marginally larger 6.3-inch Full HD+ display followed by Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 with a 6.26-inch Full HD+ display. Realme U1 has a screen aspect ratio of 19.5:9 while Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 has a 19:9 screen aspect ratio.

Realme U1 offers a water drop notch display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2, on the other hand, has a standard notch with 2.5D curved and Corning Gorilla Glass 6. protection

Realme U1 has more screen space compared to Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2. The smaller notch and thinner bottom on Realme U1 wins over Max Pro M2.

Hardware

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is powered by the Snapdragon 660 paired with up to 6GB of RAM. While Realme U1 is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 built on a 12nm process with upto 4GB of RAM. Both the chipsets offer an impressive performance in handling day to day tasks.

Both the chipsets perform well under intensive multitasking, moderately heavy games, and memory heavy apps.

The UI remains a major differentiator. Max Pro M2 with stock Android offers a smoother experience with no bloatware.

Storage

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 packs in 64GB of internal storage which is further expandable. The smartphone has three variants available: 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage, 4GB of RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage.

Realme U1, on the other hand, has two storage versions: the base model offers with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and the top model has 4GB RAM 64GB of internal storage. Both the models are expandable.

Software

Realme U1 and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 run on Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box, but with different UIs. Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 runs on stock Android based on 8.1 Oreo while Realme U1 run on ColorOS 5.2 UI.

Android 9 Pie OTA update for ZenFone Max Pro M2 in January has been confirmed by the company.

Stock Android on Max Pro M2 is a better choice compared to any custom UI. You get to experience a clean interface with no bloatware.

Rear Camera

The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 comes with a rear dual camera setup. The smartphone comes with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX 486 sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and 1.25-micron pixels coupled with a 5-megapixel dedicated depth sensor.

The Realme U1, on the other hand, has a 13-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary depth sensor with a f/2.2 aperture and PDAF.

Both Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Realme U1 offer quality rear camera performance. Both the smartphones come with special AI features and scene detection to offer improved low light performance.

Front Camera

Realme U1 features a 25-megapixel Sony IMX 576 up front capable to correct backlight and colors. It is preloaded by AI capabilities to offer clear and wider selfies.

Up front, Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 has a 13-megapixel sensor with a f/2.0 aperture and dedicated flash.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 and Realme U1 both offer wide-angle good selfies with AI-based bokeh effects, but Realme U1 has an here with better a sensor and low light front camera performance.

Connectivity

Both the smartphones come with Dual SIM connectivity. Realme U1 comes with fingerprint sensors, face unlocks, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, Micro-USB port, OTG support, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Battery

Realme U1 packs in a 3,500mAh battery and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 comes with a huge 5,000mAh battery. You can expect up to 2 days of charge on Max Pro M2 with moderate usage.

Realme U1 can easily handle a whole working day, but Max Pro M2 has an added advantage with a bigger battery.

Pricing & Availability

The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 has three variants available in India:

• Rs 12,999 (3GB/32GB)
• Rs 14,999 (4GB/64GB)
• Rs 16,999 (6GB/64GB)

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 will be available exclusively via Flipkart.

Realme U1 also has two variants available in starting at:

• Rs 11,999 (3GB/32GB)
• Rs 14,499 (4GB/64GB)

Realme U1 is available exclusively via Amazon India.

Realme U1 vs Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2: CONCLUSION

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 does stand tall, but Realme U1 too offers a challenging performance. The Realme U1 packs in solid performance, a really good looking display, great build, and a great front camera. While Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is more of a complete package.

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 offers everything you expect in a mid-range smartphone.

An awesome design, a notched display, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 (the cheapest smartphone to offer), top performing processor, great camera performance, massive battery and much more. Realme U1 may have its own pros, but Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is offering everything you want in a smartphone under 15,000 rupees.