Asus launches a new midrange phone in India to compete with Xiaomi

Asus has announced a new midrange phone aimed at the Indian market and priced to appeal over the likes of competitors like Samsung and a host of Chinese brands, namely Xiaomi, which recently launched the popular Redmi Note 5 Pro.

The company says it chose features and specs for its new ZenFone Max Pro M1 based on results from a survey of over 2,000 Indian customers, according to Engadget. We’ve reached out to Asus for more information about what that survey entailed.

The ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro share a lot of similar features, including a six-inch 2160 x 1080 LCD screen, a midtier Snapdragon 636 processor, and facial recognition, but the ZenFone has a few advantages over the Redmi. It has a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery, a brighter screen and pixel contrast ratio, and the latest version of Android 8.1 Oreo. It’s Asus’ first stock Android phone.

When it comes to cameras, ZenFone is tied with Redmi. The ZenFone has 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel dual rear cameras. The 13-megapixel camera has a slightly better resolution than Redmi’s main rear camera, but the ZenFone’s selfie camera is a weak 8 megapixels compared to Redmi’s 20-megapixel sensor.

To sweeten the deal, Asus also priced the ZenFone competitively against the Redmi. The Redmi Note 5 Pro costs 13,999 rupees ($210.30) for its basic 4GB RAM / 64GB SSD combo. Both of the ZenFone’s configurations are cheaper than that: the 3GB RAM / 32GB SSD option costs 10,999 rupees ($165.25), and the 4GB RAM / 64GB SSD option costs 12,999 rupees ($195.30).

The phone was showcased today in India and becomes available on May 3rd on Flipkart.