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- The ZenFone 4 Selfie is following in the footsteps of the 4 Max with a Pie beta of its own, and it's also based on AOSP. Both the ZB553KL and ZD553KL models are supported and the same warnings explained above apply: the beta will wipe out your device and you won't get OTA updates.
The ASUS ZenFone 4 Max only received an update to Android Oreo back in October, but the company is hard at work with keeping the phone updated. You can now download an AOSP beta without ZenUI for the device with the model name ZC554KL.
It's been about six months since Android Pie launched, and we're still waiting on updates for quite a few phones. Some OEMs haven't even talked about which phones will get the update, but Asus has finally spilled the beans on its OTA plans. Well, some of the beans. There's a list of phones that will get Pie, but we don't have a specific timeline.
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- The ZenFone 4 Max Lite (ZC520KL) is also getting the update to Oreo 8.1 with Zen UI 5.0. Asus says it will take about one week for the OTA to reach all devices.
We're currently on the fifth generation of ASUS ZenFone devices, but that doesn't mean that previous models have been (entirely) forgotten. The ZenFone 4 Max has just begun receiving its update to Android 8.1 Oreo, which also includes ASUS's ZenUI 5.0 skin. This is a few months behind schedule, but at least it's here now.
ASUS has been working on its custom Android skin for years, named 'ZenUI.' The fourth major version first appeared on some Zenfone 4 devices, but a few in that line were still rocking ZenUI 3. One of these was the Zenfone 4 Max, and now ASUS is finally getting around to updating it.
Asus just announced its Zenfone 4 family of devices a couple of months ago, creating a convoluted and confusing portfolio. To kick things off, we have the Zenfone 4 Max on the lower end of the group. For $199, you get budget-level specs, except for the massive 5,000mAh battery. Besides it just being large and providing a lot of life, the Zenfone 4 Max's battery can also charge other devices. Cool, right?
Asus has announced which devices of the convoluted ZenFone 4 family are coming to North America. The ZenFone 4 Pro, ZenFone 4, and ZenFone 4 Max all feature dual-camera systems, front-mounted fingerprint sensors, and Nougat. They'll be heading our way soon with their emphases on strong photography capabilities and value propositions.To make this easier to digest, I have split the three phones into their own sections. We'll start with the king of the bunch.
TWRP is still the best custom recovery available, giving Android users a better way to flash ROMs and back up their devices. Part of the reason it's so great is that can be ported to new devices fairly easily. Since we last covered the project earlier this month, a few more phones have been added to the roster.
Asus made the ZenFone 4 family official in North America recently, and now it's Europe's turn to get a preview of things to come. Five different ZenFone 4 devices will be rolling out to Europe in the coming months: the ZenFone 4 Pro, ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, ZenFone 4 Selfie and ZenFone 4 Max. They run the gamut from budget to flagship.
Asus was launching ZenFone 3 variants in the US as recently as a few months ago, but it also started pushing the first ZenFone 4 phones over the summer in select markets. Starting today, the ZenFone 4 series is rolling out in the US and Canada, but it's starting with the ZenFone 4 Max 5.5". This is hardly the most impressive device in the lineup, but it has a gigantic battery.You can order a ZenFone 4 Max this very day, and maybe that's something you'd want to do if battery life is your primary concern. This phone has a modest 5.5-inch 720p display and a Snapdragon 430 SoC, but the battery is 5,000mAh. It'll probably run for days without a charge. Asus pushes the idea that you should charge other devices with this phone, but it sounds like it has a microUSB port. So, a clunky OTG cable is needed. There is also a dual camera setup with a 13MP main camera and 5MP wide-angle camera.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/_j2QTpjejbw[/EMBED_YT]The ZenFone 4 Max costs $199.99 ($299.99 in Canada) and is on sale at various retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Newegg, and on Asus' own store. Amazon has it in stock and offers Prime shipping, but most other retailers are still showing pre-order status. The other members of the ZenFone 4 family, including the ZenFone Max 5.2”, ZenFone 4, and ZenFone 4 Pro will show up closer to the end of the year.
ASUS isn't always the best with updates. The company often releases phones with already-outdated software, like the ZenFone 3 Zoom that came with Marshmallow. In a similar vein, the ZenWatch 2 and 3 were some of the last watches to get Android Wear 2.0. But at the ZenFone 4 launch event, ASUS promised that the entire ZenFone 3 and 4 lineup would get Android O.
Those of you with a good memory may remember the ZenFone 4 name from a few years ago. In 2014, Asus was using screen sizes for its naming convention when it released the ZenFone 4, 5, and 6 with respective display sizes in inches. Here we are three years later, and Asus has long since switched to a more conventional chronological naming scheme for its ZenFone line. Following on from last year's ZenFone 3 series of phones, the first in the 2017 ZenFone 4 range has been revealed on Asus' Russian site.