The best free ZenFone theme and icon set ever!

May 16, 2018 Categories: Help, How To, Tips, ZenUI by 0 Comments

Feeling a little lost when it comes to getting that perfect customized look and feel of your ZenUI? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but we’re going to recommend our absolute favorite theme and icon set. In our minds these are the best free options available.

Our picks are from two different themes. This means if you just love your current wallpaper, lock screen, or icons, you can still try these out without having to change over your entire theme. That’s the beauty of the “customize” option!

This isn’t complicated to set up as we’re sure most of you have already dabbled with the various ZenUI themes already.

The Best Free ZenFone Theme?

Zen Spiral

Zen Spiral has a stunning blend of blue and green colors with a “Zen” like texture. If you have a ZenFone with AMOLED display, it turns your wallpaper into a jewel. It’s just rich!

The Second Best ZenFone Theme?

Zen Silver

We do believe strongly in Zen Spiral but certainly Zen Silver is almost a nice. These two themes tend to bring out the best in a display without cluttering up the background. Clean yet punchy. The Zen Silver is darker and won’t bring out some of the brightness that Zen Silver provides.

The Best Free ZenFone Icon Set?

Neon Rainbow

Our pick for best theme icon set is from the Neon Rainbow theme. This is a great icon set for anyone looking for a pure Android look and feel. The best feature of this icon set is that it’s clean and there is no background surrounding the icon which tends to clutter or get in the way of the wallpaper behind the icons. Even if you don’t like our theme picks, you can still try out this icon set while leaving the other aspects of your current theme intact.

How to set this up on your ZenFone:

  1. go into your phone settings and choose “themes”.
  2. search from the Asus theme store, the “free” themes
  3. scroll down and find “Zen Spiral”
  4. click “customize”
  5. tick the boxes “wallpaper” and “lock screen”
  6. go back into the “free” themes
  7. scroll down and find “Neon Rainbow”
  8. click “customize”
  9. tick the box “icons”
  10. enjoy

 

New software update fixes finger print sensor speed on ZenFone Max Pro

May 14, 2018 Categories: India, News, Software Updates, ZB601KL, ZB602KL, ZenFone Max Pro, Zenfone Max Pro M1 by 0 Comments

Asus has pushed out a software update ZB601KL_ZB602KL_WW_Phone-14.2016.1804.252 which addresses a complain that many early reviews with the slow response of the finger print sensor. Certainly this was a legitimate concern but can this new software patch change the public perception of this issue?

A challenge for mobile phone manufacturers is having early release units on the market that are in the hands of the most popular and biggest sites on the internet. Naturally the big sites with the loudest voice get priority for early review units and thus, those early review put the word out on the good and bad on the devices. In this case, the fix came after those early reviews and it’s hard to reverse those initial negative points about the finger print sensor. A fix like this isn’t likely to be added to most reviews out there unfortunately.

So the software update also brings face recognition functionality and it also improves the gyroscope functionality.

If you don’t see an automatic notification, you can go into your system settings and check for a software update. Make use of WiFi while checking for a software update.

It’s likely that Asus will add EIS (electronic image stabilization) to a future software update in addition to some camera performance improvements. This was being worked on according to sources close to ASUS.

Q&A – ZenFone Max Pro (M1) answers to popular questions FAQ

May 13, 2018 Categories: Comparisons, FAQ, ZB601KL, ZB602KL, ZenFone Max Pro, Zenfone Max Pro M1 by 0 Comments

With the buzz surrounding the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 it only makes sense to help you with questions you may have. Asus has stated that this phone is mainly targeted for India and SE Asian markets. At this point we don’t know the European and North/South America plans for releasing the ZenFone Max Pro (M1).

Is the ZenFone Max Pro better than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5?

Yes. The ZenFone Max Pro M1 is a cheaper price with better specs. Redmi Note 5 camera performance is slightly better although Asus is pushing out firmware updates to improve camera performance so the gap may close regarding camera performance. The 6GB/64GB variant of the ZenFone Max Pro has better cameras but no reviews or comparisons are currently available.

What is the difference between the model ZB601KL and ZB602KL?

This is a difficult detail to figure out so far. What we do know is that the ZB601KL is exclusive to the India market. All other markets are getting the ZB602KL. We expect this to be a very minor difference and we will update this Q&A with the precise answer.

What is the difference between the 3GB/32GB vs. 4GB/64GB vs. 6GB/64GB models?

Cameras. The 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB are the exact same specifications aside from the amount of RAM and storage. The 6GB/64GB model however has better cameras with a 16MP selfie front facing and 16MP rear facing camera. The other models have a 8MP selfie front facing and 13MP rear facing camera.

When will the 6GB RAM / 64GB storage model be released?

Sources from Asus suggest that the 6GB model will be available around six weeks after the initial launch date of May 3. That means by around the start of June it should be better known the exact release date and price for the India market. The release schedule for the 6GB in other markets is no yet known, but India seems like the primary market for Asus and will have first availability.

Can I use dual SIM cards?

The ZenFone Max Pro has a triple slot SIM card tray. This means you can use 2 SIM cards plus a MicroSD card all at the same time. The MicroSD capacity is a maximum of 2TB.

Does the ZenFone Max Pro M1 support VoLTE?

Great news here. The phone supports dual 4G LTE VoLTE. That means VoLTE calls on both SIMs without needing to switch.

Do the cameras have optical image stabilization or electronic image stabilization?

There is no optical image stabilization and currently Asus is looking at adding electronic image stabilization in a future firmware update.

What version of Bluetooth does this phone have?

The ZenFone Max Pro M1 is running v5.0

 

More FAQs coming…stay tuned in the coming days!

 

India angry but ASUS claims 30K ZenFone Max Pro sold in 2 minutes

May 11, 2018 Categories: India, News, Shopping and Deals by 0 Comments

We said this weeks ago. Asus needed to deliver on getting phones into the hands of the India consumers because the demand was going to be massive. If you believe Asus, they are saying “1st 30K sold in 2 minutes”. So that means in two minutes they sold 30,000 ZenFone Max Pro phones during the two dates in India when orders went live on Flipkart.

We aren’t sure if or when Asus will let the India consumers know about the reasons for the “sold out” listings on Flipkart, but they should certainly get out ahead of this. People are ANGRY in the India market. There is rampant skepticism about this being a flash sale, a marketing scheme or just some misleading trick by Asus.

We checked out the sale yesterday which went live at 12pm India time. We refreshed and we did often but the page didn’t really show stock available for us but at moments following 12pm, we did see the “out of stock” notice removed, but still had problems seeing them available to buy. If we consider the numbers Asus has provided, then some of the odd Flipkart behavior is understandable. The sheer volume of people trying to get into the product listings obviously created some issue.

The next Asus sale for the ZenFone Max Pro on Flipkart is May 17th. If you’re from India and are upset, consider the situation. We don’t believe there was intentional misleading going on. We do believe in the sincerity that Asus is suggesting regarding being humbled by the overwhelming demand for the ZenFone Max Pro.

We will say this. Asus better be transparent about sales numbers with the India consumers otherwise they risk a lot of bad PR. The trust in the Asus brand could be tarnished if they don’t communicate and explain sales numbers to help people understand just how remarkable the demand has been. India consumers are intelligent and clearly they are tired of flash sales and other manipulation show by other brands.

The 17th is going to be a critical day for Asus. People getting shut out three times is a row could be potentially disastrous especially considering the role social media plays regarding people’s perception.

ASUS confirms ROG phone – Unveil coming at Computex 2018

May 11, 2018 Categories: Ares, Arez, News, ROG Phone, ZS572KL by 0 Comments

We’ve been on high alert regarding a gaming phone from Asus. We knew it was coming and Asus CEO Jerry Shen said we can “expect” something. Whelp, that something just got real.

We have some suspicions on what to expect. We believe it to be a 5.7-inch model with AMOLED display although if refresh rate is king, then it’s going to be LCD instead. It’s obviously going to have top-of-class cooling as well as the best hardware inside. It’s going to have a similar base as the ZenFone 3 Deluxe and ZenFone AR. It’s going to be from that same family of devices. It’s going to be unique, that’s for sure. Expect something interesting like dual front facing stereo speakers and other gaming design features. It’s likely to be snazzy yeah?

We’ve seen a couple other brands come out with their own gaming smartphones. Mobile gaming is becoming legit especially with PUBG which is ushering in a new wave of excitement in the mobile space. Up until now, very few companies were investing resources into developing games that really pushed the hardware. We sense things are changing in this regard. Asus was marketing the Indonesia launch of the ZenFone Max Pro M1 with gaming in mind so Asus certainly identifies this as a growth opportunity.

ROG gaming phone from Asus! It’s coming folks and it should be fascinating! We’ve launched a page in advance of the official unveil. We were uncertain about the ROG branding and whether it will be under the ZenFone branding as well. Hard to say just yet!

[source: Asus Investors Conference]

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