This will be more like a comparison of both most selling smartphone of ASUS Malaysia at the moment. The Zenfone Max Pro M1 series came to Malaysia few months ago and caught the eyes of most people out there who tend to look for a long last battery life together with stable performance. With Pure Android experience, no doubt why this was Malaysians number one choice. Not to forget the price tag which is the main cause of this model to be in the hot seat. There are few variants that is available – the common one which is 3GB/32GB variant, 4GB/64GB variant and 6GB/64GB variant.  Main comparison for this article will be between the 3GB variant versus the 6GB variant.

Getting straight to the point of course if most of you are still not aware of the difference between the two variants, they are the RAM, internal storage and Camera. These are the only differences between the two, hence I am not going to talk about the rest since you can read my full review of the 3GB variant ==> HERE

From a user’s point of view, does it make a huge difference in real life between these two? To be honest, yes there are several differences as well as depending on how dependent you are towards your mobile phone. For instance, for those who are only using it lightweight and mainly for calls, texting and social media – 3GB variant might be sufficient. Why do I say “might”? For those who love taking loads of photos and videos, internal storage plays a huge role and therefore you will need that extra space. You still have the option to use the external storage via microSD card, but trust me your phone will perform to the maximum level when there isn’t any external storage attached – true enough?

Camera

So which camera performs better? The 13MP or 16MP sensor? Well, to be honest there aren’t obvious difference as the 13MP was overall a decent shooter while the 16MP tend to perform better in indoor conditions where the lighting is just right. Focusing nearby objects tend to be easier on the 13MP shooter, not sure why though but it is definitely easier. Video recording has no difference on both devices. With the stabilization mode activated, the video is indeed way better than how it used to be. Below are some sample images just for your reference.

Images from 3GB RAM Variant

Images from 6GB RAM Variant

Probably the most subjective and crucial selling point for these variants. To be honest, the 6GB RAM variant makes a huge difference when it comes to daily usage. I used both these variants as my daily driver and the conclusion is pretty simple – 6GB RAM is the winner. Why? Because I did not realize any frame drops or slowing down when switching between applications. Gaming is way smoother too, though I only tried Dragon Nest on both – yet loading time and overall performance goes to the 6GB RAM variant. So does this mean that the 3GB variant is a total waste compared to the 6GB RAM variant? Definitely NO. Please take note that this is a side by side comparison with a clear cut win in terms of higher RAM. The 3GB variant is definitely the best budget smartphone of the year as I claimed in my full review. I did several benchmark test between these two and here is the Antutu Benchmark for your reference. There aren’t obvious differences in most benchmark test and even sometimes the 3GB got higher rating, but you get the math. Benchmark doesn’t really show much differences especially when the application itself actually captures both your devices as identical. Also below is the RAM Truth screenshot which shows how RAM are being managed by the system and how much is left available for usage as in overall.

3GB Variant

6GB Variant

Having additional storage space can be judged based on the end user actually. For me, most are stored via cloud storage and nothing much is left locally within the phone itself. So for those of you who rely most on local space on your smartphone rather than cloud storage where some might find it to be still insecure, the 64GB variant is the best choice for you. Though both variants have micro SD card slot, keep in mind that it could affect your device’s overall performance and may notice some system lag here and there when stuff saved within the card is loaded.

Conclusion

Now that you should be already clear of the differences between these variants, they are equally value for money and indeed very reliable. The 3GB  variant is priced at RM599 while the 6GB variant is priced at RM999. In the end, its your choice on which one suits your cup of tea as well as the budget in the first place. If you really intend to look at longer term and future proof, 6GB variant will surely be a wiser choice as more RAM will be available and sufficient enough for newer System updates as well as latest version of applications that will come upon newer operating system.