ASUS is chiefly known for its computer products and laptops, and widely hailed for the Republic of Gamers aka ROG series. In spite of selling smartphones for several years now, it is still taking a slow yet steady route, launching fewer smartphones that other competitors. The company just make some big headlines with yesterday's launch of its flagship, the ASUS Zenfone 6 with a flipping camera. But on the sidelines, ASUS is also taking note of overdue Android updates and released a stable Android Pie update for the mid-rangers, ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 and the Zenfone Max M2 last month. Now, it is rolling out Android Pie beta for a much older, and affordable smartphone - the ASUS Zenfone 4 Max.
The ASUS Zenfone 4 Max was released back in 2017 with Android 7.0 Nougat and was only updated to ZenUI 5.0 based on Android 8.1 Oreo at the end of 2018. Now, the company is pushing a beta update based on Android 9 Pie, which is not just exciting but also vaguely surprising. The beta update with build number 16.0200.1903.25 is different from the tradition interface on ASUS smartphones. Instead of being the latest version of ZenUI, the update for Zenfone 4 Max is based on AOSP, which means that it will offer a pure stock experience without any customizations over the top.
If you're looking to try the update out on your Zenfone 4 Max with the expectation of experiencing the latest version of Android, make sure you take a backup of your files since the update will wipe the storage fully. You'll continue to receive beta updates in future but there's no returning to the stable version unless you clean flash it. ASUS also clarifies that since this build offers a different experience compared to the current stable build, users are recommended to avoid using it if they prefer the experience offered by ZenUI 5.0.
Do note that since the build is in beta, it might have some bugs/errors. One such issue reported by one of the users is that of the launcher crashing continually and eventually ending with a blank screen. So, only install the update if you're ready to deal with such issues while testing Android Pie on your ASUS Zenfone 4 Max.