India is a tough market to crack. Companies like Xiaomi, Samsung, and Lenovo seem to have it on lockdown with their wide-range of budget and mid-range smartphones. Few other companies offer products with compelling specifications at a low-enough price to entice the Indian consumer. The recently launched Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) seems to be a strong contender in the Indian market, however.

With a 5.99-inch FHD+ display, a 5,000mAh battery, near-stock Android 8.1 Oreo, dual 13+5MP rear cameras, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 system-on-chip, the device has a lot to offer for its price (the base model is only ₹10,999). It's going on sale on May 3rd as a Flipkart exclusive and we expect it'll sell like hotcakes, much like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.

In anticipation of the device's launch, we are opening up XDA forums for the device. On the forums, you can discuss what model you'll be buying and when you receive the device, your thoughts on the phone. As the community around the device grows, you'll also be able to share tips, tricks, guides, and more for the device. Lastly, if developer interest grows (and the bootloader easily unlockable and kernel source code readily available), you'll eventually see custom ROMs, kernels, and other modifications for the device. All that and more only on the XDA forums! Come check out the newly opened forums for the device at the link below.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 Forums