[Update: Dec. 17] Asus ZenFone Max M2 & ZenFone Max M1 Android 10 update status: Here’s what we know so far

This story is being continuously updated…. New updates are being added at the bottom…..

Original story (from September 01) follows:

For many people, Asus as a company is closely associated with PCs. The company builds some of the best gaming laptops in the business today. But that is not the only market on Asus’ radar. The company also makes some really good Android smartphones.

The ROG Smartphones from Asus make for some of the best gaming devices in the market today. The company also has devices made for ‘normal users’ under its ZenFone marque.

The ZenFone Max M1 and Max M2 were unveiled back in May and December 2018 respectively. While these are not exactly powerhouses in terms of performance, they offer a decent-enough Android experience.

Both devices ran Android 8 with Asus’ ZenUI 5 out of the box and they have both been updated to Android 9 Pie with the promise of an Android 10 build later on.

However, that is where things start to look hazy. This, because despite these devices being eligible for the Android 10 update, many months later and still, there’s no official build of Android 10 for these units. So what exactly happened?

Well, rewind back to mid-April 2020 and Asus released Android 10 Beta for users of the Asus Zenfone Max M1. Towards the end of that month, Asus extended the same Beta to users of the Asus ZenFone Max M2.

About a month later, we saw Asus ZenFone Max M2 users on the Android 10 Beta program receive an update that brought Android 10 Beta 2 to their units. ZenFone Max M1 users were left gawking.

Several months later and the status quo remains. Attempts by frustrated users to get information from Asus regarding the status of Android 10 on their units are met by a non-commital, generic response asking them to be patient.

Source 1,2

All these runarounds make for a very bitter and frustrated user-base. The lack of proper information on the status of this update only goes to complicate the situation further. We can only hope that Asus gets its act together as it risks alienating a lot of users.

Luckily, thanks to the developer community, there is no shortage of options for users seeking to get their devices running Android 10. We have seen custom ROMs like LineageOS and Pixel Experience for these devices, just to mention a few.

Update 1 (September 05)

For those of you who’ve been waiting for the arrival of native video calling support on Asus ZenFone Max M2 with the Android 10 update, here is what you should know.

Update 2 (September 11)

IST:01:25 pm: The wait for Android 10 is still on as Asus ZenFone Max M2 devices are now picking up the September update. Complete coverage here.

Update 3 (November 13)

IST:04:20 pm: Asus appears to be taking way longer than it should to release the Android 10 update for the ZenFone Max M2. The company has just begun rolling out a new pie-based security update for the device with no signs of the update to Android 10.

Update 4 (December 17)

IST:09:45 am: ZenFone Max M2 users are receiving a new software update, however, it only brings a newer security patch and Asus is yet to divulge any details regarding the update to Android 10. Full story here.

Update 5 (December 23)

IST:04:40 pm: While the wait for the official Android 10 stable update is still on, Pixel Experience 11 has brought Android 11 to the ZenFone Max M1 and ZenFone Max M2. Head over here for more details and download links.

NOTE: We have these and more Asus stories in our dedicated Asus section.

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