ASUS ZenFone Max Plus got a fresh update today. The new firmware version number is 14.02.1809.69 and it brings software WW_14.02.1809.69:20181018. As always, there’s no details yet published either on the forum that is linked from the “More” link in the update notification or from the official build site. I expect the change log to be published in the next three days.
What new features does the version 14.02.1809.69 for ZenFone Max Plus M1 include?
In order to provide the best protection for the data of the phone.
ASUS will take more test and verification after receiving the security patch from Google.
Therefore, it will not update on your phone immediately.
We already check that this security version will not impact the normal operation.
Please wait for the FW update from ASUS. Please use it with confidence.
This means we should expect a monthly delay with security patches from August on.
What about new functionalities in 14.02.1809.69?
Download size of the new firmware is 115.23 MB, so I wasn’t expecting to see anything new. Compared to other updates, this one is pretty small in size. There is a trend, however. The newest updates seem to get smaller, so my conclusion is that there is less and less work being done on this phone. Which means less (or none) new functionalities and less bug fixes.
How about bug fixes in 14.02.1809.69?
Large battery drain is present since the beginning and it’s probably a bad design and not a bug so it likely won’t get fixes.
Phone freezing while turning Bluetooth on or off is still happening. There were some attepts to fix it by Asus, it was a bit better, but it’s still present.
Speaker turning on by itself during a call is a new bug that was introduced with firmware 14.02.1809.63. It is still happening in 14.02.1809.69.
Many people complain about camera not being able to focus.
Some people complain about the phone getting very hot soon and I can confirm this is the case with my unit as well. However, this is happening from the date I bought it. To be fair, I don’t really remember using any phone that would stay cold during intense use.
What about Android 8 Oreo in 14.02.1809.69?
Note that “Q2” means second quarter, which means first half of the year. Which means that Asus has announced that they will update the phone in the past. I hope it’s a typo and they meant “H2” which would mean second half of the year. However, if they posted the statement it means they didn’t give up yet as I did. Expect to get Android Oreo update on ZenFone Max Plus, just don’t expect any specific dates… Counting down from their own upgrade plan, Asus is already three months behind their plan.
I will update this post when the release notes are posted.