ZenFone has been around for about four years now. This is not to say that they are at the peak of popularity, but they have interesting opportunities in both the middle and upper price segments. Some models have advantages associated with cameras that have laser autofocus and wide-angle lenses or 2x optical zoom.
At the exhibition in Barcelona, Asus presented the ZenFone 5, ZenFone 5Q (ZenFone 5 Lite) and ZenFone 5Z devices. Let's get to know them better.
Design and screen of ZenFone 5
Frames are a thing of the past; all three smartphones have a long frameless screen and occupy a significant part of the body. ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z have a cutout at the top where the camera, sensors and ear cup are located.
On the back of the ZenFone 5 and 5Z you'll find the typical Asus brushed metal surface with light reflection that is eye-catching and a fingerprint magnet, and the fingerprint scanner is also located here. The 5Q is not as shiny and has glass on the front and back.
ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z have 6.2-inch screens with an aspect ratio of 19:9. The resolution is 1080 x 2280. The 5Q has a 6-inch screen with a ratio and resolution of 1080 x 2160.
Asus has tried to reduce eye strain to a minimum. There is a blue light filter that is designed to improve your sleep quality. There is an automatic color temperature setting that changes the screen color depending on the ambient light. A similar feature is available on iPhone 8, iPhone X and iPad Pro, so Asus smartphones are in good company.
Technical specifications of Asus ZenFone 5 2018 and cameras
ZenFone 5, according to its characteristics, belongs to the upper-mid price range and runs on an 8-core Snapdragon 636 processor with clock frequency 1.8 GHz. RAM capacity 6/8 GB, storage 64 GB. The flagship ZenFone 5Z received a Snapdragon 845 processor and offers three memory configurations: 4/64, 6/128 and 8/256 GB. 5Q runs on Snapdragon 630 with 4/64 GB of memory.
Cameras different models also vary. ZenFone 5 has a dual rear camera. The main camera with a resolution of 12 MP has a large pixel size of 1.4 microns and an F1.8 aperture, which should make it possible to receive nice photos In the dark. The 8 MP secondary camera has a viewing angle of 120 degrees. The front camera resolution is 8 MP. The more expensive ZenFone 5Z received the same combination of cameras.
Despite the lower price, the 5Q offers dual cameras on the front and rear. There are standard lenses and wide-angle ones. The main rear camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels, the front one is 20 megapixels.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has been a fashionable term for many years now. mobile devices, Asus doesn't want to be left behind. The ZenFone 5 line has a number of automatic features. Camera in automatic mode can select the best settings for certain scenes from 16 preset options. Among them there is text, QR codes and a tripod; you can shoot cats and dogs, for which different settings are used.AI Photo Learning will learn how you edit photos and change settings in advance. All three smartphones can take portrait photos with blurred background, for which skillful intelligence is also responsible.
AI Boost, when activated, slightly increases the performance of smartphones, which can be useful in games and some other tasks. There is also smart charging, which works when you need to charge quickly, and when the device is left overnight. Depending on this, the current strength is selected so that the battery degrades as slowly as possible.
Sound and user interface of Asus ZenFone 5 2018
ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z have stereo speakers that theoretically produce great sound. Large five-magnet drivers and separate amplifiers for each speaker deliver not only higher volume, but also extended bass with 14% and 12% less distortion. This comparison with previous ZenFone devices sounds promising.
Users love a clean interface. Developers can change appearance icons, menus and backgrounds as desired, but when the interface begins to slow down the speed of the rest good smartphone, users will not be happy. Asus knows this. The company announced that it continues to use its ZenUI shell on top of Android, but in the fifth version it has a minimal number of differences from the stock system. There will be no duplicate applications like a browser, email client, keyboard or instant messengers; Google programs. Among third-party applications, only Facebook and Instagram are installed.
As has become commonplace recently, smartphones have animated emoticons. Here they are called ZenMoji and are similar to the Animoji from the iPhone X, but allow you to use them in third party applications and even broadcast your avatar live.
All three smartphones support face unlock.
Expectations and prices of Asus ZenFone 5 2018
Sales will begin soon, ZenFone 5Z will cost $499, the prices of the other two models are unknown. It remains to be seen whether artificial intelligence will be truly useful or just lure customers. It is interesting to test the automatic change in screen color temperature and the accuracy of the settings.
Screen diagonal is 5 inches, matrix type is S-IPS (a type of IPS matrix), resolution is 1280×720 pixels, the display is covered with Corning Fit protective glass (analogous to Gorilla Glass), there is an oleophobic coating.
First of all, we note that the presence of an oleophobic coating in such a budget smartphone is a big plus. You will not have any problems using gestures (on devices without an oleophobic coating, the finger is constantly stuck and using Swype is very inconvenient) and cleaning the screen from dirt.
The screen itself boasts glove support and two special modes for fine tuning color range. In the display settings, you can make the color scheme warmer or cooler, and also enable “reading mode”, which softens the white color, making it more convenient to read from your smartphone. As for working with gloves, we tested this function: the responsiveness in gloves is not so high, but it is quite enough to take a call or scroll through a list of new emails.
HD resolution and S-IPS matrix have a positive effect on picture quality, the image is smooth and clear, color rendition is close to natural. The same viewing angles are typical for a budget smartphone, but they could have been better. In the sun, the display almost completely goes blind; it also has problems when reading in the dark; I would like to make the minimum brightness even lower. This indicates a small range of brightness.
In general, for a five-inch device costing 7,000 rubles, the display used here is very good.
Camera
At the presentation of the Zenfone line in Russia, we were told a lot of good things about the shooting technologies used and the quality of the camera, which made it all the more interesting to test them ourselves.
The smartphone is equipped with two cameras: the main one is 8 MP and the front one is 1.3 MP. The main camera takes good pictures in sunny weather. When lighting deteriorates, grain appears in the photo. The device has a separate night mode, which reduces the resolution of the final image but increases its brightness. We tested it and can say that the photo does look lighter, but the final quality is still poor.
The smartphone can shoot with the bokeh effect, when the entire background except the subject is blurred. For a budget device, the pictures are quite decent.
Video is recorded in maximum Full HD resolution at 30 frames per second.
Working with text - 5.0
The smartphone comes with a pre-installed proprietary keyboard, which is convenient for simple typing. The keys are large, erroneous presses are minimal, and there is a separate row for quickly entering numbers. The keyboard supports gesture input (Swype), as well as typing additional characters by holding a key.
Compared to previous versions of the keyboard, the updated one has become more convenient.
Internet - 4.0
The Asus Zenfone 5 uses a standard Android browser with several modifications from the manufacturer, it is perfect for viewing any web pages. The browser has automatic scaling when increasing text and a built-in translator. A separate reading mode is also present.
According to the results of our tests, this is one of the most convenient built-in browsers, it is perfect for both undemanding and advanced users.
Interfaces
The smartphone contains the following interfaces: Wi-Fi (b/g/n) (there is no support for dual-band Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, GPS, but there is no support for NFC and LTE. The entire Zenfone line can work with SIM cards simultaneously. However, it is worth noting that the device only has one radio module, so when talking from one SIM card, the second one becomes unavailable.
Also, in our tests, the device could not re-find the network signal if at some point it was lost (for example, in an elevator or subway), and we had to reboot it or turn on/off airplane mode.
Multimedia - 3.0
We tried to play various video files on the Asus Zenfone 5: the smartphone supports only common formats and codecs, the player plays videos in high quality, up to 1080p. Among the support for rare formats, we can only highlight MKV, but the built-in audio player was unable to play AVI. There is also no choice of subtitles or audio tracks. The audio player in the smartphone plays only popular formats MP3, AAC, WAV.
Battery - 2.5
The smartphone has a non-removable lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 2110 mAh. These are standard numbers for many modern smartphones. The results of our tests are as follows: when watching HD video at maximum brightness, the device discharges in 5 hours, when listening to music - in 32 hours.
Performance - 1.8
The Asus Zenfone A501CG uses the platform Intel Atom Z2560 with a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.6 GHz, graphics subsystem - PowerVR SGX544 MP, RAM - 2 GB.
We tested the smartphone's performance in several simple tests. Firstly, we checked how much desktops and pages in the browser can be scrolled through - there are no complaints about the smartphone in terms of this parameter. We also tested it with modern games and can note that Zenfone 5 supports most of them perfectly; stuttering can be observed only in the most productive ones (Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5).
Memory - 4.0
The amount of internal memory in the Asus Zenfone 5 phone can be equal to 8 GB or 16 GB, of the 16 GB version, 12 GB is available to the user. The smartphone has a slot for memory cards up to 64 GB, and “hot swap” is supported.
Peculiarities
The device runs the ZenUI shell, this new interface from Asus with big amount settings. The manufacturer improved the dialer (Russian letters appeared in it), added its own keyboard, installed several additional functions in its own browser, and in general did great job to adapt the shell to the user's needs. In our opinion, ZenUI can compete on equal terms with the more famous Samsung TouchWiz and HTC Sense.
Competitors
In the spring of 2015, the price of the Asus Zenfone 5 (A501CG) smartphone is approx. 12,000 rubles. For this money you get a smartphone with a high-quality screen, good performance, high-quality body materials and a good camera.
The closest competitor in terms of characteristics is Huawei Honor 3C, he has better display and dimensions, but the model also costs 2,000 rubles more.
We think that for the money, the Asus Zenfone 5 is a great value proposition for users looking for an affordable but quality smartphone from a famous brand.
Not everyone can afford flagship smartphones, the cost of which increases every year, so mid-price models are becoming more and more popular. As a rule, when you buy them, you get almost the same opportunities that flagships provide, but they only cost much less. The main thing here is to strike a balance in order to offer an inexpensive, but at the same time good phone. Each manufacturer follows certain principles, and ASUS tries to install the highest possible hardware for its price, offering a high-quality processor, cameras and autonomy. The ASUS ZenFone 5 review makes it clear that we are being offered just such a smartphone, which differs from the flagship 5Z only in slightly more modest hardware. At the same time, the body assembly materials were left unchanged, as was the stunning FullHD+ display with a 19:9 ratio. Let's see what Zenfon is and how good the updated line of Asus phones is.
Specifications:
- Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (8x Kryo 260 up to 1.8 GHz)
- Graphics accelerator: Adreno 509
- Operating system: Android 8.0 + ZenUI5
- RAM: 4 GB
- Built-in memory: 64 GB
- Memory card support: microSD up to 2 TB
- Communication: GSM/GPRS/EDGE; WCDMA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+; TD-SCDMA; CDMA 2000; FDD-LTE; TD-LTE
- SIM: nano-SIM + nano-SIM (combined slot), Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS)
- Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
- Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
- Cameras: main - 12 MP (f/1.8) + 8 MP (f/2.2), front - 8 MP (f/2.0)
- Sensors: light, proximity, gravity, microgyroscope, compass, fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 3300 mAh
- Dimensions: 153x75.7x7.9 mm
- Weight: 155 grams
Screen: 6.2" Full HD+ (2246x1080) Super IPS+
Equipment Asus ZenFon 5
The box is devoid of logos and bright images; it is made in a simple but effective design. It is rough tactile and painted dark gray. But despite the simplicity of its design, a rich package awaits us inside, which includes everything you need to work with the Asus ZenFon 5 phone:
- USB-C cable;
- Charger with parameters 5V/2A;
- A paperclip for quick access to the SIM card tray;
- Transparent silicone bumper, which does not spoil the design of the smartphone, but at the same time protects it from scratches;
- Not bad headphones.
Design
I traditionally start the ASUS ZenFone 5 review with its design, which turned out to be successful, except for the bangs on the front panel, which surprisingly almost all manufacturers now copy from Apple. The body is a monolithic structure, qualitatively assembled from glass. Metal was used only to make the side frame, which makes the case more rigid and saves it in the event of a fall. The smartphone looks quite premium - strict lines and beautifully shimmering glass on the back panel, which looks unusual and very attractive. There is only one drawback and it applies to all devices with a glass body - it quickly gets dirty and tends to slip out of your hands. When the case becomes covered with stains, it quickly loses its attractiveness, so it is better to immediately place it in the silicone bumper included with the device.
When you start using the phone, one of its features immediately catches your eye, which can be classified as a shortcoming - a thin recess on top, in which the speaker, front camera lens, and standard list sensors In an inactive state it is impossible to see it, but the speaker is located under the mesh led indicator events, thanks to which you will not miss anything important.
The remaining frames are minimal; the 6.2-inch screen occupies almost the entire area of the front panel. This solution looks great; the frameless fashion is already in full use in the budget segment. A minimal margin was left at the bottom. It is slightly larger than the others, but does not contain any functional elements; the navigation keys are on the screen. Its presence provides a comfortable hand grip in landscape orientation.
A review of ASUS ZenFone 5 2018 shows that there is a dual main camera on the back side, in addition to which there is a bright flash. A fingerprint scanner is located a little lower in the center and I must say they chose a good place for it. The finger rests on it itself, the operation occurs quickly and accurately.
The left side is occupied by a hybrid tray, into which you can install two Nano SIM cards or one, but paired with microSD.
On the right is the power button and a rocker to control the volume level.
ASUS ZenFone 5 ze620kl review moves to the bottom edge, which is pleasantly surprising. The fact is that the manufacturer has retained a 3.5 mm audio jack, to which you can connect your wired headset. It is located near the port USB Type-C, main speaker and microphone.
Thanks to the elongated screen and minimal frames around its perimeter, it was possible to fit it into a fairly large compact body. And the successful shape of the side edges provides a comfortable hand grip. But the 6.2-inch display simply won’t allow you to comfortably operate it with one hand - you won’t be able to reach the top of the screen without grabbing the body, so it will be easier to connect your second hand.
But so that this does not cause any discomfort in everyday life, the manufacturer has offered several convenient functions. So, double tapping on the “Home” key activates the one-handed control mode, in which the working area of the screen becomes smaller, so you no longer have to reach for its top point. You can set the size of the work area at your discretion. As the review of the ASUS ZenFone 5 smartphone showed, there is another, no less useful feature - if you swipe your finger over the fingerprint scanner, the notification panel will open. Due to this, you don’t have to reach for the top curtain, which is much more convenient.
By the way, the fingerprint sensor copes with its task perfectly, but not as quickly as we would like and as we are accustomed to in terms of the best flagships. It works much longer than the 0.3 seconds stated by the manufacturer, at least on the current firmware version. Although there are no problems with recognition accuracy. The scanner's shortcomings do not end there - it was not installed in the most successful way. The fact is that it is placed in a small recess, which is why it practically merges with the body. Because of this, at first it is quite difficult to find it by touch.
In good lighting, you can use a more modern method - face unlocking. The technology is implemented through front camera, the quality of recognition strongly depends on lighting conditions. In the dark, recognition will be erroneous and you will be asked to enter a password or use a fingerprint scanner. But the recognition accuracy is top level, you can’t fool the system with a photo of the owner. In addition, artificial intelligence helps her.
ASUS ZenFone 5 ze620kl 64gb review showed that the case is assembled perfectly. There are no backlashes or gaps, the smartphone feels high-quality and solid.
Display Asus ZenFon 5
The device has a high-quality IPS matrix with FullHD+ resolution (1080x2246 pixels). With a diagonal of 6.2 inches, this gives a juicy and well-detailed picture; a higher resolution would come at the expense of performance and battery life, and the difference would not be noticeable to the eye. The only thing that doesn’t please me is the unibrow on top, although you gradually get used to it and stop paying attention to it. For the same reason, under notifications, battery percentage and other important information There is not enough space at the top. But otherwise, using the smartphone is comfortable; it clearly benefits from minimal frames.
As shown by the Asus ZenFon 5 2018 review in Russian, the picture looks beautiful and realistic; even if you try, you won’t be able to see individual pixels (403 ppi). The color rendition turned out to be very rich, in this the screen is very reminiscent of OLED panels that are installed in best flagships 2018. In the settings, you can customize the color temperature or turn on the blue filter, which significantly reduces eye strain. Asus ZenFon 5 can adjust the color temperature of the screen depending on the conditions in which you are currently located. When changing the viewing angle, the display behaves perfectly, except that the white color begins to slightly reddish.
Covers the screen protective glass Corning Gorilla and beyond time ASUS testing ZenFone 5 performed very well - not a single scratch remained. A high-quality oleophobic coating is applied to its surface. You can feel it - the prints are removed in one movement of the hand.
Performance
The technical characteristics of the Asus ZenFon 5 2018 are based on the best processor in the mid-budget price category, the Snapdragon 636, which includes 8 cores with a frequency of around 1.8 GHz. In games, it is helped by the Adreno 509 graphics accelerator. On top of that, there is 64 GB of user memory, which will be enough for most users. But if this is not enough for you, then it is possible to install microSD with a capacity of up to 2 TB. The only thing is that when installing it you will have to give up the second SIM card.
The characteristics of ASUS ZenFone 5 easily cope with everyday tasks. 4 GB of RAM ensures good multitasking - you can open many tabs in the browser and easily switch between them without reloading.
Test in Antutu and Geekbench
Games also do not become a serious obstacle to the phone's hardware. You can comfortably play Tanks on maximum graphics, getting an average of 58 FPS. Even the system-demanding Injustice 2 goes with a bang, delivering an average of 30 FPS. As the ASUS ZenFone 5 ze620kl 64gb review showed, it can easily handle any task, be it gaming, watching movies in high quality, or multitasking.
Sound
The sound quality from the multimedia speaker is close to ideal and, without exaggeration, is one of the best in its segment. The speaker pleasantly surprises with its impressive volume reserve and clear sound, even when you listen to music at maximum. Even low frequencies, which many phone models have difficulty with, are clearly visible. In addition, a review of the frameless Asus ZenFone 5 showed that the sound is reproduced in stereo format. The effect is achieved due to the fact that the main speaker plays in tandem with the conversational one. The difference compared to mono sound is clearly noticeable under any conditions of use - when playing, listening to music or watching a movie. This is a very positive point with which the manufacturer wants to attract music lovers.
The sound in the headphones is not disappointing either. It is good even with the initial settings, allowing you to enjoy your favorite musical compositions, but if you wish, you can always use the equalizer and customize it for yourself and your type of headset.
Autonomy of the ASUS ZenFone 5 smartphone
The brand's smartphones have always been famous for their good battery life, but how will ASUS ZenFone 5, which has a built-in 3300 mAh battery, perform? Initially it seems that this is not enough, because a 6.2-inch display must be very power-hungry. But real testing showed more than decent results - 5 hours of screen activity with fairly active use. In FullHD video playback mode on YouTube video hosting, the battery lasted 8 hours. A review of the Asus ZenFon 5 2018 smartphone showed that everything was fine in games - it sat down only after 6 hours of active play.
In difficult situations, proprietary energy saving modes come to the rescue, which can operate in several modes:
- Productive, which is indispensable in games;
- Standard;
- Energy saving;
- Super energy saving.
The last two use cases reduce system performance and suppress background activity, which significantly extends battery life. Model supports technology fast charging BoostMaster, which is carried out using artificial intelligence. This is necessary so that the phone not only charges quickly, but also its battery lasts as long as possible.
Wireless communications
As the review of the Asus ZenFon 5 phone showed, it has one radio module installed, so SIM cards operate in alternating mode. There is support for 4G frequencies, which gives a data reception speed of 600 Mbit/s and an upload speed of 100 Mbit/s. But what the manufacturer was really able to surprise was the presence of an NFC chip, which is convenient to use to pay for your purchases in the store. Wi-Fi works in all bands and frequencies, and in addition to it, Bluetooth 5th generation, GPS and GLONASS are available. Alas, the recognition accuracy has become a weakness; at best, the location error was determined with an accuracy of up to 7 meters. And this despite the fact that it connects to satellites quickly and finds them in large numbers - up to 40 pieces in open areas.
Interface
As the review of the Asus ZenFon 5 phone showed, it uses the proprietary ZenUI 5 shell, based on Android 8.0. It is very easy to use, offering the user not only a modified design of application icons, but also expanded functionality, as well as a well-thought-out gesture control mechanism. It works quickly and offers everything the user needs.
ASUS ZenFone 5 camera review
The main camera includes two lenses with very good characteristics. The main one received a resolution of 12 megapixels and an f/1.8 aperture, as well as 1.4 micron pixels and a 4-axis optical stabilization system. The feature of the additional sensor is an expanded viewing angle of 120 degrees. This is an 8 megapixel module with f/2.2 aperture. The pixel size is 1 micron. ASUS ZenFone 5 camera review shows that the additional sensor is not at all suitable for shooting in low light, but it helps to photograph a large company or place an entire building in the frame.
The Camera app is simple and intuitive clear interface, in which all the main modes are located on the main screen. Particularly pleased manual mode, in which you can manually aim at the subject, adjust ISO, shutter time, exposure, and white balance. It opens up full-fledged camera control capabilities and is ideal for those who are interested in mobile photography and want to get the highest quality results.
But most users rely on automatic mode, so we’ll look at it in more detail. Review ASUS cameras ZenFone 5 2018 introduces the fact that this is the first smartphone from the manufacturer to receive an artificial intelligence system that is involved in the process of taking photos. It analyzes the current conditions in front of the camera lens and selects the ideal settings based on this to obtain best result. Additionally, the quality of the AI will improve as you use the phone as it learns itself. Consequently, each new photo will turn out better than the previous one.
The quality of daytime images is, as expected, at the highest level. The photo boasts good detail and natural color reproduction.
In difficult conditions, HDR comes to the rescue, an example of which you can see below. It draws out detail and normalizes color rendition. The good news is that the mode does not work too aggressively, maintaining the realism of the image.
C HDR
Oddly enough, the Asus ZenFon 5 camera performed well even when shooting at night. This is thanks to software algorithms and good aperture, which allows you to get a decent shot even at night. Considering the price category of the smartphone, the result looks more than decent - the exposure is set correctly, which preserves the detail of objects in the frame. Of course there are noises, but they are minimal and until you enlarge the photo they are not noticeable. Also helpful in night photography is the two-color flash, which effectively illuminates nearby objects.
When shooting indoors, we get high-quality shots.
The ASUS ZenFone 5 takes panoramas well, with only a slightly distorted perspective to complain about.
To capture more objects in the frame, you can rely on an additional module, examples of which you can find below.
The same photos, but without using the wide-angle module
The Camera app has a unique mode that allows you to take super-resolution photos. In this case, several pictures are taken at once, which are combined into one with a resolution of 49 megapixels in the case of shooting with the main module and 21 megapixels in the case of an additional one. This allows you to get a usable frame with no noise even with significant scaling.
There was also the Bokeh effect, which we can’t live without now. The algorithms work quite well.
The front camera is represented by an 8 megapixel sensor and it is not as good as the main cameras of the Asus ZenFon 5. Even despite this, in good lighting you can get excellent shots with it. The user has access to various filters and facial skin enhancement mode.
The device can shoot video in 4K at 30 frames per second or FullHD at 30, 60 or 120 FPS. the result is more than worthy, as you can see by watching the example video below. Another interesting feature is the function of recording short videos in GIF format.
Conclusion
The ASUS ZenFone 5 smartphone really surprised us, because for its price it offers excellent features. Although you can’t call it absolutely perfect. First of all, we are talking about borrowing details, and when there is absolutely no need for this - there was no point in copying the unibrow from Apple, without it the design would have been much more beautiful. But the back side looks beautiful, and the materials of the case provide a pleasant tactile sensation.
At MWC 2018, Asus introduced three new smartphones: Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5 Lite and Zenfone 5Z. Two months after the global presentation, Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5 Lite entered the Russian market. As you can easily understand from the name, Zenfone 5 is the basic model (and before the release of Zenfone 5Z, it was even a flagship), Zenfone 5 Lite is a cheaper version. In this article we will tell you about Zenfone 5 in detail.
The official price for the 64 GB version of Zenfone 5 is 28 thousand rubles. For comparison, prices for iPhone X start at 80 thousand, and for Samsung Galaxy S9 - from 60 (however, Zenfone 5 is more logical to compare with S9+, which has the same screen diagonal of 6.2″, and is even more expensive - 67 thousand).
It is clear that miracles do not happen, and in some ways the new Asus product is inferior to its competitors’ flagships. Moreover, the manufacturer itself calls the flagship not Zenfone 5, but Zenfone 5Z, which is expected to go on sale in the summer. But in most respects (and above all, in design) Zenfone 5 is quite at the flagship level. So what and how do features associated with a low price manifest themselves in real user experience? We will try to talk about this in our article.
First, let's look at the characteristics of the new product.
Main characteristics of the Asus Zenfone 5 (ZE620KL) model
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, 8 cores Kryo 260 @1.8 GHz
- GPU Adreno 509
- Operating system Android 8.0
- Sensory IPS display 6.2″, 2246×1080, 402 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB, inner memory 64 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
- MicroSD support up to 2 TB
- GSM networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (1, 5, 8)
- Networks LTE FDD Cat.4 (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20), TD (40)
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
- USB Type-C,USB OTG
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- Main camera 83°, photo 12 MP; video 4K 30 fps
- Wide-angle camera 120°, photo 8 MP, video 2K (2160×1080)
- Front camera 84°, 8 MP, 2K video
- Proximity and light sensors, accelerometer, compass, magnetometer, gyroscope
- Fingerprint scanner, face recognition sensor
- Battery 3300 mAh
- Dimensions 153×76×7.7 mm
- Weight 165 g
For clarity, let’s compare the characteristics of the new product with one of its competitors - Huawei Mate 10 Pro, as well as with iPhone X.
| Asus Zenfone 5 | Huawei Mate 10 Pro | Apple iPhone X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 6.2″, IPS, 2246×1080, 402 ppi | 6″, IPS, 2160×1080, 402 ppi | 5.8″, OLED, 2436×1125, 458 ppi |
| SoC (processor) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (8 cores) | HiSilicon Kirin 970 (8 cores, 4+4) | Apple A11 Bionic (6 cores, 2+4) |
| Flash memory | 64 GB | 64 / 128 / 256 GB | 64 / 256 GB |
| Connectors | universal USB Type-C connector | universal lightning connector | |
| Memory card support | up to 2 TB | No | No |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 / 6 GB | 3 GB |
| Cameras | main (83°, photo 12 MP; video 4K 30 fps), wide-angle (120°, photo 8 MP, video 2K), and front (84°, 8 MP, video 2K) | main (12 MP photo, 4K 30 fps video), monochrome (20 MP) and front (8 MP, Full HD video) | main (12 MP, 4K 60 fps video) with two lenses and front (7 MP, Full HD video) |
| User identification sensors | face recognition, fingerprint scanner | Fingerprint's scanner | face recognition |
| Housing protection | No | IP67 (water and dust protection) | IP67 (water and dust protection) |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 3300 | 4000 | 2716 |
| operating system | Google Android 8.0 | Google Android 8.0 | Apple iOS 11 |
| Dimensions (mm) | 153×76×7.7 | 154×75×7.9 | 144×71×7.7 |
| Weight (g) | 165 | 178 | 174 |
| Average price (for version with minimum flash memory) | |||
| Asus Zenfone 5 retail offers | |||
It can be seen that in many respects the Asus Zenfone 5 is close to the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and in some ways it even outperforms the iPhone X. However, there are also disadvantages: the lack of moisture protection, which has already become a de facto standard for flagships, and less than Huawei flagship, battery capacity.
Let's move on to a personal acquaintance with the Asus device.
Equipment
The packaging of the smartphone looks quite austere, but thanks to the shiny blue logo, it is not boring.
Inside we find the device itself, a transparent silicone case, Charger 5 V 2 A, USB cable Type-C, headphones with spare ear pads, as well as a metal key for removing/installing a SIM card and microSD card.
I am very glad that the manufacturer does not save on such seemingly trifles, but does everything for the convenience of the user. Take the case: it seems simple, nothing special, but it’s just right for protecting the device, and the appearance of the smartphone hardly deteriorates when the case is on. Headphones are also a plus. Moreover, they sound quite decent, there is even too much bass, and the sound seems a little “sticky” and booming, but this cannot be said to be annoying, and some will even like it.
True, many users do not like this type of headphones, which must be pushed quite deeply into their ears. But who cares? The advantage of this form factor is good sound insulation. But this can also be a disadvantage - for example, if you listen to music on the street (then it becomes simply dangerous).
You also can’t help but be pleased with the presence of replaceable silicone ear pads - this also seems like a trifle, but this shows concern for the user. As well as the presence of two-amp charging.
Generally Asus package Zenfone 5 can only be praised - and set as an example to other devices (including more expensive ones).
Design
The appearance of Asus Zenfone 5 is clearly in line with the trends set by Apple in the iPhone X: a screen on the entire front surface with rounded edges and a minimal frame around, a “unibrow” in the top center and a glass back cover. Of course, there are differences, but overall there is an attempt to make it “in the spirit” of the iPhone X. Is this good or bad? Everyone decides for themselves. Here we are more interested in understanding what the difference is between the Apple and Asus models and which one is more convenient and beautiful.
First of all, the Asus Zenfone 5 is bigger. With a 6.2″ screen instead of the competitor’s 5.8″, the dimensions of the new product are also different. However, it cannot be said that this makes the smartphone uncomfortable to hold in your hand. Perhaps this is the maximum size for practical use (more - it becomes difficult to manipulate with one hand), but the manufacturer did not go beyond a reasonable limit.
The second point: due to the lack of silver edges that smoothly transition into the rear surface, it looks a little less impressive than the iPhone X, but very interesting reflections of light, forming like rays diverging from the fingerprint scanner, add originality and charm to the Asus model.
The glass, both on the screen side and on the back surface, has a slight rounding along the edges, which is commonly called 2.5D. And although this will no longer surprise users even in the budget segment, the technique still seems successful. As for the screen aspect ratio (18:9 if we take only the “main part”), it is optimal for watching movies and working with any lists (letters, notes, shopping, etc.). Asus has long relied on this format and adheres to it in all new models.
The body is made partly of metal (edges, all buttons), partly of glass. We can note that it is moderately soiled: fingerprints on the back surface, of course, remain, but they are not very noticeable and can be removed very easily. In this regard, by the way, Asus Zenfone 5 and iPhone X have parity. Maybe on Apple smartphone the prints are even more visible.
The camera block on the rear side is located in the same way as that of the competitor, and also protrudes above the surface level. But the flash is located not between the lenses, but below. In addition, the Asus smartphone has a fingerprint scanner.
The layout of the controls is typical. Both oblong buttons are located on the right side.
On the bottom edge there is a USB Type-C connector surrounded by a speaker and a headset jack. Note that cheaper Asus models use Micro-USB as the main connector, and this is not very convenient. A much better and more promising option is with USB Type-C, as here. At the same time, Asus goes against all current market trends and at the same time maintains an extremely user-friendly minijack, without dooming the user to buy headphones with USB Type-C or use an adapter.
On top there is only a microphone hole, and on the left side there is a slot for SIM cards and microSD. You can install either one Nano-SIM card and one microSD card, or two Nano-SIM cards.
To summarize, we must admit that the design of Asus Zenfone 5 is really good: the smartphone looks great and does not raise any questions in terms of functionality. As for comparison with the notorious iPhone X, then Asus model It’s a little larger and the thickness of the frame under the screen is a little larger, but on top it’s almost the same, and on the sides the Zenfone 5 has even a little less thickness of the frame.
Perhaps, subjectively, the iPhone X still looks a little more stylish and impressive - perhaps it’s the pearlescent color of the back surface, the metal round frame, or its compactness. However, if you put two devices side by side, you will never believe that the difference in price between them is not 2 thousand, but 52! At its modest price, Asus Zenfone 5 looks like a real flagship. And this is the main point.
Screen
The Zenfone 5's 6.2″ screen has an aspect ratio of approximately 18.7:9 (Asus prefers 19:9) and a resolution of 2246×1080, which gives a dots per inch density of 402 ppi. A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Below is his conclusion about the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both devices (Asus ZenFone 5, as you can easily determine, is on the right; then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Asus ZenFone 5 is noticeably darker (its brightness in the photo is 111 versus 121 for the Nexus 7). The tripling of reflected objects in the Asus ZenFone 5 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (also known as the touch sensor) and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, even better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.
When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, its maximum value was about 580 cd/m², and the minimum was 5 cd/m². Maximum value very high, and, given the excellent anti-glare properties, in bright daylight and even in direct sun the image on the screen should be clearly visible. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If you leave the default settings (the slider is somewhere around 80%), then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 15 cd/m² (normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 550 lux) it sets it to 250 cd/m² ( suitable), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness increases to 580 cd/m² (to the maximum - this is what you need). If the adjustment is approximately 100%, then the values are as follows: 15, 290 and 580 cd/m² (also suitable values). If the regulator is at 0% - 5, 75 and 580 cd/m² (the first two values are underestimated, which is logical). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. Only at very low brightness levels does significant backlight modulation appear, but its frequency is high, about 2.3 kHz, so there is no visible screen flicker and is unlikely to be detected in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect.
This screen uses a matrix IPS type. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Nexus 7 and Asus ZenFone 5, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (across the white field in full screen), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K .
White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.
And a test picture:
The colors on the Asus ZenFone 5 screen are oversaturated, skin tones are heavily red-shifted, and the color balance is noticeably different from the standard. Of course, you need to be very careful when assessing the color rendition of a screen from a photograph, but the trend is conveyed correctly.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Asus ZenFone 5 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the greater black highlighting.
And a white field:
The brightness at an angle for both screens decreased noticeably, but in the case of the Asus ZenFone 5 the drop in brightness is less. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a reddish tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is excellent:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1300:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 22 ms (11 ms on + 11 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 41 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The index of the approximating power function is 2.24, which is close to the standard value of 2.20, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:
We did not detect the presence of dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image, which is very good.
The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB and almost equal to DCI-P3:
Let's look at the spectra:
They are typical for many top mobile devices. Apparently, this screen uses LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphor (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Yes, and the red phosphor apparently uses so-called quantum dots. Unfortunately, as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is acceptable, since the color temperature is noticeably higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device (data signed as Without corr. in the graphs below). At the same time, the variation in color temperature and ΔE is not very large - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
This smartphone has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the color temperature (parameter Color mode):
That's what we tried to do: the result is data signed as Corr. in the graphs above. We ended up adjusting the color temperature, but the ΔE increased slightly. At the same time, the maximum brightness decreased slightly - to 575 cd/m².
You can enable the mode Auto, then the color balance will adapt to environmental conditions. For example, we turned on this mode and placed the device under LED lights with cool white light, resulting in values of 4.6 for ΔE and 7100 K for color temperature. Under a halogen incandescent lamp (warm light) - 8.9 and 6000, respectively, that is, the color temperature has become lower. The function works as expected. Note that the current standard is to calibrate display devices to a white point of 6500 K, but in principle, correction to color temperature external light can be useful if you want to better match the image on the screen with what is visible on paper (or any medium on which colors are formed by the reflection of incident light) under current conditions.
Additionally, the user can select one of the display modes:
Selected by default Wide range of colors. If you enable Ordinary, then this is the result:
Color saturation has returned to normal, the image looks natural (adjusted for what the camera transmits). Color gamut for this mode:
It can be seen that the coverage is close to sRGB. The triangle is a little crooked, that is, the correction is not entirely accurate, but these are minor things. And the corresponding spectrum:
The components are already significantly mixed with each other.
Therefore, in order to get the correct colors in the case of commonly encountered images, you need to select the Ordinary and correct the color balance.
There is a setting that allows you to reduce the intensity of the blue component (parameter Blue filter). Let us recall that, in principle, bright light can lead to disruption of the circadian rhythm (see the article about the iPad Pro with a 9.7-inch display), but this problem can be solved by adjusting the brightness to a comfortable level, and distorting the color balance, reducing the contribution of blue, there is absolutely no point.
Let's summarize. The brightness adjustment range of this screen is very wide, the anti-glare properties are excellent, which allows you to comfortably use the smartphone both on a sunny day and in complete darkness. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. Other advantages include a very effective oleophobic coating, no air gap in the screen layers and no flicker, high contrast, excellent black field uniformity and the ability to get close to standard color balance and sRGB gamut. Among the significant disadvantages we will attribute low black stability to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane. However, the screen quality can be considered high.
operating system
The smartphone runs the latest version operating system Android - 8.0 Oreo. The proprietary ZenUI 5.0 shell is installed on top of the OS (also newest version). It offers a number of Asus applications that can be very useful - for example, a set of themes, an advanced file manager, etc.
Among the main advantages, we note new and very beautiful themes and a number of other design improvements, for example, the ability to turn the splash screen into a photo album-slideshow. And in addition to this, there are smart energy saving modes, increased operating speed by storing frequently used applications in RAM, and some other less significant innovations.
The smartphone supports facial recognition not only at the hardware level, but also at the software level, and it is implemented in ZenUI 5.0. We have tested the functionality of this function. To be honest, initially we had some skepticism - after all, the iPhone X did it very cool, and it was hard to believe that it could be no worse in a much cheaper smartphone. It turned out that it can! And the initial registration of a face occurs almost instantly, and the recognition itself is no slower or “glitter” than that of the iPhone X. You can unlock the smartphone on the go or by resting your cheek with your hand - no problems arise. In general, what seemed like innovation just six months ago is now mainstream, available for quite reasonable money.
Camera
As mentioned above, the smartphone is equipped with three cameras: one front, with a resolution of 8 megapixels, and two rear ones - 16 and 8 megapixels. The front camera provides good (although not perfect) picture quality for selfies - apparently, the same module is installed here as the Asus Zenfone 4. In addition, the front camera has a number of filters, modes for enhancing portraits and selfie panoramas (the ability to take a panorama of , that behind you is good if you are in some unusual, spectacular place). True, this panorama takes a very long time to complete.
The rear cameras are interesting because they allow you to choose between a wide-angle image (8 megapixels) and high resolution(16 MP). Detailed testing Both cameras were conducted by Anton Soloviev.
The main camera looks quite flagship, although there are some problems. In the photographs you can notice a slight soapiness in places and even small areas of blur, as well as chromatic aberrations that appear in small contrasting details, especially on tree branches. However, if you don’t shoot bare trees, the camera does a good job, refining small details across the field of the frame and the plans. So it is quite suitable for documentary and artistic photography.
The module resembles the iPhone X camera, and even the operation of the program is similar in some places. The same can be said from the laboratory test: in the light the cameras work equally well, in the dark the Asus smartphone copes a little worse, but it is helped out by a powerful flash.
Once again, the smartphone is equipped with a wide-angle module, which for some inexplicable reason again has a lower resolution than the usual one. This is not very logical, but still overall it is not bad. It's enough to shoot a landscape for Instagram.
Productivity and Communications
The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC. It includes 8 Kryo 260 cores operating at a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz, as well as an Adreno 509 GPU. The amount of RAM in the model that went on sale in Russia and came to us for testing is is 4 GB.
Let's see what the new product can do!
Let's start with browser tests. All smartphones were tested in Chrome browser, except for the iPhone X, in which case we used Safari.
In browser benchmarks, the Asus Zenfone 5 performed approximately on the same level as the Huawei flagship and confidently outperformed the Meizu device, but was far behind the iPhone X. However, this is true for all Android smartphones, so it’s not so much about the specific hardware implementation, but about the features of the browser and other aspects related to the OS.
Now let's look at the results in comprehensive tests AnTuTu 6 and GeekBench 4.
| Asus Zenfone 5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 636) |
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 970) |
iPhone X (Apple A11 Bionic) |
Meizu Pro 7Plus (MediaTek Helio X30) |
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
(Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu (v6.x) (more is better) |
135257 | 177720 | 207520 | 114927 | 174712 |
| GeekBench (v4.x) (more is better) |
1517/5511 | 1894/6737 | 3965/9432 | 1415/5417 | 1360/6605 |
Here the picture is different: the new product slightly overtook the Meizu Pro 7 Plus, but was inferior to other competitors in AnTuTu and Geekbench multi-core mode. But in single-core mode (still relevant for many applications), Asus Zenfone 5 outperformed even Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
| Asus Zenfone 5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 636) |
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 970) |
iPhone X (Apple A11 Bionic) |
Meizu Pro 7 Plus (MediaTek Helio X30) |
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme ES 3.1 (more is better) |
958 | 2901 | 2640 | 1826 | 2637 |
(Onscreen, fps) |
9,9 | 31 | 35,4 | 14 | 23 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps) |
10 | 31 | 39,7 | 22 | 42 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps) |
34 | 59 | 60 | 52 | 60 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps) |
36 | 79 | 132 | 78 | 123 |
Here, alas, the Asus smartphone was the loser. Thus, we can conclude that games are not his forte. However, you need to understand that benchmarks are always far ahead of real game projects, most of which do not use the available performance. So we would rather interpret this not as a drawback, but as a feature that explains why a smartphone with such excellent qualities is so inexpensive.
Summing up the results of performance testing, we can state that the capabilities of Asus Zenfone 5 are sufficient for everyday use, web surfing, watching movies, etc. In game modes, it does not demonstrate as high speeds as flagship-level competitors (however, they also have a higher price!), but for real games, which are now available in Google Play Store, this will be quite enough.
The communication capabilities of Asus Zenfone 5 correspond to its flagship status: there is Wi-Fi 802.11ac 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and other modern capabilities.
Thermal photographs
Below is a thermal image rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of battery testing in the GFXBenchmark program:
The heating is localized centrally at the top of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 39 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is relatively little. Even when running gaming tests, the device does not overheat and maintains a comfortable body temperature for the user.
Playing video
This device apparently does not support DisplayPort Alt Mode for USB Type-C - outputting image and sound to external device when connected to USB port, - which was found out with the help of (company). Therefore, we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are tabulated: no no
Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.
According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is very good, since frames or groups of frames can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without gaps. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly at the height of the screen (in landscape orientation), one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights. Note that this smartphone has support for hardware decoding of H.265 files with a color depth of 10 bits per color, while output to the screen is carried out with fewer visible gradients than in the case of an 8-bit file.
Battery life
Fixed accumulator battery, installed in Asus Zenfone 5, has a capacity of 3330 mAh. This, by modern standards, is not very much. However, during testing in standard usage scenarios, the device performed well - this is clearly visible in the comparison table.
The smartphone supports fast charging (using the included charger). It charges fully in less than two hours.
Testing has traditionally been carried out at the usual level of power consumption without using power-saving functions, although the device naturally has them. We are talking about the PowerMaster technology complex, which we wrote about during testing. Interestingly, in addition to the standard options, such as turning off network connections, automatic brightness settings, etc., additional features are also offered, such as increasing battery life (albeit with a slight reduction in operating time on a single charge).
The results of testing using our standard methodology yielded very interesting results: in fact, the smartphone became one of the leaders, demonstrating more impressive results than many competitors, even with a larger battery.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Online video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus Zenfone 5 | 3300 mAh | 18:30 | 14:30 | 6:30 a.m. |
| iPhone X | 2716 mAh | — | 10:00 am | 3:00 am |
| Bluboo S1 | 3500 mAh | 14:00 | 10:30 a.m. | 4 hours 20 minutes |
| Doogee Mix | 3380 mAh | 13:00 | 10:30 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. |
| Xiaomi Mi A1 | 3080 mAh | 12:00 pm | 10:00 am | 6:00 am |
| HTC One X10 | 4000 mAh | 17:00 | 12:00 pm | 5:00 a.m. |
| Huawei Nova 2 | 2950 mAh | 13:00 | 10:30 a.m. | 4:00 am |
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a white theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted until the battery was completely discharged for about 18 hours 30 minutes, and when continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level through home network The Wi-Fi device operates for about 14.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode (using the GFX Benchmark Manhattan battery test), the smartphone lasted more than 6 and a half hours - this is an excellent result!
Bottom line
The Asus Zenfone 5 smartphone made a very good impression on us. Moreover, in terms of price-quality ratio (meaning functionality, design, and other components), this is one of the best mid- and high-end devices that we have tested.
For very modest money (about one third iPhone cost X) you get a device that, in most respects, is in no way inferior to the iPhone X and Android flagships of its competitors. Upon careful testing, it turns out that they decided to save on performance, but these savings are such that there are no problems from them regular user will not experience it. The smartphone works quickly, we did not notice any slowdowns.
Another disadvantage is the low resolution of the wide-angle camera. But that's probably all. The rest is pure pluses. One of the main advantages is a decent battery life with a wonderful, stylish design. We were also very pleased with the facial recognition option, communication capabilities and (as icing on the cake) the packaging. The smartphone fully deserves both of our awards:
Asus Zenfone 5 smartphone provided for testing by the manufacturer
The budget smartphone Asus Zenfone 5 is in very good demand. Many analysts of this market call it one of the best options in terms of price/quality ratio. this moment. Indeed, for very little money it is possible to purchase a device that supports HD resolution, as well as a number of other additional and very useful functions. The asus zenfone 5 5 smartphone is a very good choice for those who want to profitably purchase a high-quality device that will work reliably and have all the necessary functions and technical characteristics.
As for the additional functions of this device, there are really enough of them and among them there are very unique ones, for example, such as the glove mode, which can be very useful in some cases. The smartphone supports dual SIM card operation, also has an oleophobic coating, uses an S-IPS matrix, supports memory cards and hot swapping, and has a very good battery capacity of 2110 mAh, which is a very good indicator for a budget smartphone. Are there any disadvantages to this device? Yes, they also exist, however, first things first.
Equipment
The asus zenfone 5 a501cg smartphone has a very modest package package. In addition to the box itself, there is also a charger and micro-USB in the box. The case is not integral part kit, like headphones.
Dimensions
The Asus Zenfone 5 5 smartphone has very standard dimensions for a device with a 5-inch screen. The only thing that differs slightly from the standard indicators is its height, which is 148 mm, which is slightly larger than most smartphones that have such a screen.
A very high-quality and reliable material was used to produce the back cover of the device; it is made of solid rubberized plastic, which is very pleasant to the touch. The main advantages of this material are its resistance to scratches and dirt.
The Asus Zenfone 5 smartphone can be purchased in different colors; currently there are the following options: white, black, gold, red, purple.
Screen
As mentioned above, this device uses an S-IPS matrix, the screen resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels, the diagonal is 5 inches. To protect the display, special glass is used, as well as an oleophobic coating, which is very rare for budget smartphones. It is the presence of such a coating that allows you to operate the device as simply, quickly and conveniently as possible.
In addition to all this, the screen of this device supports glove mode, which is also a very unique phenomenon for such a cheap smartphone. There are also very convenient modes for customizing the color scheme, which allows you to customize your smartphone completely to suit your needs.
The use of HD resolution in this model, as well as an S-IPS matrix, allows you to achieve very good quality images, it is especially worth noting the very good color rendition, as well as the smoothness and clarity of the picture, which is undoubtedly a very big plus for a device at this price. Last but not least, it is because of this that the Asus Zenfone 5 a502cg is quite popular.
Camera
The smartphone has two cameras – the main one and the front one. The resolution of the main camera is 8 megapixels, while the resolution of the front camera is 1.3 megapixels. Using the main camera, it is best to shoot in sunny weather, since with a large amount of light, the pictures are of the highest quality and most successful. But if the lighting is not very good, a slight graininess may appear in the pictures.
Among additional features Cameras on the Asus Zenfone 5 16gb include a special night mode, which allows you to reduce the resolution of the final image while increasing its brightness. This mode allows you to take very good pictures at night.
The camera also has another very interesting effect, which is that when shooting, the rest of the background except the subject itself is blurred.
This effect can be very useful solution when creating pictures in which you need to concentrate attention on a particular object.
As for shooting video using this device, it can be recorded with maximum Full resolution HD, recording rate is 30 frames per second.
If we draw conclusions from the camera on this smartphone, then it should be noted that for such a price the quality of pictures and videos is really very good, perhaps in this parameter the device is able to compete with much more expensive models of modern smartphones.
The device offers its users a standard browser with some modifications from the developers, which copes quite well with the task of viewing pages. The browser can please you with a built-in translator, as well as the ability to enlarge web pages and some other pleasant nuances. Therefore, asus zenfone 5 lte is very convenient to use for accessing the Internet.
Working with multimedia
The player allows you to play videos in very high quality, even copes with 1080p. The device supports only the most common video formats and codecs, however, this state of affairs can probably be changed by good asus zenfone 5 firmware, which can slightly expand the functionality of this device.
Battery
The smartphone has a very good lithium-polymer battery with a decent capacity of 2110 mAh. The battery can hold a charge for a very long time, for example, if you listen to music all the time, it will last about 32 hours, but if you watch HD video, then its charge should last for at least 5 hours, which should be noted to be very good indicators, even for many expensive modern smartphones. And if you take into account the fact that this smartphone is budget option, this is really a very good indicator.
Performance
The device uses a special Intel platform Atom Z2560, which has a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.6 GHz, the amount of RAM is 2 GB, the device uses a special graphics subsystem PowerVR SGX544 MP, which is of very good quality.
The performance of this smartphone is excellent. Browser pages, like desktops, scroll through very quickly and without any delays. Most modern Android games run great on this device, with only slight stuttering on the most demanding ones.
Memory
The built-in memory on this smartphone can be either 8 GB or 16 GB. The smartphone also boasts a slot for a memory card with a capacity of up to 64 GB. Therefore, if suddenly the user does not have enough built-in memory, he can safely use a memory card and increase the available capacity.
Some features
The smartphone is supported by a special ZenUI shell, which is a new interface from Asus that supports a large number of all kinds of settings. This solution allowed us to add some additional functions into the standard Android browser, the dialer has also been improved (Cyrillic has been added), as well as some others. In a word, the shell is maximally adapted to the needs of the user, which makes working with this device as simple and convenient as possible, this is undoubtedly a big plus, especially considering that this is a budget smartphone.
These are actually all the features of this device, as you can understand from what you read above. Asus zenfone 5 android 5 has a number of, to some extent, even unique features and functions and is able to please its users with very good technical characteristics that turn it into a high-quality modern smartphone. With all its advantages, this device has a very affordable price, which makes it one of the most best selections in terms of value for money.
Smartphone review Asus zenfone 5 was last modified: May 3rd, 2016 by MaximB