[REVIEW] ASUS ZENFONE 2 REVIEW!

The all new Asus Zenfone line of products were announced a couple of months ago, it contains many interesting devices under it. Today we'll be looking at the Asus Zenfone 2.
So let's dive in and see how the device performs.

Overview

Right of the bat, we see that this device has a unique design, which is good since every other device that we see around features somewhat similar design elements. The above can be said for the underlying hardware too.

This device is powered by an all new chip-set designed by Intel, which is so unusual as the mobile chip-set market is dominated by Qualcomm and Mediatek.

Build Quality and Design

Although the Zenfone 2 features a brushed metal finish, but the back is still removable plastic. There are no signs of flexing. The phone looks like a flagship phone but it isn't one.

Since this is a 5.5 inch phone, it's not that compact and Asus has shown no mercy on this, phone is very thick as well. The back is curved and tapers to the screen in a seamless manner, you would think that its a uni-body phone.

This comes at a cost, Asus wasn't able to accommodate the volume buttons, so they mimicked LG's design.

The power button has been placed on the top, which is not an ideal position, but you won't be needing it as Asus has implemented Double tap to wake/sleep.

Specifications and Performance

Here's the Asus Zenfone ZE55IML specs :

SoC: Intel Atom Z3560, 22nm
CPU: Four Moorefield 64-bit cores, 1.8GHz
GPU: PowerVR G6430
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB internal, microSD slot up to 64GB
Display: 5.5-inch 1080p IPS, Gorilla Glass 3
OS: Android 5.0 (Asus ZenUI launcher)
Rear camera: 13-megapixel, f/2.0 aperture, dual tone LED flash
Front facing camera: 5-megapixel sensor, 85 degree FOV
Battery: 3000mAh lithium ion, non-replaceable
Dimensions: 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm (5.99 x 3.03 x 0.43 inches)
Weight: 170g
Connectivity: 802.11ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, FM
Sensors: ambient light, proximity, gesture, gravity, compass, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS.
Network support: UMTS/WCDMA/TD-SCDMA/TDD-LTE/FDD-LTE
2G: 850/900/1800/1900
3G: 850/900/1900/2100
4G : FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE (region specific bands)
SIM: dual micro SIM

The phone comes with a powerful processor, loads of RAM, ample storage space and a bunch of connectivity options. The camera is fairly a mid ranger, there is no fingerprint scanner or OIS built in camera.

Here are some of the Benchmarks.

Clearly Zenfone 2 performs closely to many flagships that are almost twice the value of this phone.

Camera and Display

Zenfone 2 features a 1080p panel which has fairly good viewing angles considering it is IPS-LCD panel. Outdoor screen legibility is less so you may need to cover up and phone at certain times. Asus has coupled some tweaks to change the color temperature in the software which can be very handy.

Moving on to the camera, this phone features a 13 megapixels camera with f2.0 aperture and dual tone LED flash. On paper this seems to be a good mix, but in reality the camera is an average performer.
Low Light images suffer from aggressive noise reduction, which erases much of the details. Outdoor tend to be average, you hardly get a good shot in direct sunlight situations.

With the Sun directly in front of he lens, HDR did not help much. Camera struggled with limited dynamic range and washed out colors.

There is no 4K video support and camera maxes out at 1080p. Video quality is average and lost of details are lost due to aggressive post processing.
The front facing camera does a good job and is pretty handy for taking selfies.

Connectivity and Battery

Blessed with a good amount of Bands, including LTE you would not find any issue where ever you take this phone. It features LTE 4+ which give download speeds upto 250Mb/s. You will also find 802.11ac support for good WIFI speeds, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

Asus did not compromise in battery department, as this phone features a 3000mAh which is perfect for a full 1 day use. We were amazed by the charging times as this phone charged form 0-100% in just 58 mins.

Conclusion

At this price range Zenfone 2 is attacking the budget segment which seen a sudden uproar. Spending an intimate amount of time with this phone, we're confident that this is the kind of phone that grows on you over time.

Initially we didn't like the design but over time we found peace. Comparing it with some of the phones out there like Xiaomi's Mi4i this device performs equally better, the main areas where it kind off lacks is the Display and Design, but certainly takes care of the matter in the Software side.