Its been a couple of months since we last saw the ASUS Zenfone 5Z. Announced at MWC, the device was quite a jump up. Sure, ASUS usually does have an array of refreshed options available under its Zenfone series every year but this was a massive leap forward aimed at taking the OnePlus 6, head on. The ASUS Zenfone 5Z doesn’t just pack the internals of a flagship, it sure looks and feels like one too. Fast forward to July and we’ve finally had a chance to spend a bit of time with the phone. Hang tight as we run you through our first impressions of the ASUS Zenfone 5Z.
Box Contents
- ASUS Zenfone 5Z smartphone Midnight Blue with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage
- In-ear headset
- 2-pin fast charger
- USB Type-C Cable
- SIM Ejector tool
- Clear Protective Case
- User manual and warranty information
ASUS Zenfone 5Z (Z5620KL) specifications
- 6.2-inch (2246 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass Super IPS display with 500 nits Brightness, 95.4% NTSC color gamut, DCI-P3, 1500: 1 Contrast Ratio, Glove Touch support, Corning Gorilla Glass protection
- Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with Adreno 630 GPU
- 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB storage, 8GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB / 256GB storage, expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD
- Android 8.0 (Oreo) with ZenUI 5.0, upgradable to Android P
- Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) with Dual VoLTE
- 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, Sony IMX363 sensor, 1.4μm pixel size, f/1.8 aperture, 0.03s Tri Tech auto-focus/Dual Pixel PDAF/ 4-axis OIS/EIS, Pro mode with RAW support, secondary 8MP camera with f/2.0 aperture, OV8856 sensor, 120-degree wide-angle lens
- 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, OV8856 sensor, 83-degree wide-angle lens
- Fingerprint sensor
- 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
- Dual speakers with NXP 9874 Smart AMP, Hi-Res Audio 192kHz/24b-bit, DTS Headphone: X for 7.1 channel surround sound, dual microphones
- Dimensions: 153×75.65×7.85mm; Weight: 155g
- 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C (2.0)
- 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast charging and AI charging
Design
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Is it a riff on the iPhone X and the new trend of notch driven smartphones? Sure. But damn, has ASUS done a good job. The 6.2 inch 19:9 display on the front of the phone is a sight to be seen. The screen is tack sharp with excellent viewing angles. Being an IPS panel, viewing angles are stunning but we were even more impressed by the brightness levels. At 500 nits, the Full HD+ display is perfectly visible even outdoors.
Okay, so the Zenfone 5Z has a notch. It even has a chin which makes the design quite a bit similar to the one on the OnePlus 6. Similar doesn’t quite mean the same though and we really like what ASUS has done with the Zenfone 5Z. Starting off with the notch, ASUS claims that this is amongst the smallest ones in the business and that’s entirely believable since it isn’t packing any speciality equipment in there other than an 8MP camera, proximity and ambient light sensor. There’s also a notification LED hidden away here. The screen is encased within an aluminium frame with chamfered edges. The body of the phone feels very premium and the chamfered edges go a long way in ensuring a good grip.
Meanwhile, on the right hand side you’ll find both the power and volume buttons. The buttons have excellent give and the response is great. ASUS has really done a great job with the hardware, fit and finish this time around. Along the bottom edge is a USB Type C port, headphone jack alongside a bottom firing speaker. The earphone at the top acts like a secondary speaker. ASUS has added in an NXP amp and we can confirm that the speakers are loud and clear. There’s even a bit of bass which caught us by surprise. The left side has a combination dual SIM or single SIM + nano SD slot.
The back of the Zenfone 5 is also made of glass but has a spun metal style design under it. The design is a continuation of what we’ve seen on several ASUS products. The metal underneath has a sheen to it that shift as you move the phone around. It really does look quite nice.
Towards the top left is a dual camera module which sports a 120 degree wide angle lens similar to the LG V30 instead of the more common telephoto solution. The primary camera is 12MP and sports an f1.8 lens while the secondary wide angle has a f2.0 lens. We’ll have an in-depth report on the camera in our review but for now, all were going to say is that the phone absolutely manages to take quality shots. There’s even a pro mode that is very functional and helps you tweak your shots just that much more. The phone is capable of capturing 4K 60FPS video when using the standard camera but tops off at 1080p 30FPS with the wide angle camera. ASUS could do with optimising the time between switching between camera modes since it would consistently take upwards of a second to shift between standard and wide angle mode.
The Zenfone 5Z runs a Snapdragon 845 chip with up to 8GB of RAM. Our unit has 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage. Now, while we’ll wait for the full review to pass a verdict, we must congratulate ASUS on how they’ve come with reducing bloat. With a much more limited set of pre-installed apps, there is a visible difference in performance. The interface looks good and has more than a few interesting additions. Expect a lot more on this in our review.
The Asus Zenfone 5Z is priced at Rs. 29,999 for the 6GB RAM with 64GB storage version, the 128GB storage version costs Rs. 32,999 and the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage version costs Rs. 36,999. It will go on sale exclusively on Flipkart from July 9th.