But when Asus formally launched the Zenfone 5 series last April 14 in Manila, people were no longer talking about its nod to the "notch," which has since appeared on phones by rivals Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.
At its local launch, the Zenfone 5 sold out in just 45 minutes, underscoring the lure of its design and specifications at a starting price of P19,995.
DESIGN
The Zenfone 5 has a beautiful metal and glass build. On the front there's a 6.2-inch "edge to edge" screen that's bright and sharp even in daylight.
Like a lot of high end phones being released this year, the Zenfone 5 ditches the familiar 16:9 HDTV screen standard for a sleeker 19:9 aspect ratio.
Asus said this narrower design allowed them to pack more screen real estate without making the unit too large and unwieldy. The switch to a narrower 19:9 ratio also made the new Zenfone a lot easier to hold and operate with one hand.
On top of the screen is the infamous notch, which Asus claims is 26 percent smaller compared to the iPhone X. The notch houses the 8MP front camera with an F2.0 aperture lens, as well as the sensor for the "Face Unlock" feature.
Asus also put a lot of thought into the design of the phone's back, which dazzles when it catches light, regardless of the color option (black or blue).
Unfortunately, like other phones that use a glass back, it’s also a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. You will need a case or cover for this phone.
The back features the phone's two main cameras and a fingerprint scanner. Yes, while the Zenfone 5 has Face Unlock, it still includes a fingerprint reader at the back.
The 12MP main shooter uses a F1.8 aperture lens with a focal length equivalent to a 24mm lens on a DSLR. It provides a nice flat field of view.
The 8MP second camera meanwhile uses an F2.0 aperture lens, with an equivalent DSLR focal length of 12mm that allows a wide-angle view for landscapes and tight indoor shots.
On the right side of the phone are the power button and volume controls. The left side houses the simcard tray.
Like in the other offerings of Asus, you can opt to install two sims on the Zenfone 5, or use the extra sim slot for a microSD card for extra storage.
At the bottom of the phone is a USB-C port for charging and data transfers and a 3.5mm audio jack for people who don’t want to switch to wireless earbuds.
SPECS
Despite its impressive design and build, the Zenfone 5 is not Asus' flagship as it uses the Snapdragon 636 chipset, which is meant for mid-range phones. Its RAM options start at 4 GB and tops out at 6 GB, which was top-of-the line up to 2 years ago, but is just mid-tier now.
Storage also tops out at 64GB, which is adequate for most users, but is just mid-tier with the present crop of phones with double or quadruple the on-board storage. But since it can accept a microSD card with a capacity of up to 2TB, power users always have the option to add more memory.
Asus’ flagship is the Zenfone 5z, which will be released in June. It will use Qualcomm's top of the line Snapdragon 845 chipset, up to 256 GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
But other than chipset, RAM and storage, the Zenfone 5 and the 5z are similar in all other respects - the cameras, screen, build are the same for both models. And unless you really need to do some serious video editing or gaming on your phone, the specs are more than adequate for everyday apps.
USER EXPERIENCE
Asus has thankfully refrained from its past practice of putting a lot of bloatware into the Zenfone 5. Aside from Android’s standard Google apps and a few of Asus' own apps, which were neatly stored in folders, the only other apps installed in our review unit were Facebook and Instagram, which people will likely install anyway. The cleaner ZenUI interface also complements the sharp bright and nearly bezel-less screen.
Face unlock worked well and was surprisingly not awkward to use at all. But you need to hold the phone correctly to your face. If you hold it at too low an angle, it won’t recognize you. The fingerprint scanner at the back meanwhile worked flawlessly.
If you like watching YouTube videos and HD movies on your phone, you will be glad to know that the notch doesn’t become an annoyance when viewing full screen videos thanks to the phone’s 19:9 aspect ratio. You don’t have to get OCD with the notch covering parts of a video here.
Despite its midrange chipset, it wasn’t a laggard either when it came to gaming. The first person zombie shooting game Dead Trigger loaded pretty quickly and played flawlessly on the Zenfone 5. Sound was pretty decent too. If you need extra performance for more demanding apps, a feature called Boost can add oomph when it’s needed.
The phone’s 3300 mAh battery was more than enough for a day’s use, sans gaming. But if you’re concerned about battery life, a feature called PowerMaster can turn off non-essential apps that drain your battery.
Asus also says that its AI Charging helps reduce battery wear when you charge your phone overnight.
Experts advise keeping your battery charged between 20 to 80 percent of capacity to prolong battery life. Charging your phone overnight meanwhile strains the battery by keeping it at 100 percent for a prolonged time.
Asus says the Zenfone 5’s AI can detect your activity patterns, know when you’re about to sleep, and keeps the phone charged up to only 80 percent until you wake up.
AI or artificial intelligence has become the latest gimmick in smartphones, with every major manufacturer making a claim about AI features. Asus is no different and boasts that the Zenfone 5 has a chock full of AI, especially in its camera system. But we will leave the review of the Zenfone 5’s camera in another article.
Suffice to say, after using it for a week as a daily driver, the Zenfone 5 is a solid all rounder.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
