ASUS enjoyed its popularity when it released its affordable Zenfone devices way back then. Now with a goal to deliver luxurious device to everyone, the brand launched its latest ZenFone series that elevated its smartphone offerings. The newest line includes devices with different target consumers.
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| ASUS Zenfone 4 Review; Still a Solid Contender |
Recently, our team reviewed its flagship Zenfone 4. With a very competitive competition from other brands, can the Zenfone 4 battle them out? Here’s our review!
PHYSICAL:
Encased with an aluminum body, the Zenfone 4 gave us the luxury that it promised. Flaunting a premium look, its body is covered by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. While it felt good in our hands, holding the device wasn’t too comfortable due to its slippery body, and although it’s slim, solid grip is still needed.
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| Front |
Its front is dominated by the 5.5-inch Full HD Super IPS touchscreen. On top of its display, the 8-megapixel front shooter and speaker are placed, while its lit capacitive buttons for navigations and home button are located below. The latter also works as a fingerprint scanner.
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| Left (SIM Tray) |
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| Right (Volume Rockers and Power Button) |
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| Bottom (Type-C port, Audio Jack, Mic, Speaker) |
The right side of the device accommodates the volume rockers and power button, while the SIM tray is alone on the left side. Its bottom part, on the other hand, houses the USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, and the speaker.
Flip the device on its back and you’d see its dual camera setup composed of 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel shooters, together with its LED flash. It also shows the brand’s logo. The back looks premium, however, it attracts fingerprint easily.
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| Multi-Touch Test |
Going back to its display, it features a 5.5-inch Full HD Super IPS screen that has 1920 x 1080 resolution, translating to 401ppi. It gave us a good viewing experience, but its brightness didn’t perform well when exposed under direct sunlight.
It can satisfy your entertainment needs, as well. Smooth gaming experience is also supported, as it scored 10 on multi-touch test.
SOFTWARE:
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| Software |
The Zenfone 4 runs on ZenUI 4.0 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It is responsive and clean,too. It features an app drawer, where you can organize your app. It comes with pre-installed apps, including Google apps, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Mobile Manager, and Selfie Master.
PERFORMANCE:
The Zenfone 4 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor paired with Adreno 512 GPU. It is packed with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The latter is expandable up to 2TB via microSD, however, you need to use the SIM 2 slot.
While paper suggests it would give us a powerful performance, we still ran it on various benchmark apps. Here are the results:
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| Benchmark Results |
- AnTuTu: 105,529
- 3DMark: 2,034 (Sling Shot)
- 3DMark: 1,354 (Sling Shot Extreme)
- 3DMark:25,222 (Ice Storm Unlimited)
- PCMark Work: 6352
- Geekbench: 1598 (Single Core)
- Geekbench: 5616 (Multi Core)
The device also gave us a great actual performance. It was able to play videos with heavy graphics. Our gaming experience was smooth, as well. Also, it can handle multitasking, as it didn’t freeze when we opened multiple apps at once.
CAMERA:
One of the best things about the Zenfone 4 is its camera. It boasts 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel dual rear cameras that has Sony IMX362 sensor. It is packed with 8-megapixel front shooter that is 120-degree wide.
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| Camera Settings |
The device offers different camera modes to elevate your mobile photography. It includes Beauty, Super Resolution, Panorama, Time Lapse, Auto, Pro, GIF Animation, and Slow Motion.
Sample Photos:
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| Outdoor |
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| Outdoor |
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| Outdoor (Night) |
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| Outdoor (Night and with HDR) |
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| Night w/Flash |
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| Indoor |
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| Flowers |
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| Selfie |
CONNECTIVITY:
The Zenfone 4 is a dual SIM device that supports LTE connectivity. It has basic connectivity features, as well, including WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC. All of these worked well during our tests. We're sure that users won't have any issue regarding its connectivity as long as they have good network coverage.
BATTERY:
Here comes our favorite thing about the Zenfone 4. The device is packed with 3,300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster. Actual usage suggests that it could last for almost a day, this includes sending SMS and email, browsing web, and checking our social media accounts. If you are an heavy user who loves continuous usage, including watching videos and playing games, you can expect that the device could last up to 10 hours, but the device can accompany you for less than three days if you will just use it for basic communications and multimedia needs.
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| PCMark Battery Test |
Our video loop test pushed its battery up to 11 hours. During the process, we put its brightness and volume at its maximum level while we left its WiFi connection opened, as well.
Meanwhile, PCMark Battery Test result shows that it will last up to 10 hours and 1 minute.
See Also: Asus Zenfone Max Plus M1 is Priced at Php11,995; Comes with Freebies Worth Php7,595
CONCLUSION:
Flaunting a premium design, its user would enjoy holding and displaying their phone. The device also has good cameras, and great battery life. It has smooth and fast performance, as well.
We just felt like ASUS failed to give its frontrunner device a unique identity to battle out other brands’ flagship smartphones. However, what we appreciate the most is that it didn’t compromise anything to give a great overall package. With that, the Zenfone 4 is still a tough flagship contender.
The ASUS Zenfone 4 is priced at PhP28,995.
ASUS Zenfone 4 Specs:
- Dual SIM, supports LTE connectivity
- 5.5-inch Super IPS (1080 x 1920) touchscreen
- Dimensions: 155.2 x 75.2 x 7.5mm
- Weight: 165 grams
- Android 7.1.1 Nougat with ZenUI
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor, Adreno 512
- 6GB of RAM
- 64GB of expandable storage up to 2TB via microSD
- 12-megapixel Sony IMX362 primary rear camera, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixels, with Dual Pixel AF, OIS, EIS + 8-megapixel secondary rear camera, f/2.2 aperture, wide-angle
- 8-megapixel front camera, f/2.0 aperture
- WiFi
- Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- USB Type-C port
- Fingerprint
- Battery: 3300mAh
- Price: PhP28,995