ASUS‘s latest flagship, the Zenfone 6, was announced tonight in Europe. The successor to last year’s Zenfone 5z doesn’t come with any siblings this time around. However, it does pack some really nice features that will put the competition to shame.
Design and Specs
The Zenfone 6 has ditched the notch of its predecessor, not for a smaller one or even a punch hole. Instead, it uses a 6.4-inch Nano Edge IPS LCD with a 92% screen-to-body ratio and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass 6 and there is a slit in the frame above it for the earpiece.
The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor and is paired with 6GB/8GB of RAM with 64GB/128GB/256GB of UFS 2.1 storage. A dedicated MicroSD card slot means you will be able to add extra storage (up to 2TB) without sacrificing a SIM slot.
Other than the display, the Zenfone 6′ cameras is another of its selling points. It can actually be called the main one. ASUS has tagged it “Flip Camera” and that is because the dual rear cameras lift up to serve as the front-facing camera. What this means is that you can use the 48MP Sony IMX586 f/1.79 1.6µm primary camera and 13MP 125° ultra-wide angle camera to take selfies.
The camera has 2×1 OCL PDAF, EIS and a ton of filters and camera modes (including a Super Night Mode, RAW support, and AI scene detection). The flip camera houses a gravitational sensor, a gyro sensor, a hall sensor, and an upper speaker. It also uses specially designed cables that pass through a hole 2mm in diameter to connect the cameras and sensors to the motherboard. ASUS says there are 13 gears in the module.
The Zenfone 6’s Flip Camera has some pretty neat tricks. It is the first phone whose “front-facing camera” can record 4K videos at 60fps with EIS. It also has a special 90° angle for taking pictures so you don’t need a tripod and can shoot at new angles. You can also adjust the angle of the cameras as you deem fit by using the volume buttons to set the angle and the Smart Key to take the picture.
The camera housing is made of liquid metal which is lighter but four times stronger than steel. ASUS says it has put the camera module through up to 100,000 flips which is equivalent to 28 selfies per day for 5 years. The cameras will also fold back if the phone falls from your hands.
The Flip Camera is pretty fast too. A demonstration during the launch showed the camera flip open and launch the app using the Google Assistant voice command “Take a Selfie” in roughly a second.
The Smart Key is actually a button to call up the Google Assistant. However, you can customize it to a variety of functions such as launching the camera app or turning on the flashlight.
The Zenfone 6 packs a 5000mAh battery that will easily last you more than a day. There is no wireless charging but you get Quick Charge 4 (18W) and also reverse charging (10W). ASUS says because of the large battery capacity, the phone can maintain the higher current mode for longer, thereby reducing total charging time. ASUS claims battery life is longer this way and there are fewer charge cycles.
The phone runs ZenUI 6 but it has been designed to look like stock Android Pie. You still get a lot of customization options such as Splendid Color Display Management and a Dark Mode. The Zenfone 6 will also join the Zenfone 5z for the Android Beta program and will get guaranteed updates to Android Q and Android R. It will also get security patches every two months for a minimum of two years. We really hope it fulfills these promises.
The Zenfone 6 comes with stereo speakers, a 3.5mm audio jack, dual-frequency GPS, NFC, Wi-FI a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.0, and a fingerprint scanner on its Gorilla Glass protected back. It is 9.2mm thick and weighs just 190 grams, lesser than the OnePlus 7 Pro which has a smaller battery capacity.
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Price and Availability
The Zenfone 6 comes in Midnight Black and Twilight Silver. It is priced at €499 for the 6+64GB base model, €559 for the 6+128GB version, and €599 for the 8GB+256GB version. It is available already on the ASUS eShop and will ship on May 25. There is no info yet on availability and pricing in other regions.
