The Zenfone 5 Lite is an exciting device but the Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5z are the real stars of ASUS’ announcement.
The Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z are nearly identical devices that differ only in processor and storage configuration. So we’ll only mention the Zenfone 5 except in cases where the Zenfone 5Z has a different specification.
Zenfone 5 Design
The Zenfone 5 has a double-sided glass design. Both are 2.5D curved Coring Gorilla Glass with a metal frame in between them. Like the leaks revealed, the Zenfone 5 has a notch in the display and ASUS isn’t ashamed to say they copied it from Apple, though they justify their action by saying their own notch is smaller.
Zenfone 5 And Zenfone 5Z Specs
The Zenfone (and 5Z) has a 6.2” FHD+ Super IPS display with a 19:9 aspect ratio, 95.4% color gamut and support for DCI-P3. Thanks to the bezel-less display, the Zenfone 5 boasts a 90% screen-to-body ratio giving it the form factor of a 5.5” phone.
Powering the Zenfone 5 is a Snapdragon 636 processor paired with 4GB or 6GB of ROM. Storage is 64GB on both variants but unlike the Zenfone 5 Lite, it doesn’t have a dedicated MicroSD card slot. So you either put a second nano SIM or add up to an additional 2TB of storage.
The Zenfone 5Z on the other hand is powered by the Snapdragon 845, the current Qualcomm champion. ASUS says there is an AI engine and a feature called AI boost which is just marketing for processor and software optimizations. It also comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage or 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage.
There are stereo speakers and each has a NXP smart amplifier. There is also NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, FM radio, an audio jack, and support for Hi-Res audio and DTS. A new ZenUI based on Android Oreo also comes pre-installed.
The camera and notch are not the only things ASUS has copied from Apple’s iPhone X. The ASUS Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z also have their own version of Animoji called ZeniMoji.
Battery capacity on the Zenfone 5 is 3300mAh with BoostMaster (fast charging). ASUS said it has added a new feature called AI Charging which helps double the lifespan of the battery.
According to ASUS, leaving your smartphone plugged in overnight when it is full degrades the battery. With AI Charging, you can still leave your phone plugged in. The phone studies your sleep pattern, so when you plug in before going to bed, it charges the battery up to 80% and leaves it there. Just before you wake up, it then resumes charging so you can wake up to a full battery.
Zenfone 5 Cameras
The Zenfone 5 has a 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor with a F/1.8 aperture and an 83° FOV. It is paired with a 120° wide-angle camera that allows for up to an extra 200% area into your photos.
The camera also comes with AI scene detection that can identify up to 16 different scenes and objects such as lakes, animals, sunsets, plants (flowers) and humans. There is also HDR and portrait mode.
Up front is an 8MP F/2.0 camera with Night HDR and portrait support, selfie panorama, and GIF animation.
READ MORE: ASUS Joins The Mixed Reality Game With Its Own $429 Headset
Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z Price and Availability
Both phones will be available in Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver when they launch. The Zenfone 5Z will have a starting price of $479, making it the cheapest Snapdragon 845 phone at the moment. ASUS has not revealed the price of the Zenfone 5 neither has it announced a release date for both phones but when they go on sale, they will come with Hi-Res earphones in the box.
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