The latest smartphones from ASUS bring mid to high-end styling and features to mid-range priced devices. The ASUS ZenFone 5Z and ZenFone 5Q have a lot of cool features and innovations that set them apart from the current Android herd.
Following the trend of most smartphone makers that have devices in two sizes, ASUS offers a standard sized device and a larger supersized model for people who like a larger display.
Both these devices are attractive, and stylish, with their glass finish. Let’s see what these two smartphones have to offer.
ASUS ZenFone 5Z
ASUS ZenFone 5Z Specs, as Tested
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The thin and light Asus ZenFone 5Z features a 6.2-inch Full-HD+ IPS display with an impressive 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio, and a wide 120° viewing angle.
This is a great looking flagship-class smartphone. It actually looks, and feels sturdier than more expensive flagship devices out there.
The premium specs include 6GB of RAM, 64 GB of onboard storage (with microSD expansion for up to 2 Terabytes and a 3300mAh battery)
This ZenFone 5Z also features Dual FIVE-magnet speakers for louder sound volume and less distortion DTS Headphone:X for virtual 7.1 surround sound. This elevates smartphone audio and is a feature we’ve seen on earlier ZenFone models.
These speakers are loud and can compare with tablets or even laptops in terms of sound quality.
Being one of the newer devices, the ZenFone 5Z runs Android O with the ASUS Z enUI 5.0 skin or overlay.
ASUS confirms these phones will get the Android P update in 2019. This is great news because it means the hardware is good for more than a few years.
ZenFone 5Z includes a full suite of AI features, all powered by the Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE) inside Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 mobile platform.
The Snapdragon 845’s AIE accelerates deep-learning functions for a much faster but low power consuming performance, supports highly advanced AI user experiences.
Powered by a 64-it Qualcomm Octa-Core processor with an Adreno 630 GPU, users can expect snappy performance and great graphics during games and video playback.
The ZenFone 5Z uses AI learning to intelligently predict the apps you’re most likely to use next, based on your usage habits. A few weeks of use should help teach the AI what your preferences are.
Exclusive ASUS technology ensures that apps launch quicker than you can imagine—and switching from one app to another is always a seamlessly smooth experience.
In terms of cameras, users will be spoiled for choice. The ZenFone 5Z has a dual-camera array at the rear—composed of a 12-megapixel camera with a wide f1.8 aperture—and an 8-megapixel camera sporting AI photo detection to improve settings depending on the scene.
The artificial intelligence (AI) inside every ZenFone 5Z makes it more than just a smartphone: it’s your intelligent companion that’s always there for you.
The AI aims to perfect photos every time, whatever the subject, without you even having to think about it. While this is far from perfect, the advantage of AI is that the system continues to learn and improve.
No matter the task, ZenFone 5Z delivers smooth and responsive performance, with the striking compact design. Avid photographers will appreciate the RAW capture capability and colour correction functionality that ensures detail and accuracy just like a DSLR camera would. Other photographic extras include Super Resolution functionality for up to 4 times the resolution, a beauty mode, filters, and a unique Time Lapse mode with power-saving.
The ASUS ZenFone 5Z has a modern USB Type-C plug for charging and data transfer. This smartphone shows how far ASUS has gone in the smartphone segment. While its earlier devices felt derived from PC functions and applications, these new ZenFones are attractive options that play to Android’s strengths.
ASUS ZenFone 5Q
ASUS ZenFone 5Q Specs, as Tested
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Similarly stylish, the mid-range ASUS ZenFone 5Q shares similar premium materials and build as the larger model.
This device has a 6-inch Full HD+ (2160 by 1080) IPS display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform with 14nm, 64-bit Octa-core Processor. This phone has a respectable 4 GB of RAM running on Android N.
The trick here is that this ZenFone has managed to fit a 6-inch display in a 5.5-inch body. The result is a good balance and hand-feel that doesn’t make the ZenFone 5Q feel awkward to manage.
ZenFone 5Q has a world-leading quad-camera system designed to take your photo experience to the next level. At both front and rear, it features a high-resolution main camera—20MP Sony at the front, 16MP at the rear—plus a second wide-angle camera with a 120° field of view for immersive and panoramic photography.
The ZenFone Q5 features a unique BeautyLive live-beautification technology.
BeautyLive is one of the ASUS SelfieMaster features, and you can remove skin blemishes and adjust skin tones in real-time so your friends and followers will see a more beautiful you.
To avoid annoying mirror-image videos with unreadable text, BeautyLive also has a handy Mirroring mode.
Portrait mode is also on tap and brings the popular SLR-like depth-of-field effect that keeps the subject sharp while blurring backgrounds. This is done in software and can be altered.
You also get a respectable 3300 mAh battery keeps the phone going strong all day long. Finally, frequent travellers will appreciate the dual-sim functionality that allows the use of two SIM cards simultaneously.
The ZenFone 5Z and the ZenFone 5Q represent some good choices for Android-powered smartphones in the market today.
With great display technology, impressive camera performance and features, the ASUS ZenFone 5Z and 5Q has great battery life for all types of users.
