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Today, Asus has launched the Zenfone 5Z in India. The 5Z made its debut earlier this year at the 2018 Mobile World Congress (Barcelona, Spain), and we were eagerly waiting for it’s India launch, and finally the day arrives. The handset will be up for grabs exclusively via Flipkart at a starting price of Rs. 29,999. At this price the Asus ZenFone 5Z becomes the most affordable phone in India to come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor inside.
The pricing isn’t very surprising since even globally, the ZenFone 5Z is pitted straight up against the OnePlus 6. And in India too, it is priced aggressively. So let’s talk about this device in detail. Shall we?
Asus Zenfone 5Z Features
Well, the Zenfone 5Z sports a 6.2-inch Full HD+ (2246 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD screen claiming about 90 percent screen to body ratio. The front also houses an Apple iPhone X-style notch above the display. What’s more? The screen is further protected by a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass. The screen accompanies narrow bezels, and as a result, the fingerprint reader is moved to the back.
The display also supports the DCI-P3 colour gamut, and comes with Asus’ Blue-light eye care filter, seen on previous handsets from Asus. It also taps ASUS’s intelligent display technology to adjust the color temperature automatically in response to ambient light changes. Screen On, another handy feature from the brand prevents the phone’s display from turning off when you’re glancing at it.
The ASUS ZenFone 5Z’s vibrant screen is supported by three noise-canceling microphones and two five-magnet speakers in stereo configuration, driven by dual amplifiers. The smartphone features Hi-Res Audio and files encoded up to 24-bit, and DTS’s Headphone-X technology for 7.1-channel virtual surround sound on supported headphones.
The smartphone not only packs a powerful screen and stereo speakers but it also has a dual rear camera setup with Sony’s IMX 363 sensor and a 8MP front camera with a f/2.0 aperture. The Asus ZenFone 5Z sports a dual rear camera setup, with the primary camera sporting a 12-megapixel sensor coupled with an f/1.8 aperture, 83-degree field of view, 24mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera, and a Softlight LED flash. The secondary camera on the rear is coupled with 8-megapixel sensor, a 120-degree wide-angle lens, an f/2.2 aperture, and a 12mm equivalent focal length in a 35mm film camera. There is 3-axis EIS available for both the front and rear cameras, as well as a Face Unlock feature, and real-time beautification features.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 is essentially the heart of the ASUS ZenFone 5Z. The chipset comprises Qualcomm’s latest Kryo 385 core design, and packs the new Adreno 630 GPU, optimized-for-AI Hexagon DSP, and Spectra 280 ISP.
The 5Z comes with a variety of new AI-powered features in ASUS’s new ZenUI 5.0. It has an energy-saving service called AI Charging which automatically adjusts the phone’s charging rate in response to your usage habits (ASUS claims it “slows down the battery aging process”), and AI Ringtone changes the smartphone’s call volume in response to ambient noise.
When it comes to photos, AI Scene Detection uses algorithms to analyze subjects in real time and match them to one of 16 scene types, optimizing for different lighting conditions. Real-time Portrait Mode gives you a bokeh effect by blurring the background of photos while keeping the foreground intact. And Real-Time Beautification brightens your skin tone, clears stress lines, and applies other digital enhancements based on 365 facial points. It works in real time, and surprisingly in live-streaming video apps too.
Other ZenFone 5Z highlights include a 3,300mAh battery, super-fast biometric security- the device’s facial authentication can unlock it in 0.1 seconds, and its fingerprint sensor can unlock it in 0.3 seconds.
Connectivity options on the device include, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, a FM radio, a dual SIM slot, and a USB Type-C port.
Price & Availability
The Zenfone 5Z will be available in two colours namely, Meteor Silver & Midnight Blue and will cost buyers Rs. 29,999 for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. While, the 8GB RAM variant with 128GB of internal storage is priced at Rs. 32,999. A higher variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage is priced at Rs 36,999. Asus will also pack Hi-Res headsets inside the box. The device will be available to buy via flipkart starting from July 9th and ICICI bank card holders will get instant discount of Rs. 3000.
