Instead of the 2.3 - GHz quad - core 64 - bit Intel Atom Z3580 CPU and 4 GB that
the original ZenFone 2 had, the Laser rocks a 1.7 / 1.0 - GHz octa - core 64 - bit Snapdragon 615 chip with 3 GB of RAM.
Unlike
the original ZenFone Max, this one is not a brick and neither does it sport big bezels — boasting of pretty good 75 per cent screen - to - body ratio.
Its below - average battery life, while better than
the original ZenFone 2, could mean you'll have to spend time recharging the phone more often than you'd like.
That's longer than
the original ZenFone 2 (7:05), but shorter than the average smartphone (8:11), the Moto G (9:00) and the Idol 3 (9:16).
That's slower than the average smartphone (6:37) and
the original ZenFone 2 (3:40), the Idol 3 (8:22) and the Moto G (8:24).
Credit: Jeremy Lips / Tom's GuideAsus also went the extra mile to address the inaccurate white balance I encountered on
the original ZenFone Zoom by fitting the ZenFone 3 Zoom with a dedicated color - correction sensor to help ensure your photos sport spot - on hues and shades.
Some of
the original Zenfone 3's issues still persist — an unintuitive Android skin, mediocre performance from its Snapdragon 625 chipset and poor audio quality, to name some of the most pernicious annoyances.
With its 4 GB of RAM, Asus says the ZenFone 2 offers up to seven times better gaming performance than
the original ZenFone.
This helps with adding better zoom on the ZenFone 3 Zoom, without making the smartphone overly large, like
the original ZenFone Zoom was.
ZenFone 3 Zoom apart from getting the company's first dual - rear camera setup also gets a significant upgrade in battery capacity from
the original ZenFone 3 Zoom's 3000 mAh battery.
While the dual tone LED Flash was also quite helpful, but I would say I'm still blown away with the PixelMaster technology, which was first introduced on
the original Zenfone handset.
Moving to the inside and the ZenFone 2 Laser is loaded with 3 GB RAM and powered by a 64 - bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor (clocking at 1.7 GHz), which is another one of the differences between this variant and
the original ZenFone 2 which came running with an Intel processor.
If you had previously liked the look of
the original ZenFone 2 but was in the market for a larger device, then this will meet all of your needs perfectly.
Right away, there are similarities between this and the ZenFone 5 that I reviewed last summer, with ASUS sticking close to
the original ZenFone design.
A protruding camera cover glass flanked by what appears to be a laser autofocusing system and LED flash suggests that the laser focusing that ASUS has added to almost every recent Zenfone after
the original Zenfone 2 will be back.
Inside,
the original ZenFone 2 came with 2 GB RAM, however the newer and upgraded version comes with an increased 4 GB of RAM and powered by an Intel Atom (Z3560) quad - core processor (clocking at 1.8 GHz).
I would say in terms of the camera, it has already surpassed
the original Zenfone 2, but the processor is a step down in terms of raw performance.
The camera is identical with the one on
the original Zenfone 2, a Toshiba 13MP sensor behind a 5 - element lens, but has been improved by the addition of a laser autofocusing system.
The front is exactly the same as
the original Zenfone 2.
Unlike the Zenfone 2 Deluxe and
the original Zenfone 2, the Zenfone 2 Laser has a 13 - megapixel f / 2.0 rear camera sensor along with a 5 - piece large lens and laser auto - focus technology.
All the three smartphones are the new models of
the original Zenfone 2 that was launched in the country back in April.
This new smartphone is an upgraded version over
the original Zenfone 2 as it comes with a new back cover that has a unique texture with a diamond cut design.
The addition of the Splendid color settings to the ZenFone 2 Laser gives the unit better color calibration compared to
the original ZenFone 2.
Unlike
the original Zenfone Go, the Zenfone Go 4.5 2nd Generation comes in two different variants.
The highlight of the event was the Zenfone Zoom, but ASUS did put their latest Zenfone 2 Deluxe on display sporting a new red accent and the Intel Atom Z3590 2.5 GHz processor, an upgrade over the Atom Z3580 2.3 GHz found in
the original Zenfone 2.
As opposed to
the original ZenFone Zoom that it launched a couple of years ago, it doesn't have an actual lens that zooms.
Though the U.S. price isn't listed, NT $ 14,990 converts to almost $ 488, so those in the U.S. that have been interested in this particular device can expect the cost to be somewhere around that price range, though the official U.S. cost would likely be slightly different and could be more or less than the converted amount as
the original ZenFone Zoom was $ 399.
Even with Asus cramming a 5,000 mAh battery, the ZenFone 3 Zoom is three millimeters thinner than
the original ZenFone Zoom.
Unveiled earlier today and put up for sale immediately, the Asus ZenFone V Live is a severely downgraded version of
the original ZenFone V in every department but two.
This is the same price at which
the original Zenfone Max was launched in the country back in January this year.
It's a problem I encountered on
the original ZenFone 2, and Asus doesn't seem to have addressed it with this new phone.
Instead of having an optical zoom kit like with
the original ZenFone Zoom, ASUS outfitted the ZenFone 3 Zoom with two camera sensors, the lenses of which have different focal lengths.
The new Asus Zenfone Max has the same 5,000 mAh battery that was debuted on
the original Zenfone Max back in January.
Much like
the original ZenFone 2, it also has 4 GB RAM, 64 / 128 GB internal memory, Dual SIM 4G LTE support and 3000mAh battery.
Since
the original ZenFone 2 was announced, ASUS has opted to create a slew of other models based on the ZenFone 2 including the ZenFone 2 Deluxe Edition.
The new variant is powered by a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2520 dual - core processor, instead of the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Z2560 dual - core processor, powering
the original Zenfone 5.
The original Zenfone 5 was launched in India for Rs 9,999 and there is very little that differentiates the two variants.
Aside from the new silicon, we get the typical ASUS design which sticks to
the original Zenfones (4,5,6) in terms of design, but goes heavy on hardware, which is where the Zenfone Selfie (at least on paper) seems invincible.
Not exact matches
At first that might seem similar to the
original ASUS
ZenFone Zoom, and in a way it is, but for moving between the two zoom settings (and beyond), Oppo's opted for digitally melding information from the two sensors instead of ASUS's mechanical zoom that actually moved lenses inside the phone.
The Taiwanese
original equipment manufacturer officially unveiled the
ZenFone 4 and
ZenFone 4 Pro, along with the
ZenFone 4 Selfie and
ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro versions, in the United States in August.
According to earlier reports, the Taiwanese
original equipment manufacturer is preparing to debut the
ZenFone 5,
ZenFone 5Z,
ZenFone 5 Lite, and the
ZenFone Max Pro M1, all of which are expected to begin retailing in the first half of the year.
The existence of the phone's FCC - issued certificate was revealed shortly after the Taipei, Taiwan - based
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) officially announced its latest smartphone series and suggests that the main
ZenFone 4 model will soon have a stateside launch.
The
ZenFone 5 Lite should be the most affordable member of the upcoming Android smartphone family that the Taiwanese
original equipment manufacturer is expected to announce late this month at the 2018 edition of the Mobile World Congress.
The new price of the Asus
Zenfone 5 is Rs. 2,500 lower than the
original price of Rs. 12,499 which was announced back in July last year.
In semi-related news, «industry sources» cited by hit - and - miss publication Digitimes claim the
ZenFone 4 family will start shipping sometime in August, which is roughly a year after the debut of the first few
ZenFone 3 - series models, but far behind the company's
original schedule.
That sounds like a breathtaking engineering feat (if it pans out), given the comparatively small 4,100 mAh cell under
ZenFone 3 Max's hood, and the super-chunky body of the
original 5,000 mAh juicer - hauling Asus
ZenFone Max.
Available already on Flipkart at 15,000 rupees, or $ 223, this differs quite significantly from the
original 5.2 - inch
Zenfone 3 Max, despite retaining that particular screen size and a mediocre HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
With the emergence of two relatively close dates for the event, it could be that the
original August 19 date for the launch of the Asus
ZenFone 4 is for a local launch in the Philippines only.
Speaking of which, the 5 - inch Asus
Zenfone 2 will be cheaper than the
original version, though we're not sure by how much.
Earlier today, ASUS had a new
ZenFone to show off during CES 2015, and while the
ZenFone 2 still retains the value - for - money of the
original line there's a lot more to love here.