ZenFone 2 : Desire to empower luxury for everyone

Quick update about the ASUS ZenFone 2. The line of affordable Android phones had been launched one year ago, and for that time ASUS shipped over 8 million units so far. Asus is keeping the momentum going with the new ZenFone 2. It isn’t just better-looking, but it’s also packed with great specs: Intel quad-core 64-bit processor, a 5.5-inch (1080p) IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 on top of it, fast-charge technology, microSD slot, up to 4GB of RAM, Android 5.0 and many more. It gets even better, the price of this dual card sim phone starts from $199 off-contract. The Asus ZenFone is expected to hit the US in Q2. This is super aggressive – even more aggressive than the flagship devices from OnePlus and Xiaomi.

So let’s look at the device specifications more closely. The camera performance for ASUS’s can be hit or miss for non-flagship Android devices, but in this case – the cameras seem decent enough on paper. On the back of the ZenFone 2 you’ll find a 13-megapixel f/2.0 camera with a dual-color flash, and in the front you’ll find a 5-megapixel f/2.0 shooter. Like its sibling devices, this new phone touts the Pixel Master package that offers a super-effective Low Light mode. On the video side the ZenFone does 1080p with stabilization. We shall see how good it is in a couple of months.

“The passion behind the design of ZenFone 2 is our never-ending desire to empower luxury for everyone,” said ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih, “We have drawn on our considerable engineering expertise and experience with our popular ZenFone to create a smartphone that embodies this ambition. That device is the incredible new ZenFone 2 — luxury that everyone can enjoy.”

The ZenFone 2 base model comes with a 1.8GHz Intel (Z3560) processor,16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, but the phone specifications can be even better – 2.3GHz with the Z3580 Intel processor equipped with 4GB of RAM and local storage of 64 gygabites. Impressively, all versions come with a 3,000mAh battery that can go from 0% to 60 % in a mere 39 minutes. Much like the LG G3, the ZenFone 2 features on the back a volume button right below the camera. This way, ASUS can give the phone clean vertical edges that are tapered from 10.9mm in the middle to just 3.9mm thick, thus giving the phone this ergonomic design and the brushed-metal finish – offered in variety of colors – Osmium Black, Glacier Gray, Sheer Gold, Ceramic White and Glamor Red – and the mere 170-gram weight are all nice touches from ASUS.

The Asus ZenFone 2 comes in whit this new version of the ZenUI. They had added some handy new features like including a single-hand mode that shrinks the entire screen, switching between work and personal environment, special ZenMotion touch gestures and many more. We’ll learn more about all of this when we get to play with the ZenFone 2 in depth later this year.

ASUS made such a bold move and for just $199 off-contract, the ZenFone 2 is set to be a sincere attempt to offer a great mobile experience for the masses. Of course, we won’t know for sure or not until ASUS ships the phone itself. Then only time will tell how good the phone is or how stable and intuitive the new ZenUI is. This will be the company’s first time toying with Android 5.0. But I have a good feeling about this phone from ASUS.