Just twelve months ago, Asus and OnePlus faced off in what was billed as the battle of flagship killers or the clash of Qualcomm Snapdragon 845-powered devices. We’re back for the next round, except this time OnePlus has flanked Asus with two devices. Asus’ sights will be on the similarly priced OnePlus 7 and yes, both these devices are propelled by Qualcomm’s best of breed, Snapdragon 855 Processor. Asus has packed the 6Z with a cool camera trick, that gives this smartphone a major talking point.
The 6Z sticks to Asus’ design playbook. It’s elegant, with an all-glass chassis that has premium stamped on it. We like the bold blue branding emblazoned on the rear of the device and the heft; it feels good in your hands despite a 5000 mAh battery under the hood. The robust battery didn’t let us down in our tests and should get a nod of approval from heavy duty users. The 6.4-inch display shares almost identical specs (1080 x 2340 pixels / 19.5:9 aspect ratio / 403 PPI) with the OnePlus 7 and is great for binge watching. This display is complemented by a stereo speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack, a feature that’s fast disappearing on premium devices.
2019 has seen device manufacturers engage in serious one-upmanship in the selfie camera department, in a bid to create the ultimate immersive display. Asus has taken a bold route to get there – a motorised flip camera. It’s not entirely a new idea; we’ve had rotating cams in the past. But it’s the execution – an all-screen experience, that Asus needs to be lauded for. Asus combines a 48MP (f/1.8) primary cam with a 13MP wide-angle lens. This is both your rear cam and selfie cam thanks to a clever design idea that allows you to flip the same. You will hear a sound each time this camera flips; Asus allows you to add a sound effect which is a cool touch.
This dual cam does a decent job in most lighting scenarios but doesn’t quite ace lowlight even with its night mode, unlike the Night Sight mode on the similarly priced Google Pixel 3a. But the 3a doesn’t boast of an ultra-wide lens. The 6Z goes up against quite a few formidable rivals like the OPPO Reno 10X Zoom and the OnePlus 7 in this camera shoot out. That’s not the only area where it manages a strong performance, it has the hardware firepower too. Asus offers a choice of 6GB and 8GB RAM options and three internal storage variants. The 64GB option (extendable up to 2TB via a dedicated Micro SD slot) might actually work for most users and offers a slight price advantage over the OnePlus 7.
The Asus 6Z blazed through our tests (355006 on the AnTuTu benchmark). One more reason to consider Asus’ 2019 flagship that is a strong all-round performer. This may not be a device that will make heads turn until you switch to selfie mode!
The Asus 6Z comes in three variants – 6GB/64GB (Rs 31,999), 8GB/128GB (Rs 34,999) and 8GB/256GB (Rs 39,999) .
(Ashwin Rajagopalan writes extensively on Gadgets & Trends, Travel & Lifestyle and Food & Drink. He owns and manages Brand Stories, a creative Content outfit and www.bytesize.in, a premier lifestyle blog with a focus on short-format content. Instagram: ‘ashwinpowers’)