The extensive use of AI based algorithms appears to be the common thread running through most smartphones and devices launched this year at the MWC 2018. The series of phones launched by Asus are no exception. The company highlighted the features of their latest offerings, the Asus ZenFone 5Z, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5 Lite and here is a brief recap.
The flagship among the three is the Asus ZenFone 5Z and it resembles the iPhone X. The display finds the full screen being occupied leaving very little for the bezels and the aspect ratio kept at 18:9. The notch at the top of the screen to accommodate the front camera and the other sensors is also quite similar to what one finds on the iPhone X.
Giving the Asus ZenFone 5Z the top-end tag is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC in addition to the 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. There will be a few variants of this smartphone model with the top one sporting 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. There will be provision to take the storage up to 2TB via a microSD card.
While the price of the 4GB/64GB variant has been indicated to be €479, there is no information on the higher capacity variants yet. The Asus ZenFone 5Z may actually hit the markets only by the middle of the year 2018.
As far as the specifications of this flagship phone are concerned, it would be a 6.2-inch phone with a full HD+ display, the screen resolution being 1080x2246pixels. As already mentioned, the phone has a full screen display and this particular model will sport an aspect ratio of 19:9. Asus has retained its Blue-light eye care filter on this flagship phone as well.
In addition to the Snapdragon 845 SoC, the graphics department will be powered by the Adreno 630 GPU and gets extra support from AIE, which stands for artificial intelligence engine. The Android Oreo version 8.0 will be the OS with the ZEN UI 5.0 skin riding on it.
The dual camera rear setup has 12MP + 8MP sensors with one of them being a wide-angle lens and there is the LED flash support for clicking pictures even in low light conditions. The front selfie camera has an 8MP sensor.
Rest of the specifications including the connectivity suits, sensors on board and audio capabilities will all be top end.
The Asus ZenFone 5 will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC and while the phone will be issued in two RAM variants of 4GB and 6GB, the internal storage will remain common at 64GB. This smartphone will have most other specifications and features similar to the Asus ZenFone 5Z.
The third device in this launch, the Asus ZenFone 5 Lite might be the first one to hit the market in this month (March 2018) itself. It has a slightly smaller 6-inch full HD+ display with the screen resolution being 10180x2160pixels. The CPU will be either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC or the 430 SoC. The RAM will also be issued in 2 variants, 3GB and 4GB, coupled with 32GB and 64GB storage respectively. The microSD card provision to take it to 2TB will be common to both.
The highlight of the Asus ZenFone 5 Lite will however be its camera setup, with twin dual cameras adorning the rear as well as the front. While the rear setup has a 16MP + 8MP combination, the front has a whopping 20MP + 8MP pair making the selfie clicking experience quite immersive. There are no price indications for the other devices.