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The fashion of smartphones with front notch has now exploded for several months, and ASUS also queues to offer the front notch in its terminals, so as to maximize the size screen. ZenFone 5 takes up some details borrowed from iPhone X, such as the positioning of the rear camera, obviously reducing the price. Here's what we think.
Design
As always, we start with design, even if to tell the truth it is hard to recognize them. The front has a 6.2-inch screen, with the now well-known notch on the top, inside which the front chamber and sensors are embedded. This allows the device to maintain a small overall size, even with a wide diagonal screen. On the back, the positioning and orientation of the camera resembles that of an iPhone X, while the reflections of light that stand out on the body recall those typical of Honor. Next to the rear LED flash there is the sensor for unlocking with a fingerprint, even if the terminal supports unlocking with the face.
As already mentioned, the element of initial impact is the 6.2-inch screen. It's big, but it's impossible to complain, considering the screen-to-body ratio is 90 percent. On the bottom frame stands a USB-C connector, next to which there is the 3.5 mm headphone jack input. Please consider that the headphones are included in the sales package.
The terminal offers a metal body, with a thickness of just 7.9 millimeters. It is comfortable to hold despite the large screen, thanks to the low weight of just 155 grams. Difficult, of course, to use it completely in one hand, even if the one handed mode helps in this, which reduces the interface and makes it reachable even with one hand.
From the aesthetic point of view it is a terminal that recalls many of those already available on the market, and appreciating truly original notes is difficult. Not that it's a bad thing, beware, because aesthetically ASUS ZenFone 5 is a really nice device.
Technical characteristics
We are dealing with a medium range, even if the term moves further and further away from its real meaning. Nowadays, at least for most users, a mid-range represents a real top of the range. ASUS ZenFone 5 belongs to those terminals with a very competitive price, which in the hands of an average user absolutely does not regret higher-end terminals. The technical characteristics that on paper are inferior, in everyday life actually describe a fast, reactive, snappy terminal, and that does not present any problems whatsoever. ZenFone 5 is reliable, and during our tests we did not detect any anomalies worthy of note.
The technical data sheet that we attach below shows the characteristics of the terminal.
Asus Zenfone 5 (2018) 
350,00 € Brand: Asus Category: Smartphone Add to Compare
Specifications
SmartPhone
Operating System Android 8.0 (Oreo) Cellular Network GSM / HSPA / LTE For sale by … April 2018 Dimensions 153 x 75.7 x 7.9 mm Weight 155 g. SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand- by) Screen – Type IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Screen Size 6.2 “ Screen – Resolution 1080 x 2246 pixels, 402 ppi Screen Protector Corning Gorilla Glass Chipset Qualcomm SDM636 Snapdragon 636 CPU Octa-core Kryo 260 GPU Adreno 509 Internal Memory 64 GB, 4 GB RAM Card Reader microSD, up to 400 GB (uses 2 SIM slots) Main Camera Dual: 12 MP (f / 1.8, 24 mm, 1 / 2.55 “, 1.4 µm, PDAF) + 8 MP (f / 2.0, 12 mm, 1/4”, 1.12 µm) , phase detection autofocus, gyro EIS, dual-LED (dual tone) flash Came ra – Other Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama Video , / 60fps Front Camera 8 MP (f / 2.0, 24 mm, 1/4 “, 1.12 µm), gyro EIS, 1080p Sound – alarms Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones Sound – Speaker stereo 3.5 mm Mini Jack Yes Wi-Fi wi-fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, WiFi Direct, hotspot Bluetooth v5.0, A2DP, LE GPS A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS FM Radio FM USB / Charge 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector Sensors Fingerprint reader (rear), accelerometer, proximity sensor ', gyroscope, compass. Messages SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM Navigation HTML Other – Fast battery charging 5V / 2A 10W – MP3 / WAV / eAAC + player – MP4 / H.264 player – Document viewer – Photo editor Battery – Type Non-removable Li-Ion 3300 mAh battery Colors Midnight Blue, Meteor Silver
Screen
Among the most valuable elements is the screen, 6.2 inches Full HD +, IPS technology, 18.7: 9 ratio. It has really well optimized frames, it is particularly bright and bright colors, which can be modified at will by the user thanks to a suite of software adjustments. There is, for example, the possibility of changing the color temperature, and setting the blue light filter to facilitate reading during the late hour.
It is certainly not comparable to an OLED, but the display of this ZeFone 5 is undoubtedly really good, not only considering the price device: does not pale even in front of IPS displays found on higher-end devices.
Processor, memory and storage
ZenFone 5 is one of the first phones to use the Snapdragon 636, a new mid-range chip from Qualcomm designed to offer maximum support for full view displays. The 636 CPU is backed by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, with MicroSD support up to a 512GB.
In daily use ZenFone 5 proves to be a snappy, fluid terminal, and responds promptly to all user requests. Even unlocking via facial recognition works sufficiently, even if it does not reach the levels of a OnePlus 5T or Oneplus 6 for example.
Camera
Mid range yes, but does not give up anything, not even a double sensor on the back. : The main sensor is Sony's IMX363, 12MP and f / 1.8 aperture, paired with an 8MP, f / 2.2 sensor with wide angle lens. The choice of Asus recalls the one made for example by LG, which is particularly welcome, at least in the opinion of the writer. This allows you to shoot entire panoramas, or take group photos, even if you are close to the subject to be framed.
The camera is also equipped with artificial intelligence, and is able to automatically optimize some adjustments, to take optimal photos of the different framed subjects. The AI mode is made clear with a small icon on the screen, which suggests to the user what the terminal thinks it is framing. Beyond these features, which in the long run could be of little use to the average user, the camera's performance is among the best in the reference category.
The captured colors are bright, and the result is good even in low light conditions, where the camera still manages to capture particularly bright colors. The camera, whatever the lighting conditions, also does a good job of capturing detail, and overall the photos taken of landscapes, other subjects, and macros are good. The autofocus seems to have some slight uncertainty, and even the photos with depth effect do not seem optimal, or at least not able to reach the results of more expensive phones.
As for the video, it is possible to record in Full HD up to 120 frames per second, or up to 4K, but unfortunately only at 30 FPS. If you have higher video ambitions you need to turn your attention to higher-end terminals.
Battery
The ZenFone 5 is equipped with a 3,300 mAh battery. It arrives in the evening without any problem, and indeed exceeds the classic day of use. If you look at the reference benchmarks you will find that the score obtained is in line with that of other top of the range, such as OnePlus 6 or even Galaxy S9. With due caution, you can even get to a day and a half of use. Amazing.
Software and ZenUI
The terminal arrives home with Android 8.0 Oreo pre-installed, with ZenUI 5 customization. Overall, the ZenUI has been cleaned up, bringing the experience closer to that of stock Android . The Google keyboard is the default, although there are some welcome customizations, such as a dock that also appears inside the app drawer.
There is also an app that animates amoji in full style iPhone X, even if the result is not exactly the same as that proposed by Apple. It is more of a game that will cheer the user the first time the terminal is turned on, but the synchronization between audio and video of the emojis is not always impeccable.
Among the software customizations there is what Asus calls AI Boost; it is essentially an overclocking, which allows you to increase performance, at the expense of the battery. Asus claims that using this mode rend and the same performance as a Snapdragon 660.
Conclusions
The Android mid-range market becomes more and more convincing, with Honor having succeeded over time to earn the fame of the protagonist. Asus, however, intervenes, and does it in the best possible way, presenting a terminal that at 349 euros has nothing to envy to all the other competitors.
The design is good, the camera sufficient, and daily use does not disappoint at all. The brand is not among those most considered by users when it comes to smartphones, but ZenFone 5 is a terminal to really take into consideration if you want to spend little, without giving up anything.
The terminal costs 349 euros in physical stores. On Amazon it still seems not available in the catalog, where you can find the lite version at 299 euros.
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