Asus Zenfone 5, 5z, 5 Lite hands-on review

Introduction

The annual MWC event in Barcelona is almost over, but we can't call it a day before we handle all new Zenfones Asus had in store for us. The event last night brought us a whole bunch of new devices, some of them to be available in different variants in a typical Asus fashion. The notorious notch made an appearance, too, and it's shaping to be the next trendy thing after the "full-view" screens.

Asus brought the Zenfone 5, 5z, and 5 Lite as part of the refreshed Zenfone 5 lineup. The flagship pair of Zenfone 5 and 5z employs a borderless notched screen and promising dual-camera experience. The Lite model shows off with four snappers, while the budget M1 has a 4000 mAh battery to impress.

Asus Zenfone 5 and 5z Specs

• Body: Dual Gorilla Glass, aluminum frame;
• Screen: 6.2-inch, 19:9, 1080p IPS LCD
• Rear Camera: Main 12MP, 1.4um, f/1.8 24mm lens, dual-pixel PDAF; EIS; Secondary 8MP wide-angle camera, 12mm lens; 4K video; Dual-tone LED flash,
• Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0
• Chipset Zenfone 5: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, octa-core 1.8GHz Kryo 260, Adreno 509
• Chipset Zenfone 5z: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core Kryo 385 4x2.7GHz + 4x1.7Ghz, Adreno 630
• Memory Zenfone 5: 4/6 GB RAM, 64GB storage, microSD
• Memory Zenfone 5z: 4/6/8 GB RAM, 64/128/256 GB storage, microSD
• OS: Android 8.0 Oreo + ZenUI 5.0
• Battery: 3300mAh
• Connectivity: Optional dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB Type-C, FM radio
• Misc: Fingerprint reader, stereo speakers

Asus Zenfone 5 Lite

• Body: Dual 2.5D glass, aluminum frame;
• Screen: 6.0-inch, 18:9, 1080p IPS LCD
• Rear Camera: Main 16MP, f/2.2 lens, PDAF; Secondary 8MP wide-angle camera, 12mm lens; EIS; LED flash
• Front Camera: Main 20MP, f/2.0 lens; Secondary wide-angle camera, 12mm lens; EIS; LED flash
• Chipset (var.1): Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, octa-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 505
• Chipset (var.2): Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, octa-core 2.2GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 508
• Memory: 4GB RAM, 32/64GB, microSD
• OS: Android 8.0 Oreo + ZenUI 5.0
• Battery: 3300mAh
• Connectivity: Optional dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.1, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac (SD630) or Wi-Fi b/g/n (SD430), NFC, FM radio, microUSB
• Misc: Fingerprint reader

Asus Zenfone Max (M1)

• Body: Front glass, aluminum body;
• Screen: 5.5-inch, 16:9, 720p IPS LCD
• Rear Camera: Main 13MP, f/2.0 lens, PDAF; Secondary wide-angle 8MP camera, 12mm lens; EIS; 1080p video; LED flash
• Front Camera: 8MP or 13MP f/2.0 lens;
• Chipset (var.1): Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, octa-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 308
• Chipset (var.2): Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, octa-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 505
• Memory: 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB, microSD
• OS: Android 8.0 Oreo + ZenUI 5.0
• Battery: 4000mAh
• Connectivity: Optional dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC, FM radio, microUSB
• Misc: Fingerprint reader

Asus likes to spice up its models with some twists for some markets. The Zenfone 5 and 5z for starters will be available in different storage versions, the Lite has different selfie snappers and chipsets, and even the Max (M1) will kick off with different chipset in some regions.

But once you overcome and sort through the tons of information from the specs sheets - then comes the best part - seeing these Zenfones for real. They look good and come with more than promising features and pricing.

Trivia done, time to do some Zenfone inspections. Shall we?