Asus Zenfone 4 family hands-on

Asus Zenfone 4 family hands-on

Introduction

Why bother fighting the sharks for attention at IFA when you can hold your own private event and have the spotlights all to yourself? That was Asus' line of thought, apparently, which brought us to Rome last week for the European launch of the Zenfone 4. Or rather, the Zenfone 4s. Yes, because they are quite a lot of them.

There's a Zenfone 4 for everyone, pretty much - even the vanilla Zenfone 4 comes with one of two chipsets, either the Snapdragon 630 or the 660. There's also a dual camera setup with one dual-pixel 12MP shooter, courtesy of Sony, and another ultra wide-angle one, LG style. But that's before you get to the Pro model which packs the high-end Snapdragon 835 and swaps the wide-angle cam for a tele one.

And we're only just getting started. Next comes the Zenfone Selfie 4 Pro which takes the rear camera duo of the Zenfone 4 proper, but puts it on the front - yes, 12 million 1.4-micron dual pixels looking at you, plus a wide-angle cam for what Asus calls wefies - it's like group selfies, but you can't just call them group selfies like a peasant. Replace the 12MP dual pixel cam with a less fancy, but higher-res 20MP one, move a notch down Qualcomm's chipset ladder to the S430, and there you have it - the Zenfone 4 Selfie (non-Pro).

You don't get the whole selfie craze, but need a dependable phone to last you on long days? Sure enough, Asus has you covered with the Zenfone 4 Max, though you still need to select one of many. There's a 5.2-inch one, and a choice of 5.5-inchers, though of the 5.5-inchers we only handled the 720p flavor, and a 1080p version is out there somewhere too. The Maxes pack a Snapdragon 425 or 430 chip, single cams front and back, and 4,100mAh to 5,000mAh batteries with power bank functionality.

We got to play around on the venue floor with all of these Zenfone 4s, and we picked up some initial impressions. For those, plus a healthy share of hands-on photos, head over to the next couple of pages, or use the links below for quick access to the specific phone you're most curious about.

Asus Zenfone 4 Pro hands-onAsus Zenfone 4 hands-onAsus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro hands-onAsus Zenfone 4 Selfie hands-onAsus Zenfone 4 Max hands-on

Asus Zenfone 4 Pro hands-on

• Body: Aluminum and Gorilla Glass
• Display: 5.5" AMOLED, 1080p (401ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 835 chipset (4x2.45 GHz Kryo & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo; Adreno 540)
• Memory: 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of storage; hybrid microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: Main 12MP, Sony IMX362 sensor, 1/2.55" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size, dual pixel autofocus, f/1.7 25mm-equiv. lens., OIS; Secondary 16MP, Sony IMX351, 50mm-equiv. lens
• Front camera: 8MP, f/2.0 24mm-equiv. lens.
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi ac, NFC; USB-C
• Battery: 3,600mAh (sealed); fast charging
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack, dual speakers

Easily the most interesting of the bunch, the flagship Zenfone 4 Pro is built around a 5.5-inch AMOLED display - Pro often goes with AMOLED in Asus' lineup.

There are generous bezels top and bottom, Asus hasn't bothered keeping up with the recent trends. On the plus side though, that's made room for a nice large fingerprint sensor below the display and an earpiece that doubles as a second speaker.

The Zenfone 4 Pro is a glass sandwich like so many others these days. It's Gorilla Glass on both sides, and Asus doesn't make a big deal out of the version - we had to resort to looking it up on Corning's website to find out it's GG5. Nice. Less so is the smudgy mess that the back immediately turns into, but such is life - the Zenfone is no different than the next phone with a glass back in this respect.

   
Asus Zenfone 4 Pro in white

The dual camera sits in a common bump in the upper left corner of the phone, with a '2x zoom' inscription so you don't forget its top feature. It's a similar setup to the iPhone 8 Plus and Galaxy Note8 with a regular 25mm-equiv. main cam and a second 50mm-equiv. moderate telephoto one.

  
Asus Zenfone 4 Pro in white

The camera is, in fact a lot like the Note8's - the primary shooter uses a 12MP 1/2.55" dual pixel Sony IMX362 sensor like the one you'd find in an HTC U11, and similar in principle to the imager used in recent Galaxy flagships, Note8 included. The f/1.7 aperture lens is stabilized too and Asus promises 4 stops of stabilization - on a 25mm lens that means you should be able to get photos free of hand shake induced blur with shutter speeds down to 2/3s.

The second rear cam is a 16MP Sony IMX351 affair - it's the same 1/3.06" sensor LG used on the V30's main cam. Here, however, it's paired with a 50mm-equiv. lens, giving the Zenfone 4 Pro 2x zoom capability. That's proper optical zoom which Asus extends digitally to 10x total, but we all know how digital zoom is something you'd rarely want to use.

  
Asus Zenfone 4 Pro camera coverage: Normal • Telephoto

By the way, that's not just a flash next to the camera - there's also an RGB sensor for determining the temperature of the ambient light and assisting with white balance. And if the dual pixel autofocus isn't enough, there's also laser autofocus and Asus promises a 0.03s time to lock focus.

Sony everything - the front camera is an 8MP unit with an IMX319 sensor and large pixels too - 1.4µm like on the IMX362. The 22mm-equiv. focal length is plenty wide for group shots, and the f/1.9 aperture lets a lot of light in. Overall, it's a truly impressive specsheet in the camera department, though we obviously couldn't properly test it out at the event.

   
Asus Zenfone 4 Pro in black

Not just the camera department, actually - the Zenfone 4 Pro is powered by the current Qualcomm top-of-the-line chipset, the Snapdragon 835, there are 6gigs of RAM on board and storage options tart at 64GB. Battery capacity is a respectable 3,600mAh and there's fast charging support and a myriad of charging technologies to extend battery life in the long run.

   
Asus Zenfone 4 Pro in black

With a (speculated) price tag of 600€ for such a complete package, the Zenfone 4 Pro seems to make a lot of sense in today's flagship market where the big-name offerings cost upwards of 800€. That said, we're yet to properly test one to make sure it's as good in practice as the specs suggest.

Asus Zenfone 4 hands-on

• Body: Aluminum and Gorilla Glass
• Display: 5.5" IPS, 1080p (401ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 630 (4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex A53; Adreno 508) or Snapdragon 660 (4x2.2 GHz Kryo 260 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 260; Adreno 512)
• Memory: 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, 6GB of RAM for the S660 version; hybrid microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: Main 12MP, Sony IMX362 sensor, 1/2.55" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size, dual pixel autofocus, f/1.8 25mm-equiv. lens, OIS; Secondary 8MP ultra wide-angle, 120-degree field of view
• Front camera: 8MP, f/2.0 24mm-equiv. lens.
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi ac, NFC; USB-C
• Battery: 3,300mAh (sealed); fast charging
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack, dual speakers

The Zenfone 4 Pro is the flagship, but the non-Pro might be better for you in more than one way. There's the price difference, obviously, but the vanilla model replaces the telephoto cam for an ultra wide-angle one - if you wanted one of these you only had LG to go to, but not anymore. The ultra wide-angle cam covers a 120-degree field of view, just like LG's latest implementation on the V30. Meanwhile, the main camera is the same as on the Pro - 12MP, dual pixels, and all. The RGB sensor is is present too.

The body of the Zenfone 4 is a glass sandwich similar to the Pro, only this one is covered with Gorilla Glass 3, as opposed to GG5. Another notable difference is that the camera modules sit flush with the back on the 4, while the Pro has a bump.

    
No AMOLED on the Zenfone 4 • Plenty of glass, though • Cameras are flush with the back

It may not be Pro, but the Zenfone 4 does keep the stereo speakers and the fingerprint sensor - no corner-cutting here.

The list of changes on the Zenfone 4 proper, when compared to the Pro, includes an IPS LCD in place of the AMOLED display, still 5.5 inches in diagonal, and still FullHD. Our initial impressions are that it's a good LCD with high peak brightness and contrast and good color stability at an angle.

    
Asus Zenfone 4

The Zenfone 4 comes in two versions in terms of chipset - it's either the Snapdragon 630, or the 660 - the S835 is reserved for the Pro. RAM is 4GB on the S630 version and 6GB on the one with the more powerful chip. Battery capacity is 3,300mAh on either one, complete with fast charging.

We also have a review unit of the Zenfone 4 here at the office, all set to enter the review pipeline. You can expect a detailed review in the coming weeks. In the meantime - there are Zenfone 4 Selfies and Maxes on the following page.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro hands-on

• Body: Aluminum and Gorilla Glass
• Display: 5.5" AMOLED, 1080p (401ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 625 chipset (Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 506)
• Memory: 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage; hybrid microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: 16MP, Sony sensor,PDAF
• Front camera: Main 12MP, Sony IMX362 sensor, 1/2.55" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size, dual pixel autofocus, f/1.8 25mm-equiv. lens, OIS; Secondary 8MP
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC; microUSB 2.0
• Battery: 3,000mAh (sealed); fast charging
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack

If you want to use a phone's main camera for selfies, you typically use a mirror. Not with the Zenfone Selfie 4 Pro, where the main camera is, in fact, on the front. Actually, two of them - the same pair of 12MP+8MP shooters you can find on the Zenfone 4 (non-Pro), one dual pixel, the other - ultra wide-angle. There's a front-facing flash, too. It's the Selfie Pro, duh.

  
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro front camera coverage: Nornal • Ultra wide-angle

With the Pro moniker, the AMOLED display comes - a 5.5-inch FullHD panel like on the Zenfone 4 Pro (non-Selfie). Here it's covered in Gorilla Glass 3, and not 5. There's no Gorilla Glass on the back, though, but it would be odd to put glass on top of the aluminum rear panel, really.

  
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro has an AMOLED display

The back has a satin finish with the defacto secondary camera in the middle. There are antenna bands top and bottom, too - overall an unremarkable design, yet one you can't go wrong with. On the front, it's pretty much like the rest of the Zenfone 4s - bezels aplenty, large fingerprint sensor. Unfortunately, no stereo speakers, just the bottom-firing one.

   
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro's satin-finished back

Oh, and looking at the bottom, we could complain about the microUSB 2.0 port, let's get rid of those already.

  
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

The Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 625 and can be had with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Battery capacity is 3,000mAh which should be fine for the combination of an AMOLED display and an efficient 14nm chipset.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie hands-on

• Body: Plastic back, Gorilla Glass front
• Display: 5.5" IPS, 720p (267ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 430 (Octa-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 505)
• Memory: 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage; dedicated microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: 16MP, PDAF
• Front camera: Main 20MP, LED flash; Secondary 8MP ultra wide-angle, 120-degree field of view
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC; microUSB 2.0
• Battery: 3,000mAh (sealed)
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack

Drop the Pro title and the AMOLED is gone, replaced by an IPS display. Resolution is also lower - 720p versus the Pro's 1080p. No more dual pixel on the front either, but there's still a dual camera - the primary one is in fact 20MP. The ultra wide-angle 8MP shooter is here too, and so is the front-facing flash.

In terms of design, the Zenfone 4 Selfie is clearly a member of the same family, but this one is plastic on the back. The illusion of metal is maintained by the satin finish, though, and it doesn't look or feel cheap.

    
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie

One of the best bits about the Selfie is the triple slot - there's a dedicated microSD slot in addition to the two SIM slots.

Asus Zenfone 4 Max (ZC554KL) hands-on

• Body: Aluminum back
• Display: 5.5" IPS, 720p (267ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 430 (Octa-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 505) or Snapdragon 425 (Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 308)
• Memory: 2GB/3GB/4GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB/64GB of storage; dedicated microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: Main 13MP, OV13855 sensor, 1/3.06" sensor size, 1.12µm pixel size, PDAF, f/2.0 lens; Secondary ultra wide-angle, 120-degree field of view
• Front camera: 8MP, OV8856 sensor, 1/4" sensor size, 1.12µm pixel size, f/2.2 24mm-equiv. lens
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC; USB-C
• Battery: 5,000mAh (sealed); fast charging; can charge other devices
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack

As with most things Asus, the Zenfone 4 Max comes in a number of different versions. We handled a couple of those, including the ZC554KL model. It's got a 5.5-inch 720p display, an IPS one. It lacks Gorilla Glass protection - that didn't make the budget.

What did make the budget, even though the Max is no Selfie, is the front facing flash. Here, it accompanies a single selfie cam, an 8MP one. There are a couple of cameras on the back, however - a 13MP primary one and the familiar 120-degree ultra wide-angle one - apparently, a phone must have three or more cameras these days.

    
Asus Zenfone 4 Max ZC554KL

It's not about the cameras with the Zenfone 4 Max, though - it's battery life. The ZC554KL model comes with a 5,000mAh power pack, which it can share with other devices - you can use it to charge your smartwatch, wireless headphones, second phone, car battery... Okay, not that last one.

Asus Zenfone 4 Max (ZC520KL) hands-on

• Body: Aluminum
• Display: 5.2" IPS, 720p (282ppi)
• Platform: Snapdragon 425 (Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 308)
• Memory: 2GB/3GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB of storage; dedicated microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, ZenUI 4.0
• Rear camera: Main 13MP, PDAF, f/2.0 25mm-equiv. lens; Secondary ultra wide-angle, 120-degree field of view
• Front camera: 8MP, OV8856 sensor, 1/4" sensor size, 1.12µm pixel size, f/2.2 24mm-equiv. lens
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, dual-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC; USB-C
• Battery: 4,100mAh (sealed); fast charging; can charge other devices
• Misc: Front-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm jack

There's a smaller Max too, even if the name implies a superlative quality. The ZC520KL, as you may have already learned to interpret from the model number, packs a 5.2-inch display, 720p again. It keeps most of its big bro's hardware, cameras included, but has a smaller battery - 4,100mAh. The ability to charge other electronics remains.

    
Asus Zenfone 4 Max ZC520KL

A feature shared by both Maxes is the dedicated microSD slot - like the Selfie Pro you can have two SIMs and microSD card inside the phone, all three together. There are fingerprint readers on both, you can't not have a fingerprint reader anymore. Unless you're an iPhone X, of course.

Final words

We didn't have all that much time and it was a lot of Zenfones to play around with, but we can still appreciate Asus' efforts to cater to as wide as possible an audience. There's the high-end Zenfone 4 Pro that's equipped to challenge the big guns, the vanilla Zenfone 4 a notch down the ranks with an ultra wide-angle cam and upper mid-tier internals, the Selfies with a focus on front-facing cameras, and the Max lineup for those who value battery life most. There's hardly a use case that isn't covered. We'll give the Zenfone 4 in particular a more in-depth look in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.