Asus ZenFone 6 hands on: Flipping the script to take on the OnePlus 7 Pro - leeawking

Even if they hadn't released within years of each other, it's impossible non to compare the Asus ZenFone 6 to the OnePlus 7 Pro. They both take up Snapdragon 855 processors, funky selfie cams, and near-stock Android skins. And they're some a whole lot cheaper than their premium counterparts.

But while we expected the OnePlus 7 Pro to excel in the field, the Asus ZenFone 6 may follow combined of the most surprising phones of the year so Former Armed Forces. Where most recently class's ZenFone 5z was an iPhone copycat with an worthless notch, forced AI camera gimmicks, and a heavy-handed scrape, Asus has completely reimagined its smartphone experience for this year's model: The camera cutout is done for, the AI scene detector is little more a toggle, and ZenUI has been just about jettisoned. IT's a refreshing change that makes the ZenFone 6 feel Thomas More the like a reboot than a annual refresh. That's exactly what Asus needs to take over OnePlus 7 Pro, the ZenFone 6's about writ large competitor.

Christopher Hebert/IDG

The back of the Asus ZenFone 6 is glass, but there's no wireless charging on board.

Let's start with the glasses. The ZenFone 6 is an additive upgrade over the 5z, merely Asus has added decent to keep step with OnePlus's upgrades:

• Show: 6.4-inch FHD+ LCD
• Central processing unit: Snapdragon 855
• RAM: 6GB/8GB
• Storage: 128GB/256GB
• Camera: 48MP, f/1.79 + 13MP ultra wide (125 degree FOV)
• Battery: 5,000mAH

While the ZenFone 5z had relatively standard dimenseions of 153 x 75.65 x 7.7mm, the ZenFone 6 is somewhat larger, measuring 159.1 x 75.44 x 9.1mm. The cinch is especially noticeable, though the ZenFone 6 has a slightly tapered purpose that brings it down to a respectable 8.4mm at the edges. When you hold information technology, however, you can definitely tone that it's substantially thicker than other phones. At 190 grams, the ZenFone 6 weighs a genuine deal to a lesser degree the 206-g OnePlus 7 Pro, just the inconsistent weight dispersion makes the ZenFone 6 feel heavier and more than cumbersome.

Christopher Hebert/IDG

The Zenfone 6's 6.4-inch LCD screen isn't nearly every bit refulgent or balanced as other OLED phones.

Asus has given the ZenFone 6 a near-all-screen design, with slight bezels and a dramatically attenuated Chin. The blue Asus logo stands out nicely against the disastrous operating theatre silvern glass back, as does the only other splatter of colouring material: a metallic blue rim about the power release. It eve has a headphone jack. Altogether in all, it's a solid design that departs from the excesses of the ZenFone 5z.

The ZenFone 6's 6.4-inch display may be only a touch small than the 7 Pro's 6.67-inch one, simply the chasm between OnePlus's Fluid AMOLED technology and Asus's NanoEdge couldn't be wider. The inherent differences between OLED and LCD are taken for granted, and the 1440p screen along the OnePlus 7 Pro is crisper and far more vibrant. The ZenFone 6's display is considerably dimmer than the OnePlus 7 Pro's, and what brightness it has International Relations and Security Network't nearly as uniform. When looking at a solid color, it's easy to spot dark areas, especially near the edges.

New dog gets new tricks

Only the test and the size may be tradeoffs virtually buyers will be willing to make to get the ZenFone 6's flagship features: the camera and battery. While the OnePlus 7 Pro has a good 4,000mAh battery, the ZenFone 6 ups the ante to 5,000mAh, besting even the Galaxy S10 5G.

We're hush up running tests, but Asus approximation up to 2 years of "non-stop use," with 21 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing and 33.2 hours of talk of the town time. For comparison, Apple estimates that the iPhone XS Max gets up to 13 hours of Internet use and 25 hours of talk time. So the ZenFone 6 will likely circus tent the list as the longest-lasting of its Snapdragon 855 peers.

When you need to charge it, the ZenFone 6 supports QuickCharge 4, which fills up the call up unbelievably fast. Asus says the ZenFone 6 leave heraldic bearing A fast with an 18W adapter as other phones will with a 27W one, and we'll be putting that claim to the test. But in our pseudoscientific observations, the ZenFone 6 charged very quickly.

Christopher Hebert/IDG

Like the Pel 3, the Asus Zenfone 6 has a splash of color on the power clitoris.

What really sets the Zenfone 6 obscure is the camera. Information technology's not just that information technology pairs a 48MP, 1.6 μm lens with a 13MP ultra wide one, operating theater even that has a 0.03s laser auto-focus—it's that the front camera has the perfect same specs as the rear one. How? Because when you switch to the movement camera, the entire mechanism rotates.

It's a neat trick, and somewhat more efficacious than the OnePlus 7 Professional's rising selfie cam. The totally camera literally flips around to face front when you tap the button to switch views, and while it's a half-second slower than the OnePlus 7 Pro, it still happens very quickly.

Christopher Hebert/IDG

Technically, the Asus Zenfone 6 has a 48MP selfie cam.

The ZenFone 6 unrivaled-ups the OnePlus 7 Pro by letting you stop the photographic camera's rotation at any point, allowing for "free tip over" videos and photos and semiautomatic vertical panoramas. It's ace of the virtually specific camera features I've ever seen, one that will sure as shootin come in handy when shooting grandiloquent buildings and mountains.

I do wonder how long the mechanics will last. Asus says it's built a custom hoofer motor with a liquid metal gear box, only IT's a heck of a moving part, with lots of crevices to store dust and grease. The OnePlus 7 Pro's is relatively strong from the elements, but the flip camera on the ZenFone 6 seems Sir Thomas More vulnerable.

Peradventure the biggest merchandising spot of the ZenFone 6 is its Android pare. Previous ZenFones have been slathered with the Dot UI skin, which added disorienting options and ugly icons to set back Asus's stamp on things. The ZenFone 6 discards every last that in party favour of a near-stock Android Pie experience. Some Zen UI features remain, such as Fresh Key for atomic number 75-mapping and customizing the incline Google Supporter button and Smart Book, which adjusts the ringtone and media levels supported ambient noise, but they're much more bearable set against a clean and speedy Android clamber.

Christopher Hebert/IDG

The dual camera on the Asus Zenfone flips around to take selfies.

The ZenFone 6 has a lot to crack for its for its $500 price. Like OnePlus with its 7 Pro, Asus has built an affordable flagship that has more to put up than a biggish screen and a Snapdragon 855 mainframe. With its bigger barrage fire, unique camera, and nice, clean Mechanical man peel, the ZenFone 6 is a real alternative to the OnePlus 7 Pro, and information technology costs $170 less to boot.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/397471/asus-zenfone-6-hands-on.html

Posted by: leeawking.blogspot.com

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