If the OnePlus 7 hasn’t got you excited then Asus has announced the Zenfone 6 this week which shows the competition isn’t going to let OnePlus get away with it every time.
And we’re intrigued to see how the Zenfone 6, announced globally, will cater to the demands of the Indian user, in a segment where OnePlus has been raking the numbers.
We still don’t know the price of Zenfone 6 in India, or when it will launch in the country. But after spending some time with the device and getting a closer look at its innards, here’s what we can tell you about the new Zenfone flagship phone from the company.
As you can see, Asus seems to have worked diligently on the design of the Zenfone 6. It doesn’t carry a notch, of any kind, and neither a punch hole camera. So, the question is, Honey, where’s the front camera! It’s right behind the phone and works in a flippy manner (more on that below).
Because of which, the phone manages to pack a near bezel-less screen and no chin profile at the bottom either. This is much closer to the modern design reference than either of Google’s current Pixel phones are, and definitely the OnePlus 7 as well.
At the back, Asus has gone for the tried and tested glass-cum-metal finishing touch. The fingerprint scanner is still positioned at the back, which means, you still don’t get an in-display fingerprint scanner with the latest Zenfone model.
However, they’ve managed to retain the headphone jack (OnePlus doesn’t), it supports dual-SIM and even then you’ll be able to expand storage via the additional third-slot for microSD card.
In terms of hardware, you’re getting the latest in the market. It is powered by Snapdragon 855, with up to 8GB RAM and offering 256GB storage. But with the option to expand storage readily available, people can easily go for the 64GB option and still manage to bump up the space to 256GB, if needed.
But it’s fair to say that Asus has made sure the headlines belong to its camera optics and the battery on board. Yep, that’s because the Zenfone 6 comes loaded with a mammoth 5000mAh battery.
You might mistaken it for the Zenfone Pro Max series but it isn’t. None of the phones with flagship-grade hardware had managed this feat and kudos to Asus for pulling this off, even though it does come at the cost of weight.
Still, we were surprised to see that OnePlus 7 Pro (206 grams) with a smaller 4000mAh battery, is heavier than the Zenfone 6 (190 grams) even when it packs a 5000mAh unit.
And finally, the camera. Asus has opted for a motorised flip camera, which ensures that you get to use the 48-megapixel and 13-megapixel sensors on both the sides. We haven’t been able to test its capability yet but the company claims to packed a lot of features into it.
The other main thing worth pointing out is Asus finally making use of stock Android interface on its device. This results in a cleaner, fluid software that responds nicely to the limits of the processor in tow.
All in all, Zenfone 6 looks like an interesting device and hopefully, Asus will price it sensibly to counter the threat of the OnePlus 7 in the country.
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