In the flagship segment of smartphones, Asus has been making some wonderful smartphones and continue to innovate their products in a unique way. This time, Asus is back with the Asus Zenfone 6 or what it now is called, the Asus 6Z. Although they stuck with the Zenfone branding fora long time, this time they had to rename the device for Indian consumers because of a lawsuit. Putting that aside, the innovation in the Asus 6Z comes in the form of the flip camera with some inspiration from the previous generation smartphones. Considering the time do the Asus 6Z review, we tested it out in all aspects.
We have tested the device for a good amount of time to come up with this review of the same. Also, with the recent OTA update, Asus made some betterments in the camera section and in the camera module.With extensive usage in multiple environments, we can say that the Asus 6Z is a good deal. But to what extent? Read out the review below to know it.
Asus 6Z Review
Design and Build
Design and build quality is something where Asus always excels and surprises us. The Asus 6Z weighs around 190g which is pretty optimal for a device which packs a 5000 mAh battery. Apart from the innovative flip camera, there are no other surprises with the design. As soon as you get hold of the device, that touchy-premium feel hits your hand with glass on the front and rear, and aluminum finish running along the sides.
On the rear, we have the Asus branding placed vertically and above it is the perfectly placed fingerprint sensor. Going a bit more above, we have the flip-camera with dual-lens and an LED flash sitting in between. On the front is the 6.4-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel with a 92% screen-to-body ratio, thanks to the flip camera, there is no ugly notch. Both the front and back have the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 & 3 protection too.
The right panel has the power button, volume rockers and the smart assistant button which is triggered to Google Assistant initially. All the buttons are well built and give out tactile feedback upon pressing. On the bottom panel, we have the USB Type-C along with the 3.5mm headphone jack, a single lined speaker grill, and the microphone.
All in all, Asus did a great job in this section considering that this device is their flagship. From the innovative flip camera to the buttons, the design and build are meticulous.
Display
Asus device displays, be it an AMOLED panel or an LCD panel never tend to surprise for the amount of detailing and crispness. The Asus 6Z sports a 6.4-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel with a peak brightness of up to 600 nits. The no notch display up on the front along with enough chin area is perfect, thanks to the flip camera.
The colors are vivid with multi modes on offer including the high contrast which feel light for the eyes in the well-lit areas. There is also a night mode on offer while using the phone in the dark which is enabled throughout the phone. The auto-brightness too is accurate and adjusts quick but acts a little arrogant sometimes. Hopefully, an update will fix this issue. All in all, the LCD panel does the justice right for this device as it offers more sharpness than the analogous AMOLED panels.
The Flip Camera
The flip camera innovation for Asus came out of inspirations from other devices like the OPPO N1 and the most recent Samsung Galaxy A80, but did they improvise something? Yes, they did, the stepper motor implementation makes many photo-taking modes possible.
The first and the best outcome you can expect of this flip camera is that you can take selfies from the primary rear camera with immense details. Also, it turns out as a plus for the vloggers because the primary sensor has motion tracking which can detect your face and never get it out of focus so that you are always in the center of the frame.
Next up, the introduction of stepper motor helps in shooting some great panorama’s. yes, you guessed it right. The flip camera will sweep the area to take a photo with a broad field of view. Coming to the module itself, Asus claims that it has been tested for more than 100,000 flips. While the module feels rigid enough, the face unlock on this one is a bit slow because of the camera needs to turn 180-degrees around. Also, you will have to swipe up on the screen like the iPhone X in order to unlock the device. The quick fingerprint sensor set up on the rear comes to the rescue though.
Asus 6Z Review: Cameras
As we have talked about the flip camera and its functions before, the technical numbers of the camera on the Asus 6Z is as the primary sensor is the 48MP Sony IMX586 with f/1.79 aperture along with a secondary 125-degree wide-angle lens. The best thing is that these sensors combine to act as the selfie camera too. The dual-lens camera module on the Asus 6Z has a Laser AF but misses out on the OIS which is a bit downside but the Laser AF works perfectly.
The images taken with the rear primary camera came out pretty good in details and coloring in the natural light. Not so surprising because most of the high-end devices this year have depended on high-res sensors for the high details. But it is a really good deal to be able to take selfies with the same sensor because you can expect some great selfies.
The secondary 13MP wide-angle camera takes some great shots along with being able to take broad field panoramic shots with ease, thanks to the stepper motor. This also helps in taking wide-angle selfies with a wider field. The good thing is that auto HDR is turned by default on this device
The camera, although it performs well, struggles in low-light conditions for obvious reasons. The images in low-light areas come out with noise and degradation in quality. However, the night mode in the camera app comes to the rescue by bettering the photos a bit. The portrait mode works great in well-lit areas but struggles with edge detection in low-light areas. Below are the camera samples for you to check out.
Overall, the camera does not disappoint much considering the price you are paying for this device.
Performance and Software
Asus with their flagships always have the top-end components for the software to run seamlessly. The Asus 6Z is equipped with the Snapdragon 855 SoC along with the amount of RAM as per the variant. You can have up to 8GB of RAM with 256GB UFS 2.1 storage and we have the top-end variant with us for the review.
The 8GB of RAM coupled with the Snapdragon 855 SoC produces some amazing performance results. In our tests, the device showed no signs of distress upon heavy multi-tasking and switched between applications without any delay. Gaming too, with PUBG, played at highest graphics settings felt great but definitely not on par with the OnePlus 7 Pro.
On the OS part too, Asus has been inclining towards the stock Android lately and made the best out of it with the old ZenUI being not so appreciative. Keeping the UI neat and clean, Asus did implement some customizations which you can do to the UI as per your preferences. All in all, Asus did a great job here in the software section limiting the bloatware and unnecessary modifications. The device did pretty well in benchmark numbers and we will leave them down here.
Battery and Miscellaneous
The Asus 6Z packs a humongous 5000 mAh battery which will definitely last for a day with insane usage. In our tests though, we did not do anything insane, but with minimal browsing, social media, streaming services, gaming, and music well gave us about 6-8 hours of screen-on-time consistently. Also, the device takes a while to charge up fully in this generation, but still, the 18W charger included in the box does a good job to charge up the device up to 60% in an hour.
The Asus 6Z has the Widevine L1 certification which helps in FHD streaming of videos in streaming services, the dual VoLTE works well along with the dual-band Wi-Fi. Coming to the audio, the Asus 6Z has the 3.5mm headphone jack unlike other flagship devices in this range. The speakers are loud enough, thanks to the earpiece which doubles up as a speaker along with primary one.
With the recent OTA update, Asus did fix some issues with the camera, bettering the night mode and also, the stepper motor just got better to take much better panoramas.
Asus 6Z Review: Verdict
Considering all the things that the Asus 6Z offers in all aspects, the Asus 6Z is priced starting at Rs.31999 for which it offers a 6GB RAM with 128GB storage. The design is top-notch, the display is a bit downside as it is an LCD panel, the huge 5000 mAh battery, the neatly built OS, and the cameras are great enough for the price you pay. If not the Asus 6Z, you can consider the OnePlus 7 or other devices in this segment. But overall, if you are looking for something exceptional in terms of innovation for the price you are paying, you can surely go with this device. Again, it is up to you to make the decision to go with your preferences and make a wise choice.
The Good:
- Snappy Performance
- Clean Android
- Edge-to-Edge Bezel-Less Display
- Impressive Battery Life
- Unique/Fun Camera Features
- Expandable Storage
- Affordable
The Bad:
- Good Display but not that great, it could have been better
- The camera setup is not OnePlus 7 grade
- No Water Resistance
