The Asus Zenfone 2 packs some great hardware but most considered it to be another underwhelming option in the mid-range smartphone market, manufactured to be another useless part of the 2015 lineup. However, many analysts considered giving it a second look.
The phone finally went up for sale in North America for Amazon customers, four months after its announcement in January. You will basically notice two different variants, a lower end $200 model with 16GB of storage and a second 64GB model priced around $300.
The higher-end comes with differences not only in the storage capacity but also inner hardware. The high end model is the one which features the record-breaking 4GB of RAM in a smartphone. For its price, the Asus Zenfone 2 has great specifications.
On board, you will notice an Intel Atom Moorefield Z3560 4x Silvermont @ 1.8GHz in the low-end model, and a Z3580 4x Silvermont @ 2.33GHz in the high-end phone. It comes with a 5.5inch display with an IPS LCD screen, supporting a display resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.
The device features a 13megapixel rear camera along with a 5 megapixel front shooter, usual connectivity features like 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC and a 3000mAh battery. The phone includes a slot for microSD card, dual-SIM capabilities along with 4G LTE support. As mentioned before, you will receive either 2GB or 4GB of DDR3 RAM.
However, the hardware is not quite premium and simply not comparable with the high-end flagship smartphones. Unlike the S6 Edge and the S6, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus or even the HTC One M9, the Asus Zenfone 2 is plastic.
If you buy this phone, keep in mind that you won’t get a fashion-friend hardware phone but more of a utilitarian device for the budget minded. However, the phone also comes with a few drawbacks. If the battery ever dies, you are in a fix as it cannot be replaced.
The lock screen button is placed at the top and a person with average-sized hands will find it difficult to reach. However, the hardware is pretty impressive for what you are paying and most probably the best value for money in the market right now. On the software front, the phone doesn’t scream finesse and this could be the very reason why a person decides against getting this device.