The Mobile World Congress 2018 got exciting on Tuesday evening when Asus unveiled three new smartphones as part of its Zenfone 5 series. There's a Zenfone 5 Lite, as the name suggests, is a low-end variant, and then there are Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5S - the ultimate flagships by the Taiwanese smartphone maker.
If you missed the live stream of Asus Zenfone 5 launch at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona on Tuesday, we bring you the cool stuff that really matters in the Zenfone 5 series. The stars of the show - Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5S - received mixed reactions and yes, a lot of iPhone X-clone labels. But both the phones are quite impressive on their own, and we are going to compare them in order to prep you before they hit the market in a few months.
Let's address the elephant in the room before we get started - the design of Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z. Both are identical to one another and a look a lot like Apple's 2018 flagship - iPhone X. Is that a compliment? That depends on how you take it (and pretty sure what this Chinese company thought as well).
And if you ask Asus' global head of marketing, Marcel Campos, he said, "'Some people will say it's copying Apple, but we cannot get away from what users want. You have to follow the trends," according to The Verge.
Both the Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z deliver a full-screen experience on a budget, which is a good thing for end consumers. If you cannot afford the iPhone X, consider the options of Zenfone 5 series. The Zenfone 5Z is the premium model and it's priced at 479 euros ($585 / Rs 38,000), while the Zenfone 5 is cheaper than its sibling. Asus CEO Jerry Shen did not reveal the pricing of the Zenfone 5 but took a not-so-subtle dig at Apple by saying it'll be "for everyone to enjoy compared to the fruit company."
Asus Zenfone 5 will be available April and the Zenfone 5Z will arrive in June. Exact release dates and markets were not revealed by Asus, but we'll keep you posted on the phones' arrival in India at the earliest. Now moving on to the things we do know about the new flagships.
Asus Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z may look identical but they're quite unique in their own ways. To make it simpler for you to understand the differences let us give you the main highlights in bullets.
Asus Zenfone 5Z and Zenfone 5 share the same screen - a 6.2-inch Full HD+ LCD display with 19:9 aspect ratio and 90 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Both phones have Face Unlock, but not as advanced as iPhone X's Face ID. There's a fingerprint scanner at the back as a quick alternative.
Both phones also have the same cameras. The rear dual cameras are equipped with 12MP Sony IMX363 with f/1.8 aperture and 8MP 120-degree wide-angle lens f/2.2 aperture sensors. The front camera is powered by an 8MP single sensor with f/2.0 aperture.
Both Zenfones have a 3,300mAh battery each with AI Charging technology.
There's a mean sound system in both phones, featuring dual 5-magnet speakers with dual NXP smart amplifiers, triple internal microphones with noise reduction, Hi-Res Audio support, and DTS Headphone: X support.
Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver are the two color options available for both Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z.
Additional features include Apple's Animoji-like Zen Emoji, dedicated microSD card slots, 4G VoLTE, USB Type-C ports and 3.5mm headphone jacks on each phone.
These were the similarities, now the differences between the two phones include:
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 for Zenfone 5Z and Snapdragon 636 for Zenfone 5.
RAM: 4GB/6GB/8GB options in Zenfone 5Z and 4GB/6GB in Zenfone 5
Storage: 128GB or 256GB in Zenfone 5Z (varies by country) and 64GB in Zenfone 5
So, what's your choice of iPhone-clone going to be? Asus Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5Z or the $150 Chinese alternative? Share your thoughts with us.
