Last month, Asus launched its second generation budget smartphone Zenfone Go 4.5 in India.
The new Zenfone Go comes in two variants based on camera hardware. One houses 5MP+0.3MP while the other features 8MP+5MP back and front cameras, priced at Rs. 5,299 and Rs. 5,699, respectively.
We have received the former model for review. Here's our opinion on the Asus' compact 4.5-inch phone.
Design and build quality:
The new Zenfone Go 4.5 is the most visually appealing smartphone in the sub-Rs. 6,000 price category. It comes with an ergonomically designed curved back with volume rockers below the primary camera module.
Asus phone's middle part bulges out a little, but the thickness tapers around the corners, which makes the device easy to slide into the pocket. Its 127g weight makes it perfect to be used with one hand.
Though the cover is made of polycarbonate-based plastic shell, it is very hard, capable of surviving accidental drops and also exudes a premium look, thanks to the brushed metal-coating.
As far as the physical button positions are concerned, Asus has kept the right and left of the phone clean by incorporating the power button at the top with 3.5mm audio jack. At the bottom, the micro-USB is placed at the centre, while the volume rockers are placed below the primary camera for ease of access.
The company has incorporated a single-grille speaker at the top with the camera on the right side in the front panel.
Display:
Asus Zenfone Go 4.5 features FWVGA screen with 854x480p resolution and comes with capacitive buttons (home, recent and back) at the bottom. The only qualm one can have is the absence of back-lit capacitive buttons at the bottom, as we found it really difficult to operate the phone in the dark.
Processor, RAM and Storage:
The new Asus Zenfone G0 4.5 (2nd gen) comes packed with a pretty good hardware compared to rivals in the sub-Rs.6,000 price category. It houses 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 quad-core CPU backed by 1GB RAM and 8GB inbuilt storage with option for expansion up to 64GB.
During our tests, we tried playing games, open multiple apps and switch between them. It responded well with very less lag, despite the phone being riddled with numerous pre-loaded apps.
When we extended the gaming session, it did get over-heated. But this is not a big deal considering the fact that the other phones show same behaviour under these conditions.
Mobile Operating System:
The new Zenfone Go 4.5 (2nd gen) runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop-based ZenUI. It boasts of custom themes, memory cleaner, and numerous nifty features. Though the company has tried to include more value-added features in the phone, it failed to impress us.
It has flooded the apps drawer with numerous applications and this makes navigating on the phone a bit tiresome.
Camera:
Asus Zenfone Go 4.5 (2nd gen) houses a 5MP camera with LED flash on the back and a 0.3MP VGA snapper.
During our tests, Zenfone Go's primary camera fared well in bright daylight conditions, but the same can't be said for pictures taken indoors.
The 0.3MP front-camera did not impress us much in terms of picture quality, but the only saving grace is the inclusion of beauty modes and editing tools to alter selfies.
Sample shots from the camera are given below:
Battery:
The Zenfone Go 4.5 (2nd gen) comes with 2,070mAh battery. During our testing, it was able to keep the phone running for more than 16 hours under mixed usage, which included playing games, internet browsing, talking on the phone, playing videos and listening to audio.
If left idle, the Asus phone was able to stay awake for more than four days.
Verdict:
We are quite impressed with its ergonomic design and brushed metal coating, which exudes a premium look.
As far as internal hardware is concerned, it has a pretty standard specification that gets the job done with very less hassle.
All-in-all, Asus' new Zenfone Go (2nd gen) is quite a good budget phone, especially for those who are migrating from a feature phone to a smartphone.
Pros:
- Impressive design language
- Primary camera
- Battery
Cons:
- No backlit buttons in the display panel
- Front-camera should have had more pixel count
