Asus Zenfone 4 Series launched with Dual Cameras : Everything you need to know

Asus Zenfone 4 series : What new comes with the Dual Cameras

Jerry Shen, the CEO of ASUS, presented their new ZenFone 4 series at the "We Love Photo" event in Rome. The new series (which is already available in Asia and North America) includes the ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Max, ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro and the ZenFone 4 Pro. We seized the opportunity and took a look at the new phones.

The most affordable options of this new series are the Max models, which stand out due to their particularly large battery. While the 5.2-inch model offers a good 4100 mAh, the 5.5-inch smartphone has even 5000 mAh. This is supposed to last for 46 days on standby with activated LTE. The smartphones are powered by a Snapdragon SoC from the 400 series and have access to 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. Furthermore, the storage can be expanded via microSD. The cameras offer 5 MP at the front and 13 MP at the back. Both versions are available in Black, Gold and Pink and will have a recommended retail price of £250. 

The Selfie model is directed - as you would expect from the name - at  selfies and wefie fans. It offers a 5.5-inch Full HD display with OLED technology, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, which, again, can be expanded via a microSD card. The SoC is a Snapdragon 625. The highlight of this phone is naturally the dual front camera, which takes photos with an enormous resolution of 24 MP and has a modern sensor (Sony IMX362) with large pixels (1.4 µm). These specifications promise high light sensitivity. The phone can also record videos in Ultra HD. The second lens enables wide-angle shots with an angle of 120°. The back camera, on the other hand, is a lot less well-equipped with 16 MP. The ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro is available in red, gold and black. We particularly liked the red version which harmonized beautifully with the black front. The phone's recommended retail price is £300.

The ZenFone 4 offers a 5.5-inch Super-IPS+ display, which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is supposed to have a brightness of up to 600 nits. Powered by a Snapdragon 630 with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, this model also has a particularly light-sensitive (IMX362, 1.4 µm, f/1.8) dual camera. The second camera is used for wide-angle shots and bokeh effects in portraits. The ZenFone 4 has a 3300-mAh battery. Since we were actually handed a test version of this device at the event, we were able to play around with it a little. Apart from the perfect workmanship and attractive design, we were particularly impressed with the cameras. However, the ZenFone 4 is not cheap at £500 - although the price is appropriate for what the phone has to offer. Apart from Black, the ZenFone 4 is also available in Mint Green and White.

The top model of the ZenFone 4 series is the Pro version. It offers a camera that is a little more light-sensitive than that of the ZenFone 4 and has double the internal storage. The Pro model is also equipped with an AMOLED screen and a larger battery with 3600 mAh, which also makes the device noticeably thicker and heavier. The second lens of the dual-camera is used not only for wide-angle shots, but also as 2x optical zoom - digital zoom is possible up to 10x. The phone also has a Snapdragon 835 and LTE cat. 16. The ZenFone 4 Pro is the first smartphone with the new ad Wi-Fi standard, which should theoretically support a data transfer rate of up to 4.6 GBit/s as soon as suitable peripheral devices are available. The 4 Pro is the only device of the series that will not be available immediately, but will probably be released in November. We were not able to find the planned UK price for this model, but the European price of 850€ (~£750) seems quite self-confident for a smartphone. 

The zenfone 3 was not received well in India , mostly due to the price at which it was launched . But with zenfone 4 , Asus has brought a whole new improvements in its Zenfone series , now it has those dual cameras , a bigger battery , faster processors , better media consumption experience , and an even more ergonomic design . 

The zenfone 4 has a gorgeous build , even more attractive than its predecessor . The glass back looks extremely beautiful to hold , though it is a fingerprint magnet . The fingerprint sensor has been moved to the front , embedded in the home bottom . The 5.5" IPS lcd  fhd display is sharp and has maximum brightness of 600 nits . The screen is covered with 2.5d corning gorilla glass 4 for protection . There is option to configure the colour scheme also . 

The internals have been upgraded this time aroud . There are two variants , one with snapdragon 630 and 4 gb of ram , while the other variant comes with snapdragon 660 and 6 gigs of ram . Both the processors are based on 14 nm manufacturing process , so we can expect better battery life . Both the variants come with 64 gigs of storage . 

Now , focusing on optics , the smartphone supports dual camera setup , a regular one the a wide angle . The primary one is a 12 mp f/1.8 Sony IMX 362 sensor with large 1/2.55" sensor size and 1.4 micron pixel size . There is support for dual pixel autofocus and 4-axis OIS . You get slow motion and time lapse options . The secondary one is an 8 mp f/2.2 OmniVision 8856 sensor ( 1.12 micron pixel size ) for superwide 120 degree view . The front also the same 8 mp sensor with f/2.0 aperture with 84 degree view . 

For connectivity , there is support for 4g VoLTE , Wi-Fi 802.11 ac , bluetooth 5.0 , NFC , usb type C , FM radio and a 3.5 mm headphone jack . There is support for dual speakers with high-res audio and DTS surround sound for better audio via headphone jack . You get all the sensors you would expect . The battery here is 3300 mah , with the support of quick charge . The price quoted is $399 ( about Rs. 30,000 ) .

Along with the regular Zenfone 4 , Asus has also released 5 more versions , Zenfone 4 pro (for $599 or about Rs. 38,000 ) , Zenfone 4 selfie , Zenfone 4 selfie pro , Zenfone 4 max and Zenfone 4 max pro . The main specifications of these phones are shown in the table below .