Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie dual review: Yet another selfie-centric smartphone!

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front cameras has 4GB of RAM coupled with 64GB of inbuilt storage and expandable memory support by up to 2TB.

By Vijeta
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Taiwan is not only the land famous for Hello Kitty obsession; it has also developed a reputation as the inception point of some of the greatest and most unique smartphones to ever hit the market. Taiwanese brands including HTC and Asus have not only proved their mettle against South Korean giant Samsung but they have also offered some of the most enticing technologies to consumers globally.

 

Asus is one of the most popular brands from the region which has started receiving an astounding response from consumers much recently. Asus has always worked equally on quality and aesthetics of its smartphones.

Its recent release is the Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Series. The latest mobile phone series envelope three devices which include Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro, Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual camera and Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie.

If the branding of the devices isn't enough for you, the smartphones focus on taking outstanding self-portraits. We got our hands on the humbly priced dual camera spin-off, the Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front cameras.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Series First Impression

The smartphone retails in India for Rs. 14,999, however, Flipkart will let you grab the device for a thousand bucks shy of the current price on Big Billion Sale.

Let's rush into the review of the device and find out if Asus has its game figured out well enough or is it giving in to the increasing competition projected from its neighboring rivals.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie dual review: Yet another selfie-centric device

Rating:
3.5/5

Specifications: Reliable Snapdragon 430

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front cameras is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core Soc. The smartphone has 4GB of RAM with 64GB internal storage.

The dual camera smartphone has a 20MP front snapper clubbed with an 8MP wide angle lens. It has a rear camera of 16MP and aperture value of f/2.2.

The device has a 5.5-inch HD IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280X720 pixels. It has a 3,000mAh battery and USB 2.0 support. The smartphone runs Android Nougat while the GUI on the device is Asus cultivated ZenUI 4.0.

Snapdragon 430 clubbed with 4 gigs of RAM is possibly the most common combination in the price segment of Rs.12,000- Rs.15,000. Not only is it widely used but is also reliable. However, we believe Asus could have upgraded to Snapdragon 435 which is conclusively a better performing processor. Moreover, Asus Zenfone 3 series is also dominantly covered by the 430.

Design: Eye catchy colors
 

Design: Eye catchy colors

 

The Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front camera has a metallic unibody and has a beautiful overall design. The device has two self portrait cameras on the top of the front panel. It has an elongated yet slim carving for earpiece. It also has a single LED flash on the front panel.

The home button is at the bottom of the front panel that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor. Two capacitive touch buttons are placed on the either side of the home button. These are the back and multitasking buttons.

The back panel of the device houses the rear camera behind a shiny topping. A single LED flash lies adjacent to the camera. The brand's logo is engraved with a lustrous finish a few clicks below the camera.

The right side edge of the device has a volume rockers and the power button. The left side edge houses the SIM tray. The speakers are on the base edge behind grills. The micro USB 2.0 port finds a spot on the base edge as well. The 3.5 mm audio jack is at the top.

The device is none less than a stunner and the two colors, viz. Rose Pink, Sunlight Gold and Deepsea Black, that it comes in add up to its aesthetics. It feels a bit heavy compared to even metallic smartphones in the price range. None the less, it is easy to handle and has a trimmed girth for a better grip. The corners of the smartphone are rounded where as the edges are slightly outbound.

I really loved the Deepsea Black shade. It gives the smartphone a shade unlike any of its competitors.

 

Camera: Carries its name well enough!

Camera: Carries its name well enough!

 

The Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front cameras gives selfie lovers a reason to ditch their average smartphone cameras. The 20 MP front camera captures bright stills with an optimum quality and pleasing saturation. It is also great for taking pictures in dim light. The front flash on the smartphone managed to impress me. The flash fires with a bright light but the pictures do not have a blown out exposure.

The camera also manages to retain optimum highlights even with overexposed background. The highlight of the device, the wide angle 120 degree field of view camera is efficient enough of snapping pictures with a small group up close. It also gives you a creative free hand of trying the wide field of view in various ways.

The 16MP rear camera on the device has a crisp focus. It manages to pull out pictures with naturally popping colors under optimum amount of light. It is also capable of cutting out overexposure quite effectively.

The rear camera fails to maintain a uniform under dim light. The pictures developed in low light are noisier than you would actually expect them to be. The rear flash fails to offer the quality the front flash quite easily manages to retain.

The smartphone has a great front camera setup. The added benefit of a wide angle lens doubles up its likeability.

 

Performance: A stable processing for glitch-free use!

Performance: A stable processing for glitch-free use!

 

The device has 4GB of RAM complemented with Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Soc. Snapdragon 435 could have been a better upgrade adding up to the smartphone's brand value and consumer satisfaction. However, do not allow the above statement undermine 430's capabilities.


The Soc along with the Adreno 505 GPU runs even the most exhausting games quite well, without any substantial lag. The only problem that bothered me every time I started playing a game was the overheating. The battery drain is also very quick while testing the limits of the processor.

The device is great for a glitch-free use all day long. The 64GB inbuilt storage also ensures that the device does not lose its performance capacity too early.

Gamers will not be too enthralled by the smartphone's performance due to the battery drain.

 

Battery and display: Vibrant display but an underperforming battery!

Battery and display: Vibrant display but an underperforming battery!

 

The device has a 5.5 in HD IPS LCD display. It is no better than any of the smartphones in the price segment but the mellow color balance of the display makes it great for watching videos and enjoying short sessions of reading. It is also amply bright and the auto brightness is effectively responsive.

The resolution of the display is1280X720 pixels which advertently means that the device has low pixel density. Thus the display fails to deliver all the visual data with an extensive sharpness.

The battery on the device has a capacity of 3,000mAh. The battery is simply not optimized too well. There are smartphones with a similar battery capacity that deliver extended usage. Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual cameras is unlike those devices. The smartphone lasts 12 hours with normal usage and with challenging usage the battery lives up to 10 hours or less.

However, the device charges quite fast. It takes it approximately 45 minutes over an hour to get its fill of charges.

 

Fingerprint sensor and speakers: Slow sensor with quality speakers!

Fingerprint sensor and speakers: Slow sensor with quality speakers!

 

Asus boldly stated at the launch event that the Zenfone 4 Selfie series devices have quick fingerprint response. It boldly went ahead bragging about the unlock time of the Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual cameras which supposedly is 0.3 seconds. You can take my word for it, IT ISN'T!

As a matter of fact, the device I received took a noticeable amount of time to unlock every single time I used the sensor. It isn't at par in unlocking time as compared to any of its competition. However, in its favor, I largely felt that the problem was UI generated. An update may fix the issue, however, keep an eye out for it.

The speakers on the device had an optimum level of highs. The sound was crisp enough and beats are retained well. Moreover, after getting to use so many smartphones I have noticed that the speaker qualities on smartphones have come to a stagnant stage. I have compared sound quality on some of the best budget devices to the high-end models that cost a butt load. There are no substantial differences.

There is certainly room for improvement and by improvement, I mean the quality of sound mechanism along with the introduction of innovation.

As far as the speaker quality of our protagonist is concerned, it offers nothing less than the best speaker devices in the price segment.

 

Conclusion: A stunner with a few letdowns

Conclusion: A stunner with a few letdowns

 

The smartphone has some letdowns that may give buyers a reason not to spend their money on it. However, the features that undoubtedly deserve some appreciation are the front camera, stable performance and last but certainly not the least, the well crafted design.

Selfie lovers heads up, a well-crafted device is here for you to grab.

I also feel Asus could have cut down the price on the device and released it in the 10-12k price-segment.

If you really want to get a go at the smartphone, I would suggest you wait for its price to come down. If you are too eager to get it, mark the calendar for the Big Billion Day.

And Asus, why the love for lengthy names?

 

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