Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Series First Impression: Making selfies bigger and better

Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, Asus has developed a fan following among Indian consumers. The divergent designs and competent performance of its devices have always been an element of surprise for users who are more than just happy to own Asus smartphones.

Asus recently introduced three new handsets in the Zenfone 4 Selfie series in the Indian market. The brand wants to take a big bite of its share by introducing devices that are not only great to look at and deliver reliable performance but also allow users to take amazing pictures.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Series First Impression: Three selfie centric devices for every price segment

Performance camera smartphones have been in demand in the country recently. Asus Claims that its latest line of devices has been developed to deliver pictures with stunning quality with both front and rear cameras.

The smartphones released by Asus include Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro, Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual camera and Zenfone 4 Selfie. As the name suggests, the smartphones have been developed in a manner that makes them the most favored choice among consumers who want a device with a performing front camera.

The mobile phones will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting September 21, 2017.

Specifications: Selfie centric devices

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is the flagship model from the manufacturer and has been priced at Rs. 23,999. It boasts an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It supports microSD cards of storage capacity up to 2TB. The screen of the smartphone is a 5.5-inch full HD AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920X1080 pixels. The USP of this smartphone is the dual front camera.

The first front camera on the device is 24MP shooter equipped with Sony Exmor RS IMX 362 sensor. It has an aperture value of f/1.8. The second front camera is a 5MP snapper with an aperture value of f/2.2. The 5MP camera has a wide field of view and captures objects in 120 degrees of view.

The rear camera has a 16MP sensor. It has an aperture value of f/2.2. There is flash for both front and back cameras.

The smartphone has a 3000mAh battery and micro USB 2.0 support that facilitates fast charging.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie with Dual camera and Zenfone 4 Selfie

Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front cameras and its counterpart with a single front camera have almost similar specifications. Both the devices are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core Soc. The dual camera variant has 4GB of RAM with 64GB internal storage whereas the single front camera variant has a 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage.

Zenfone 4 Selfie with dual front camera costs Rs. 14,999 whereas the single front camera version retails at Rs. 9,999. 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 single front camera Zenfone 4 Selfie variant has a 13MP rear and 13MP front camera.

Both the variants have a 5.5-inch HD IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280X720 pixels. They have 3000mAh batteries and USB 2.0 support.

All the three smartphones have Android Nougat with ZenUI 4.0.

Design: Elegant and handy

Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is a light weight smartphone and weighs 147 grams. It does not feel heavy in hands and has an ergonomic design. Its front panel has dual cameras on the top with the microphone and the LED flash adjacent to it.

It also has a home button which houses the fingerprint sensor. It has two capacitive touch buttons which are back button and multitasking button.

The bottom edge of the device has micro USB 2.0 port along with 3.5 mm audio jack and speakers.

Power toggle and volume rockers are on the right side edge of the device.

The smartphone has a carbon fiber body and has a very smooth feel about it. The device is available in Gold and Deepsea Black colors.

Zefone 4 Selfie with dual camera and Zenfone 4 Selfie have same design except for the fact that the former has a dual camera on the front panel.

The volume rockers and power toggle are on the right side edge whereas the micro USB 2.0 port and speakers are on the bottom edge. 3.5 mm audio jack takes the top position. The two devices have a home button with fingerprint sensor.

The two devices have a metallic design and look quite attractive.

Camera: Impressive for their respective price segment

The camera and picture quality of Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro and Zenfone 4 Selfie with the dual front camera has a great quality and it was a pleasure using the devices, however, the same cannot be said for the Zenfone 4 Selfie with a single dual lens.

The front camera of the sub 10K device was more than decent however the rear camera of the smartphone is not at par with the competition.

Conclusion: Asus' contemporary strategy

The devices have been launched with a strategy to take over the competing devices from brands including Oppo, Vivo and Gionee that have been doing quite well in the country.

Asus is trying to raise the bar with a great performing flagship device followed by a budget smartphone in sub 15K price segment.

Asus has the capability to increase its market share substantially, however, its sub10K device is not up to the mark and although it has a great UI.

We will provide you an in-depth review of the three devices once we get our hands on them.