After the initial success of the Zenfone series smartphones, Asus has been struggling to establish itself in the smartphone market. The company has adopted a new strategy after the management change and is now focusing on power users instead of mass users.
While the phone’s gaming smartphones under the ROG brand is already getting the much-needed attention, the company now has launched its new smartphone with an aim to stand out from the crowd — Asus Zenfone 6.
The smartphone flaunts a 6.46-inch Full HD+ LCD IPS display which also supports HDR10. It is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 6. Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, the same chipset which is powering the newly launched OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro smartphones.
It packs up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage. There’s also a dedicated microSD card slot that allows users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity. For security, the phone also comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
As the phone comes with a no-notch design, the company has adopted the flip camera mechanism which is similar to what we saw on the Samsung Galaxy A80. The phone comes equipped with a 48-megapixel f/1.79 main camera and a 13-megapixel 125-degree ultra-wide camera along with a dual-LED flash.
Talking about the durability, the company said that the phone’s front, as well as back, comes with Gorilla Glass protection. In the middle sits is a frame of 6000-series aluminum. The flip-up camera is made from Liquid Metal and it will close automatically if you drop the phone, similar to what OnePlus 7 does.
The phone runs Android 9 Pie operating system out of the box with the company’s newly revamped ZenUI 6 custom interface. The company has also promised to deliver Android Q as well as the next major update, Android 11 R. It will also get security updates for at least two years.
The handset is powered by a larger 5000 mAh battery which supports 18W fast charging technology. Wireless charging support is not included on this flagship smartphone as Asus says that it’s detrimental to the longevity of the battery.
The Asus Zenfone 6 will be available in two color options — Midnight Black and Twilight Silver. The 6 GB + 64 GB model is priced at 499 Euros while the 6 GB + 128 GB model costs 559 Euros. The top-end model with 8 GB RAM + 256 GB model is priced at 599 Euros and the phone will go on sale from 25th May.
With such specifications and pricing, the Asus Zenfone 6 will compete against the OnePlus 7 series flagship smartphones. In fact, the pricing of the Zenfone 6 is lower than that of OnePlus 7 Pro. So, it will be interesting to see how this competition pans out.
Asus Zenfone 6 Specifications
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core SoC
- RAM: 6/8 GB
- Operating System: Android 9 Pie with ZenUI 6
- Display: 6.46-inch Full HD+ NanoEdge IPS LCD display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 600 nits brightness, HDR10, and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection
- Camera: 48 MP flip camera with Dual LED Flash, f/1.8 aperture, 1/2.25″ Sony IMX586 sensor and a 13 MP secondary camera with 125-degree ultra-wide lens, f/2.4 aperture
- Internal Storage: 64/128 GB
- External Storage: Yes, via dedicated microSD card slot
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, and USB Type-C
- Other: Fingerprint sensor, 5-magnet stereo speaker, Dual NXP TFA9874 smart amp
- Colors: Midnight Black and Twilight Silver
- Battery: 5000mAh with QuickCharge 4.0 fast charging
Asus Zenfone 6 Pricing and Availability
- Pricing of 6 GB + 64 GB: 499 Euros (~$557)
- Pricing of 6 GB + 128 GB: 549 Euros (~$624)
- Pricing of 8 GB + 256 GB: 599 Euros (~$669)
- Availability: Now on pre-order in select Europen market; Sale from 25th May
