Just a few days after the launch of OnePlus 7 Pro—with its new 16MP pop-up selfie camera—Asus showed off its latest creation, Zenfone 6, as a take on the 7 Pro. Despite the few things in common between these two, Zenfone kind of excels in one or two fields. Especially in the camera department.
ZenFone 6: The 48MP FLIP CAMERA
Asus Zenfone 6 has installed never-seen-like-before camera module to take smartphone photography to the next level. It has a motorized flip camera that works as both rear and front camera. Meaning extra immersive display with no distracting notch or whatsoever.
Moreover, a better selfie camera that has the power to shoot with the same rear-camera quality. In fact, the camera module is a perfect balance of software and hardware. The rotation angle can be manually adjusted via the camera app to take pretty amazing panorama shots or, to use it as a periscope or take a low or high angle, or corner shots. Even better, the movement can be automated to motion tracking to keep the object in the frame while shooting.
Camera specs wise, the Zenfone 6 has employed dual camera setup. The main one being a Sony’s flagship 48MP IMX586 Quad-Bayer sensor with f/1.79 aperture lens that takes 12MP photos by default and exploits the extra pixels for better improved dynamic range and low noise. And this main camera is accompanied by the other 13MP, 125-degree ultrawide-angle sensor. However, the duo misses the telephoto.
Besides, though the camera lacks OIS, it has EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) in work that can shoot amazingly stable 4K videos at 60 frames-per-second. This is where the vlogging gets better because you get to shoot 4K videos and see what’s happening on the display at the same. Unlike any other “ordinary” phones.
In the process of the all-screen, no-notch display, the legitimacy and reliability of the motorized cameras have always been in question since its inception. However, the company claims, the ZenFone 6’s camera module has been tested for 100,000 times actuations and closes in the lab, and has adopted Liquidmetal tech—4 times stronger than stainless steel—to house it. [For comparison, OnePlus 7 Pro passed 300,000 times opens and closes.]
Design and Hardware
Apart from the show-stopper camera module, the ZenFone 6 sports the latest and best Snapdragon 855 SoC, which is coupled with 6/8GB RAM and 64/256GB internal storage. Design-wise, there are fine side-bezels and little chin at the bottom, enclosing a 6.4-inch FHD+ IPS LCD immersive screen.
The phone is a beast on the battery part too, as it is fueled by massive 5000mAh juice that can easily go on for two days with a single plug-in!
Asus ZenFone 6: Price and Availability
The Asus ZenFone 6 is currently listed for preorder on Asus eShop for the UK. The phone cost £499 for 6GB, 64GB internal storage variant. And for an extra £50, you can get 8GB RAM, 128GB storage variant. However, the ZenFone 6 price for the US and other regions are yet to be disclosed!
