The ASUS ZenFone 2 review
First I would like to thank Android Central/Mobile Nations, and ASUS for the opportunity to review this device.
Specification refresher:
-OS Lollipop 5.0
-Chipset Intel Atom Z3580 Quad Core 2.3 GHz
-4 GB RAM
-64 GB Internal storage
-SD card up to 64 GB
-5.5" IPS screen 1080x1920
-Li-Po 3,000 mAh battery
I received this phone on June 1st, and to this day on June 12th, has been my daily driver since. My prior device being the HTC M8.
The Good:
Screen: Based solely on how the screen looks, this is very similar to my M8. On my device, whites are very accurate. I have no color tint at all. The icons are very sharp, and crisp.
Speakers: For rear facing speakers, they aren't bad. I had streamed music from Google Play and the sound was clear, pleasant to listen to, and after placing it on my desk for a few minutes, I forgot I wasn't listening to the M8.
User Input: In regard to touch response, this is fast. For a few days I left all the animations on stock, and it is still a snappy device. Turning the animations down made it a tiny bit faster. I am guessing the 4 GB of RAM helped out here. There were a couple hiccups in the ROM itself, but that was upon initial set up, nothing a reset couldn't fix, and things I haven't seen since.
Other: Clear method of rebooting into recovery. Without looking online, I got into recovery quite easily. There were no excessive extra button presses, or combos. No tilting your hand to 35.7 degrees on the right solar zenith on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday of the month (ok a little extreme on the sarcasm, but I have seen recoveries that are painstaking to get into).
Quick Charge: This is my first device that is capable of it. It is a very nice feature to have.
Tap to wake: Had this on my M8, and it is so nice! Good move here.
The Neutral:
Power button: The top center is very cumbersome to use. However, with a screen off widget, I was able to bypass the need to reach it. With the tap to wake, this reduces the need for the power button almost entirely.
Back plate: It is nice and tight. Very comforting snap as it sets into place. Conversely, there is a little more effort to remove it than other devices with removable backs that I have used.
Recovery speed: Not too surprised after the Nex5 and M8. Cache clear and resets were a little on the slow side, but nothing too surprising.
Power button in plate: This doesn't quite sit too well with me. The plate with the button has a small foot, and that presses the actual power area. However, to play Devil's Advocate, this design might be aimed at wear and tear on the button so that it reduces the actual breaking to something easily replaceable.
The Bad:
Battery: Surprisingly, this is somewhat disappointing. There is a 3,000 mAh battery in the ZF2, versus the 2,600 mAh in the M8. My M8 is showing it's age in terms of battery, meaning I am starting to notice some degradation, and my M8 lasts as long as the ZF2, doing roughly the same activities. Devil's Advocate on this though is I can make it through a roughly 13 hour day and not need to rush to a charger. I am however, a Medium light user. Very few video intense games, and my screen time is a couple hours.
Kernel: Looking at GSAM battery stats, the Kernel is working overtime. I am inclined to believe this is part of the under performance in the battery. I am also inclined to believe part of this is related to the Intel chip.
The Ugly:
Hardware buttons: I am not against these, although it has been a while since I have used a device with them. They do not illuminate, which is not fun in lower light situations. Response of the buttons is hit and miss. It almost seems like the sweet spot is quite small.
Summary:
For someone reading this looking to get an overview of this device, something to keep in mind is this device is priced at $300 at most. No contract, just a straight $300, and you have a very solid device. A low price like this and you have:
-A respectable amount of storage
-A higher end chipset, regardless of the power drain
-A relatively up to date version of Android out of the box
This is a device that has some room for improvement, but it isn't horrible out of the box. Would I suggest this as a daily driver? Probably not, depending on your use. As for emerging markets, this might be the overall goal of the ZenFone. Is it a good backup device? Very. I can easily see this as a solid backup device.
I really wanted to love this device. I can see so much potential for it. I think once ASUS can figure out the kernel issues, it can be a stellar device for the price point. I was ecstatic upon unboxing it, and the first few days I had to remind myself that the battery needed to break in. It did take a little over a week before seeing some battery improvements, and realizing it was the same type of battery as the M8, I automatically ignored the battery life until last Monday.
First I would like to thank Android Central/Mobile Nations, and ASUS for the opportunity to review this device.
Specification refresher:
-OS Lollipop 5.0
-Chipset Intel Atom Z3580 Quad Core 2.3 GHz
-4 GB RAM
-64 GB Internal storage
-SD card up to 64 GB
-5.5" IPS screen 1080x1920
-Li-Po 3,000 mAh battery
I received this phone on June 1st, and to this day on June 12th, has been my daily driver since. My prior device being the HTC M8.
The Good:
Screen: Based solely on how the screen looks, this is very similar to my M8. On my device, whites are very accurate. I have no color tint at all. The icons are very sharp, and crisp.
Speakers: For rear facing speakers, they aren't bad. I had streamed music from Google Play and the sound was clear, pleasant to listen to, and after placing it on my desk for a few minutes, I forgot I wasn't listening to the M8.
User Input: In regard to touch response, this is fast. For a few days I left all the animations on stock, and it is still a snappy device. Turning the animations down made it a tiny bit faster. I am guessing the 4 GB of RAM helped out here. There were a couple hiccups in the ROM itself, but that was upon initial set up, nothing a reset couldn't fix, and things I haven't seen since.
Other: Clear method of rebooting into recovery. Without looking online, I got into recovery quite easily. There were no excessive extra button presses, or combos. No tilting your hand to 35.7 degrees on the right solar zenith on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday of the month (ok a little extreme on the sarcasm, but I have seen recoveries that are painstaking to get into).
Quick Charge: This is my first device that is capable of it. It is a very nice feature to have.
Tap to wake: Had this on my M8, and it is so nice! Good move here.
The Neutral:
Power button: The top center is very cumbersome to use. However, with a screen off widget, I was able to bypass the need to reach it. With the tap to wake, this reduces the need for the power button almost entirely.
Back plate: It is nice and tight. Very comforting snap as it sets into place. Conversely, there is a little more effort to remove it than other devices with removable backs that I have used.
Recovery speed: Not too surprised after the Nex5 and M8. Cache clear and resets were a little on the slow side, but nothing too surprising.
Power button in plate: This doesn't quite sit too well with me. The plate with the button has a small foot, and that presses the actual power area. However, to play Devil's Advocate, this design might be aimed at wear and tear on the button so that it reduces the actual breaking to something easily replaceable.
The Bad:
Battery: Surprisingly, this is somewhat disappointing. There is a 3,000 mAh battery in the ZF2, versus the 2,600 mAh in the M8. My M8 is showing it's age in terms of battery, meaning I am starting to notice some degradation, and my M8 lasts as long as the ZF2, doing roughly the same activities. Devil's Advocate on this though is I can make it through a roughly 13 hour day and not need to rush to a charger. I am however, a Medium light user. Very few video intense games, and my screen time is a couple hours.
Kernel: Looking at GSAM battery stats, the Kernel is working overtime. I am inclined to believe this is part of the under performance in the battery. I am also inclined to believe part of this is related to the Intel chip.
The Ugly:
Hardware buttons: I am not against these, although it has been a while since I have used a device with them. They do not illuminate, which is not fun in lower light situations. Response of the buttons is hit and miss. It almost seems like the sweet spot is quite small.
Summary:
For someone reading this looking to get an overview of this device, something to keep in mind is this device is priced at $300 at most. No contract, just a straight $300, and you have a very solid device. A low price like this and you have:
-A respectable amount of storage
-A higher end chipset, regardless of the power drain
-A relatively up to date version of Android out of the box
This is a device that has some room for improvement, but it isn't horrible out of the box. Would I suggest this as a daily driver? Probably not, depending on your use. As for emerging markets, this might be the overall goal of the ZenFone. Is it a good backup device? Very. I can easily see this as a solid backup device.
I really wanted to love this device. I can see so much potential for it. I think once ASUS can figure out the kernel issues, it can be a stellar device for the price point. I was ecstatic upon unboxing it, and the first few days I had to remind myself that the battery needed to break in. It did take a little over a week before seeing some battery improvements, and realizing it was the same type of battery as the M8, I automatically ignored the battery life until last Monday.
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