tl;dr: for USD $138 more, would you buy a Samsung A8 Duo over a Zenfone 2 ZE551ML?
In my market the Samsung A8 Duo is available for USD $363, the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML for $225; a side-by-side spec comparison can be found using GSM Arena's comparison tool (this forum will not allow me to include links in this post). Some highlights:
Specs alone can't tell you how a phone performs in real life. That said, the Zenfone 2 has twice the RAM of the A8; the A8 has faster RAM (LPDDR4 vs. LPDDR3). As for camera quality, I can't say because there are no direct comparisons between the two phones.
In regards to battery life, here's what GSM Arena reported for the two phones:
A8: 98h "endurance rating", 25:02h 3G talk time; 12:18h web browsing; 12:45h video playback
Z2 (single SIM): 62h "endurance rating", 15:47h 3G talk time; 7:52h web browsing; 8:43h video playback
The battery performance for the A8 was quite surprising, especially given the atrocious battery performance of other Samsung phones like the S6.
Finally, there's the question of Android version. The Zenfone 2 still ships with Lollipop 5.0, whereas the A8 ships with 5.1.1. I don't believe either company has official confirmed upgrades to Marshmallow, although based on what I've seen in this forums, the unofficial response from Asus is that the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML will skip Lollipop 5.1.1 and go directly to Marshmallow. As for the A8, it would be surprising if it didn't get upgraded, although who knows when this will happen.
In my market the Samsung A8 Duo is available for USD $363, the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML for $225; a side-by-side spec comparison can be found using GSM Arena's comparison tool (this forum will not allow me to include links in this post). Some highlights:
- SIM/Micro SD: both are dual SIM and support micro SD.
- Battery: equivalently sized batteries in both, although the Zenfone 2 supports fast charging.
- Size/Weight: the A8 is 12% lighter and 46% thinner than the Zenfone 2 at its thickest point.
- Screen: almost identically sized screens; 5.7" Super AMOLED (A8) vs. 5.5" IPS (Zenfone2)
- Camera: 13MP (Zenfone 2) vs. 16MP (A8), both have roughly similar functions
- RAM/Storage: 4GB RAM/32GB (Zenfone 2) vs. 2GB RAM/32GB (A8)
- CPU/GPU: Intel Atom Z3580 (Zenfone 2) vs. Exynos 5 Octa 5430; PowerVR G6430 (Zenfone 2) vs. Mali-T628 MP6 (A8)
- WiFi/Bluetooth: identical WiFi and Bluetooth support (except the A8 supports Bluetooth LE)
- 4G LTE: the Zenfone 2 supports more LTE bands (although not relevant for my market)
Specs alone can't tell you how a phone performs in real life. That said, the Zenfone 2 has twice the RAM of the A8; the A8 has faster RAM (LPDDR4 vs. LPDDR3). As for camera quality, I can't say because there are no direct comparisons between the two phones.
In regards to battery life, here's what GSM Arena reported for the two phones:
A8: 98h "endurance rating", 25:02h 3G talk time; 12:18h web browsing; 12:45h video playback
Z2 (single SIM): 62h "endurance rating", 15:47h 3G talk time; 7:52h web browsing; 8:43h video playback
The battery performance for the A8 was quite surprising, especially given the atrocious battery performance of other Samsung phones like the S6.
Finally, there's the question of Android version. The Zenfone 2 still ships with Lollipop 5.0, whereas the A8 ships with 5.1.1. I don't believe either company has official confirmed upgrades to Marshmallow, although based on what I've seen in this forums, the unofficial response from Asus is that the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML will skip Lollipop 5.1.1 and go directly to Marshmallow. As for the A8, it would be surprising if it didn't get upgraded, although who knows when this will happen.