The launch of Asus ZenFone series smartphones have increased the company revenue. Asus ZenFone 4, the hot selling model now in the markets pricing at only RM 299 with unexpected specifications. But, what if Asus came out another ZenFone 4 model with slightly upgraded specifications?
Specifications
- Dimensions: 136.8 x 67.9 x 11.3 mm
- Weight: 145 g
- Display: 4.5" WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) IPS
- Processor: 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2520
- RAM: 1 GB
- Memory: 8 GB, microSD card slot
- Camera: 8 MP Camera, 1080p video recording, VGA front
- Battery: 1,750 mAh
- OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Design
You can't differentiate the design between the new ZenFone 4 and the regular one, as both are completely same.
The spin cut plate is located below the display, which is the signature of Asus ZenFone. Turning the back you'll finally get to know it's not the regular ZenFone 4. The LED flash is located below the camera lens and the speaker grille is now wider and has moved to bottom, but these changes make it looks more like the ZenFone 5.
Asus ZenFone 4 (A450CG) handling
Screen resolution is same as the regular version but with slightly larger screen at 4.5". It is still coveered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a must.
The display lacks of contrast and viewing angle is bad, or reflective in another word. However, the sharpness is just enough for viewing text on internet, it has 480 x 800 resolution though.
Performance
Asus hasn't changed the processing package of the new ZenFone 4. It still features 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2520 processor with 1 GB of RAM.
It scored 7,090 on Quadrant Standard and 18,751 on AnTuTu Benchmark, which is slightly higher than the regular ZenFone 4. We doubt that it is because the optimization of Android 4.4 KitKat.
Software
We won't get into deep on the software as it is almost same as the original ZenFone 4. The new ZenFone 4 however is running on latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat with ZenUI.
The ZenUI on Android 4.4.2 KitKat is almost same as the older version. It supports Dalvik and ART runtime but we're unable to switch to ART runtime. Not sure why but reportedly there are a few users having the same problem.
Camera
The camera has upgraded to 8 MP resolution with the additional LED flash. It still comes with a few interesting modes thanks to the PixelMaster technology.
The camera interface hasn't changed at all. The photo shooting and video recording share the same interface, which causes framing tricky.
Camera samples
We have seen some improvements on its camera, the colors are vibrance and it is able to control the noise level well. Our main concern is the indoor shoots. It seems that Asus really work a lot on its software treatment to ensure that the brown strips effect won't get back to the indoor shoots anymore. We need to give a thumb up to Asus at this point. The low-light mode captures more lights than usual but sometimes it's out of focus and noise level has increased, we rather shoot it with auto mode, at least it's better.
Battery
As the screen size has increased, the battery has also increased to 1,750 mAh battery. However, bigger battery capacity has brought it to non-removable. Battery life is average and it is slightly better than the regular ZenFone 4 with longer battery standby and use time at around 6 hours on heavy usage.
Final Words
The upgraded ZenFone 4 is priced higher at RM 369, of course. For us, we think that the original ZenFone 4 impressed us more, but it doesn't mean that the upgraded ZenFone 4 is bad. The ZenFone 4 (A450CG) is for someone who want a better camera, bigger screen and battery from the original ZenFone 4. Still, we think that Asus really did a great job on ZenFone series.
Pros
- Camera has improvements
- Low price tag
- Smooth user interface
Cons
- Unable switch to ART runtime
- Unimpressive display
- Under power processing package
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