The predecessor, ZenFone 5, had claimed: a 3300 mAh battery, while in the inexpensive ZenFone Max lineup they put on a 5000, a large cutout in the screen, a camera without any special chips. In ZenFone 6, they collected all the best right away: a top battery, a top 855th Snapdragon, and, attention, a swivel camera module.
Selfie from the main camera
The design is not new: the OPPO and Honor once had a pivoting camera module. Why for many years these smartphones have disappeared is unclear. But it is clear why they returned. This camera eliminates the installation of the front camera, and, therefore, there is no need to cut a screen. In ZenFone 6, the screen is almost completely frameless, it looks impressive. In addition, the main camera is always better than a weak front camera, and so all its capabilities will be available when taking a selfie.
The module consists of 48 MP and 13 MP cameras, the main module works on the Quad Bayer principle, producing 12 MP images using information from all 48 megapixels. The same camera is installed in Honor View 20, Xiaomi Mi 9, Samsung Galaxy A80, that is, the level is quite a flagship. As ASUS ZenFone 6 shoots in the real world, we will show soon.
An additional 13-megapixel camera is needed for super wide-angle shooting, the viewing angle is 125 degrees. It's nice - there is autofocus (many competitors do not include autofocus for a wide range).
Aperture optics f / 1.7 . Optical stabilization is absent: shooting in the dark and in motion will not always be perfect. It is good that Taiwanese have integrated the night photography mode on the basis of multi-frame shooting - roughly what was previously implemented in Huawei and after - in OPPO and OnePlus.
Regular design, but a huge battery
Externally, ZenFone 6 is not much different from most smartphones, and even from its predecessor: a metal frame, Gorilla Glass glass panels. Nothing unusual. True thickness is a little more than usual, thanks to the 5000 mAh battery.
The battery is a smartphone chip. Even “shovels” with a 6.7-inch screen get a smaller battery (OnePlus 7 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A70), so ZenFone 6 outweighs everyone in terms of operating time. While we, of course, could not test, but 2 full days with intensive loads are quite expected.
But the charging speed is not the maximum, only 18 watts. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro, for example, is twice as high.
Screen
With a 6.4-inch screen and a huge battery, the ZenFone 6 couldn't get compact. Dimensions roughly coincide with Xiaomi Mi 9 or Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
Matrix IPS, Full HD + resolution. For Quad HD did not chase. A quality screen of the level of flagships like the Huawei P30, but without any special chips like the crazy update speed that was on the ASUS ROG Phone.
Declared support for the DCI-P3 color range and extended display of dynamic tones HDR10, that is, you can see more details and shades.
The scanner, by the way, was not removed to the screen. It is for the better: the price has not increased, and the recognition rate of a conventional scanner is still higher.
Power at a height, a lot of memory
Inside the smartphone installed the most current Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, built on 7-nanometer process technology. This is a fundamental difference from ZenFone 5, where the processors were mediocre.
The picture is complemented by 6-8 GB of RAM and 128-512 GB of memory. The top option will be noticeably more expensive, and not the fact that it is worth it: the smartphone supports both Micro SD memory cards and 2 SIM cards, and 128 or 256 GB is enough for most.
Declared support for Hi-Res Audio, that is, you can download tracks with a frequency of 192 kHz / 24 bit. This is not the top level of the same Sony Xperia XZ3, but adjusted for the price of ZenFone 6 is quite a good music smartphone. Do not forget the stereo speakers. Loud, voluminous - with this order. And, unusually, the standard 3.5 mm mini jack is in place.
By the way, not so long ago, ASUS abandoned the cumbersome shell, now in smartphones - ZenUI 6th version based on almost pure Android 9 Pie. ZenFone 6 is no exception, so enjoy the fast system, as Google has bequeathed.
Eventually
ZenFone 6 for ASUS - something like the same OnePlus or Xiaomi flagships. Optimum performance for most, which we are sure is more important to have the most top-end processor in the smartphone so that the games do not slow down for a few more years, the maximum battery, so as not to live at the outlet, a quality camera “for everything”. In ZenFone 6, all this is there, in exchange for a “whim”: a fingerprint scanner is not in the screen, but there is no unlock on the face because of the design. There is no protection against water, and the screen is normal, without fashionable rounding or high refresh rate.
