The new Asus Zenfone 7 is not a gaming
phone, though the Pro version uses the same Snapdragon 865+ chipset as the ROG
Phone 3. The Zenfones are all-rounders, they want to be good at everything,
though there is a special focus on the camera.
Asus improved the flip-up camera from last
year’s phone – first by adding a telephoto cam, second by improving the flip-up
mechanism itself. It now uses a smaller motor that has more than double the
torque. The connection to the main body has been improved and is now rated for
100 flips a day for 5 years straight. Also, once open, it can withstand 35 kg
of weight pushing it forward – you really have to lean on it if you want to
break it.
The tele cam has a 80mm lens, which means
3x optical zoom compared the main camera. On the Asus Zenfone 7 Pro, this cam
has optical image stabilization, as does the main camera. On the vanilla model,
neither cam has OIS. Speaking of the main camera, it now features a 64MP Sony
IMX686 sensor with 2x1 OCL autofocus. It can record 8K videos at 30 fps and do
120 fps slow motion at 4K. There’s an HDR video mode as well as improved night
mode algorithms.
The 12MP ultrawide-angle camera uses the
battle-tested IMX363 sensor. Not only does this camera offer autofocus (which
is rare enough for ultra wides), but it’s Dual Pixel AF to boot. Also, the
sensor is capable of 4K video recording, which is used for the HyperSteady
Video mode (the wider FoV allows for much better stabilization without the
video looking too cropped in). This camera also doubles as a macro shooter, the
AF system can focus at just 4 cm distance.
You can expect stellar selfies from the
Zenfone 7 duo in no small part thanks to the large 1/1.72” sensor plus dual LED
flash. There are still flagships out there that don’t have autofocus on their
front cams, never mind the option to record 8K/30 and 4K/120 selfie videos. The
ultrawide sensor can be fully utilized for selfies as well.
This year Asus hugely improved the display
as well. The Zenfone 7s use a Samsung-made AMOLED panel, 6.67” in size and
guarded by Gorilla Glass 6. It has 1080p+ resolution (20:9), a peak brightness
of 1,000 nits, DC dimming for flicker-free low-brightness operation, plus
Always On mode, 110% DCI-P3 coverage and an accurate color calibration out of
the box. The screen has a 90Hz refresh rate and 200Hz touch sampling rate.
Combined with the S865+ chipset on the Pro model, this can a fairly capable
gaming phone, if you want it to be. The vanilla model is no slouch either, it’s
powered by a non-plus Snapdragon 865.
In both cases you get LPDDR5 RAM up to 8
GB (the vanilla starts at 6 GB). Storage is UFS 3.1, 128 GB for the vanilla
model and 256 GB for the Pro. Both have triple card slots, two SIMs and a
dedicated spot for a microSD. This is a 5G phone, if it wasn’t clear from the
chipset. The final major improvement from last year is the 30W fast charging
support for the 5,000 mAh battery. 34 minutes of charging gets you from
completely drained to 60%. In comparison, the Zenfone 6 (18W charging) needed
57 minutes to accomplish the same.
The phone has the same advanced charging
controls as its ROG sibling. You can limit the maximum charge to 80% or 90% and
set a charging schedule so it goes slowly during the night, reaching max charge
in the morning. The Zenfone 7 duo is sturdy with a series 6000 aluminum body,
sandwiched between two layers of glass. There's GG6 on the front and GG3 on the
back – Corning’s most scratch-resistant glass, according to Asus. The phones
are pretty hefty, however, tipping the scales at 230 g.
Interestingly, despite having an OLED
display, the phones have a side-mounted fingerprint reader. Some would say that
this is an advantage. Unfortunately, the 3.5 mm headphone jack was axed, but
you do get aptX Adaptive support. The Asus Active Case serves to protect the
phone and its flip up camera. There’s a latch that will lock the flip mechanism
in place (the phone detects that, so it won’t try to open until you release the
switch). This case comes in the retail box.
The Asus Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro will be
released globally on September 1. The vanilla model costs NT$ 21,990 in its
debut Taiwan market with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage, which equals
€ 635/US$ 750. The Pro is NT$27,990 (€ 800, US$ 950) for an 8/256 GB unit. Global
pricing will be confirmed later next week.
They may not be as cheap as we were hoping
(the Zenfone 6 started at € 500 last year), but if you want near-stock Android,
a high refresh rate AMOLED display, S865(+), a capable camera and fast
charging, there really aren’t that many options. The Pixels will miss out on
the chipset and charging, the OnePlus Pros don’t have expandable storage and
cost even more.