Asus CEO Jonney Shih beamed with pride at yesterday’s keynote as he unveiled three new Zen-branded smartphones and the unifying ZenUI user experience.
Whilst the Padfone has been somewhat of a niche device as a result of its price, unique form factor and availability, Asus has finally stepped into the mainstream with a family of three new mid-range ZenFones at this year’s CES.
Aesthetically all feature similar design elements; an unassuming curved plastic back with a centrally positioned camera, whilst the front of each device features a touchscreen, three capacitive keys and a concentric brushed circular plate underneath, crossed between the company’s award-winning Zenbook laptops and a steam-rolled HTC One V.
As the numbers suggest, these three handsets range from a 4 up to a 6-inches in display size, all featuring LCD panels, albeit with different resolutions but fairly consistent internals; running Android 4.3 (upgradable to Android 4.4 KitKat) atop an Intel Atom processor.
The user experience was a key talking point at Asus’ keynote and ZenUI brings a distinct look and feel that’s significantly cleaner than some of the company’s previous Android interfaces. Iconography, fonts and colour palettes are clear and consistent from one device to the next, including the new Padfone Mini too. Users will be able to choose a consistent colour theme across their device and all of Asus’ own apps now slot into this new design language too. The comparison to the iOS 6/iOS 7 transition is easier to draw as a result.
Despite the similarities there are some key hardware differences and a number of notable exclusives from one device to the next, such as stylus input and the company’s own SonicMaster technology on the ZenFone 6.
Check out a full spec comparison below:
| Asus ZenFone 4 | Asus ZenFone 5 | Asus ZenFone 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 4-inch WVGA LCD | 5-inch 720p HD IPS LCD | 6-inch 720p HD IPS LCD |
| Processor | 1.2GHz Intel Atom | 2GHz Intel Atom | 2GHz Intel Atom |
| OS |
Android 4.3 (upgradable to 4.4) |
Android 4.3 (upgradable to 4.4) |
Android 4.3 (upgradable to 4.4) |
| Data | 2G/3G/4G | 2G/3G/4G | 2G/3G/4G |
| Connectivity | WiFi w/ hotspot, Bluetooth | WiFi w/ hotspot, Bluetooth | WiFi w/ hotspot, Bluetooth |
| Camera (megapixel) | 5 rear, 0.3 front | 8 rear, 2 front | 13 rear, 2 front |
| Memory | 1GB RAM | 1GB RAM | 1GB RAM |
| Battery | 1170mAh | 2050mAh | 3230mAh |
| Expandability | microSD to 64GB | microSD to 64GB | microSD to 64GB |
| Dimensions (mm) | 124.4 x 61.4 x 11.2 | 148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3 | 166.9 x 84.3 x 9.9 |
| Weight (g) | 115 | 140 | 200 |
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