Review: Asus Zenfone 6 . Phablet

With the recent launch of Asus Zenfone 6, a Taiwanese giant Asus resolve to meet the growing demand for Gadgets with large screens, especially among young people. the popularly called phablets occupy the gap between the categories of smartphones (with screens up to 5 inches) and the tablets (over 7 inches).

O Zenfone 6 is the larger version of Zenfone 5, which has a screen of 5 inches. The “little brother” has recently passed through the writing of the showmetech (Asus Zenfone 5 Review). In addition to analyzing its general characteristics, we will also address in this review as Zenfone 6 intends to unite the portability “almost” equal to that of a smartphone, the comfort and user experience of a tablets.

Specifications

Fabric

the giant screen of 6 inches is the real highlight of this gadgets, as was to be expected. Vibrant and well-defined colors, adequate brightness and great resolution are the strengths. It is not even possible to see the pixels.

The resolution is not the greatest, they are “only” 1280 × 720 pixels with 294ppi. But don't think that's why Zenfone 6 leaves so much to be desired compared to the screens Retina ou Full HD. Asus has spared no efforts, and has added several improvements and technologies that make the visual experience really impressive. Among them are the Asus TruVivid, which uses hardware and software resources to enhance details and colors, whether in photos, videos or games. There are also manual adjustments, which can be done through pre-installed applications, and you can even adjust color temperature and saturation. There is also a mode that makes it easier to read, leaving the image with a "sepia“, reducing eye fatigue. These adjustments make the Zenfone 6, which is equipped with a technically inferior screen, has results similar to the screens of top devices on the market. Movies, and games in HD they are simply amazing, living up to the generous 6 inches.

the glow of 400nits makes the Zenfone 6 it does well even in external environments, or very lit.

O touch screen it's very fast, sensitive and responsive, and it can even work when you're wearing gloves made with thicker fabrics. A great choice for cold days. The feeling when typing is also very good, and the size of the screen helps a lot who has big hands, like the author who writes you. Much of this review was comfortably typed into the device itself.

Most users of smartphones e tablets Have you ever had a moment of distraction, where you ended up knocking over or scratching your loved one? gadgets. Therefore, the Asus installed on Zenfone 6 a glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is currently the most modern in security and resistance for screens. According to the manufacturer, the glass should withstand even side impacts (knocks on the edges) without major problems. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we didn't have the opportunity to test the resistance in practice. The glass has an oleophobic coating, which works well to minimize annoying fingerprints.

O Zenfone also have capacitive keys, Back, Home and Recent Apps/Multitasking. For some, the use of these has become obsolete, but it is something that I personally like, as there is no loss of usable area on the screen.

But since not everything is flowers…
A negative point that we found during the tests was the slight change in colors, when looking at the screen at some viewing angles. This was not to be expected, as it is a panel IPS. Black tones are not “as black” as in Super Amoled. What can also get in the way a little is the excess of reflexes. But nothing that can't be easily solved with the application of a matte film.

In addition, the useful capacitive keys do not have backlighting, a fact that ends up hindering use in dark environments.

Since we're talking about a generous 6-inch screen, the resolution could be at least Full HD (1920×1080), since we find smartphones equipped with 5-inch screens with superior resolution on the market, even QHD (2560×1920).

Another point that leaves something to be desired is the way in which the items are displayed on the screen. As it is a device with a 6-inch screen, the system could have been adapted to take advantage of its good size. the interface ZenUI No. Zenfone 6 is identical to smartphones with 4 or 5 inch screens. To solve this, there could be an optional “phablet way” as we see in custom ROMsLike Paranoid Android.

Battery

In this regard the Zenfone gains prominence. The large non-removable battery of 3300 mAh, was able to withstand a full day of moderate work. The period started around 7:30, and arrived at 23:00 with about 20% charge. Use consisted of browsing, emailing, WhatsApp, some videos, reading ebooks e GPS. The use of connections was mixed, but most of the time connected by Wi-Fi.

In heavier tasks, such as watching videos, playing games, or screen mirroring, the battery charge is drained much faster, and can drop to 1/3 of the total usage time. Even so, there is an economical mode, which makes management more effective, but ends up reducing performance a little.

Design and Construction

You will definitely find it on the market phablets thinner and lighter than Zenfone 6. But, analyzing the general context, it is impressive, because the Asus really did a great job.

At the top we have the audio output of 3,5 mm, and the camera microphone. On the right side, we have the keys of Volume e Power together. At first it is a little difficult to adapt to the positioning of the volume key, which is above the key Power. On most smartphones, they are on opposite sides, or the key Power stays above. The left side doesn't have any keys. At the bottom is the connector micro USB, and another microphone.

The materials are quality, and the finish is great. The front is almost entirely covered by glass, except for the bottom, below the navigation keys, which is finished in textured aluminum, a hallmark of Asus design. The back cover is removable, and gives access to the 2 slots all with Micro SIM Cards e MicroSD. Even though the cover is made of plastic material, there are still no bad fittings, and there is no aspect of fragile and cheap material, a frequent complaint in the devices of Samsung. It has a rubberized cover, which gives it a pleasant feeling to the touch, in addition to preventing the softening of fingerprints. Another positive point is that the back cover can be replaced by others in different colors.

Due to the size, the phablet unfortunately it won't fit in the pocket of your tightest jeans. Even so, in more common pockets, it fits well, due to its curved back. When it comes to making phone calls, it can be a hassle to use it without headphones. 

Despite being a huge device (for a smartphone), it fits tightly in the hands. Thanks to the back with slightly thinner and curved edges, and the rubberized back cover, the Zenfone 6 It has a great “footprint”. Even for those with large hands, it is almost impossible to reach the entire screen area using just one hand.

For that, to Asus included both useful and interesting functionality. The call "One Hand Mode” simulates a smaller screen, which varies and can be adjusted by the user, with areas of 4,3", 4,5" ou 4,7". This “screen within the screen” can be aligned left or right, according to the user's need.

The only caveat about the design is that it gives the impression that the body of the device could be smaller, and thinner. If the screen frame, both at the top and at the bottom, were smaller, there would be a better use of space.

Camera

The quality of photos is currently something that users are concerned about. It is like Zenfone 6, the future buyer can rest assured. The front camera has 2 SM, and the rear has 13 SM resolution, which produces beautiful photos, as we can see some examples below:

There are several pre-programmed photo modes such as Retail Selfie, Nightly, Tilt-Shift (Thumbnail mode), low-light (Low Light) and HDR. There's also digital image stabilization, and shooting via the volume keys.

Photos made with the Zenfone 6:

Check out this featured video of the camera's functions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNe4u1Tn-w

The quality is very good, and there is a wide variety of tweaks and features. The autofocus is very fast and accurate, as is the shutter, which has the Turbo mode, and shoots sequential shots at very high speed.

The great highlight is due to the Low Light, which automatically adjusts the exposure, capturing as much of the available ambient light as possible. Despite having a high level of image noise, and restricting the resolution to just 3 SM, it is possible to take very good photos with almost no natural light or flash.

The front camera is also of good quality, for lovers of selfies. But a feature that improves their quality, and helps when taking self-portraits is the selfie, using the rear camera. In addition to a timer, there is even a face detector. It works like this: you define how many people will appear on your Selfie. When the camera manages to frame all the faces, the countdown is triggered, allowing everyone's beautiful smile to be captured.

Video recording can be done in FullHD, with digital stabilization, making it possible to considerably reduce shakes. The front camera records videos in quality HD (720p). See below a video recorded with the Zenfone 6:

 Operating System and Applications

The operating system is the Android KitKat 4.4.2, which, despite not being the most current version, is the penultimate update of the little robot.

Even so, following the trends of other manufacturers, the Asus customized the Android, with its own interface, the ZenUI. This is a feature that is not bad in itself, as it adds several interesting features, but on the other hand, it can alienate users who prefer the operating system without the manufacturers' modifications. In addition, there is the usual overkill of pre-installed apps, which cannot be removed easily.

A ZenUI modifies the operating system a lot, not only the launcher. The widgets, configuration pages, dialer, messages, calendar, lock screen and notification area and toggles are very different from Android pure.

The dialer, and the toggles (shortcuts for enabling/disabling features) are good examples of user-friendly modifications.

Speaking of the dialer, its interface is well designed, and it includes a useful call recording feature. In the notification area, the shortcuts give access to the various system functions. The user can not only define which shortcuts will be available, but also their order and quantity. Lantern, calculator, Wi-Fi, mobile data, Bluetooth, among other functions can be accessed easily, just pulling the notification bar from the right corner. Pulling from the left side, we have access to system notifications.

O launcher it's fast and has good features, but it doesn't match what's available on Android pure, mainly by limiting access to the Google Now.

The good news is that we can opt for a lighter interface, like the Nova ou Google Now Launcher. The bad news is that installing a third-party launcher will only modify the home screen and app drawer, leaving the rest of the system unchanged.

A good option to facilitate those who use the PC all day at work is the app Asus PCLink. It must also be installed on the PC as well, thus allowing the phablet screen to be mirrored. In this way, the Asus Zenfone 6 can be operated directly by PC, with keyboard and mouse. This function becomes useful to answer that SMS, or message from WhatsApp without touching the phablet. We also have an app to take notes directly on the screen, in the style of S Note,  Samsung.

We can see below some screenshots:

Performance

This is a subject that can generate many doubts, since the Asus chose one SoC not very common, the Atom Z2560 64 bit da Intel. How does the Intel Atom processor behave on a daily basis?

the processor Dual Core 1.6Ghz with technology Hyper Threading (2 physical cores+2 virtual cores), combined with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU e 2GB from memory RAM, give a lot of firepower to the Zenfone 6. Despite not being a Quad-Core royal, or Hyper Threading simulates the four cores.

The positive point is that the Zenfone It's very fast, and it does its job very well. The operating system flows without stuttering, even not running the Android pure. Applications open quickly, Internet browsing experience is also very good. Multitasking also proved to be very efficient. High resolution videos won't be a problem either.

But when running games like Real Racing 3 e ShadowGun: DeadZone we realize the limitations of the chipset of the Intel. At times, the so-called "lagging", in very fast scenes, or very detailed. But even so, the Zenfone It held firm without crashing, or overheating. We believe that these performance issues are likely due to some incompatibility between the games and the platform. Intel 64 bit, and not for lack of processing power, graphics or memory RAM. Other titles will possibly have better results.

It is worth mentioning that during our tests, the Zenfone restarted on its own for no apparent reason on two occasions.

Below we can see the results of some benchmarks:  

Connectivity

In that aspect, the Zenfone 6 presents a good package of options. First we will mention what we miss: mobile connection LTE 4G, and NFC. The absence of these two features may not make any difference to most users, since we are talking about a phablet intermediary. Therefore, not only he, but also the vast majority of competitors also do not have such features. On the other hand, this can influence the purchase decision, as these technologies are gaining more and more popularity.

In addition, we have: mobile access 3G e Dual-SIM, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless screen mirroring (Miracast) e GPS e Glonass. All worked satisfactorily.

A Asus got it right by launching his phablet with support for Dual-SIM Dual StandBy, since this is a function that has become popular among Brazilians. It is worth highlighting here the quality of the two antennas that the Asus implemented in Zenfone 6. With zentennas, the telephone and Internet signal 3G proved to be very good and stable, it even worked well in places where a LG Nexus 4 with the same SIM Card it didn't pick up any signal, or it worked very badly.

Watch & Listen

O Zenfone it can certainly be your portable multimedia center, and should please even the most demanding.

The excellent screen, which in addition to being large, has good resolution and displays brilliant images, with vibrant and balanced colors. The audio system, called Sonicmaster, has a series of adjustments for different types of media, reproduces sounds with clarity and good volume, even using its own speaker.

But for sure audio experience is much better using good headphones. The headphones provided by Asus are the type In-Ear (in-ear) and has great sound quality, and has good bass for a small headphone. In the box we still have 2 more pairs of silicone of different sizes to ensure greater comfort. This type of headphone ends up being a little uncomfortable for some, as it gets into the ear, but it is still a good option for those who don't have it, or prefer not to invest in one. headphone quality.

We still have the always useful FM radio. Although currently listening to the radio is not the first option for entertainment, it is always good to be able to count on this simple and cheap alternative. The most obvious option would be to provide a tuner Digital TV, since similar devices have this feature, and it is still preferred by the Brazilian public.

But where the Zenfone 6 really shines is in the video display. The quality and attention to detail really catches the eye.

The set Tela GPU Audio really impresses. watch video at HD it's an amazing experience. That's where the TruVivid and  Sonicmaster show what they came for. The excellent combination of contrast, brightness, resolution, and color and audio adjustments prove to be accurate. The same can be said for the display of photos, which come to life on the huge 6 inches.

What could further enhance the media consumption experience would be front and stereo audio outputs like those on the Moto G Second Generation.

Conclusion

Worth to buy?

Yes, and a lot! If you are looking for a device with a large screen, a great camera, a neat design and finish, without having to spend a lot on it, you will certainly make a good choice for attractive features. R$990,00.

O Zenfone 6 It fulfills the role of a replacement for a 7-inch tablet well, only much more discreet and portable. It can also play the role of “telephone”, only in a not very discreet way. But nothing a headset with a mic can't fix.

It's definitely a great option for sales success. Moto G Second Generation, and some low-cost phablets from Samsung, except the line Galaxy Note, which belong to a higher category.

Price and availability

O Asus Zenfone 6 can be found at Asus official store for 990,00 and not Kabum for 999,00.