The demand for ‘selfie-centric’ smartphones in India is increasing, evident from the fact that a lot more players have jumped onto the bandwagon in recent times. Chinese players like Oppo and vivo already offer devices that feature dual front cameras on-board.
Asus has a couple of ‘selfie-centric’ smartphones like Zenfone Live, which allows for livestreaming on Facebook, etc directly via phone’s camera app. Priced at Rs 9,999, the highlight of Zenfone Live is that it lets users apply filters in real-time. Now the Taiwanese maker has launched Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro phone, which has dual 12MP front cameras and support for Portrait mode. It comes at a more premium price-point of Rs 23,999.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro
Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is all about the dual front cameras, which claim to offer great selfies in both bright light and indoors. This a sleek device that packs a 3,000mAh battery and it uses a USB 2.0 slot for charging. The home button on the front doubles up as a fingerprint scanner.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro sports a metal unibody design with prominent antenna bands on top and bottom of the back cover. Volume rocker keys and the power button are on the right while a 3.5 mm headset jack along with speaker grille is present at the bottom of the device. We spent about a week with Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro and here’s our full review.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Specifications: 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor | 4GB RAM + 64GB storage (expandable to 2TB) | 12MP + 12MP front camera with telephoto and wide-angle lens and 16MP front camera| 3000 mAh battery |Android Nougat with Asus ZenUI 4.0 on top
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro price in India: Rs 23,999
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Design, Display review
Asus Zenfone 4 has a metal unibody design that looks premium and stylish. It is lightweight at 145 grams and sleek at just 7 mm. I found the back a bit slippery and would recommend a cover for protection. Overall, this is a phone that scores high on aesthetics and a device that I’d love to flaunt.
Volume rocker keys and power buttons are easy to access. Fingerprint scanner was quick to unlock the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro on most occasions. There are capacitive buttons that light up for a few seconds while you start using the phone, which I’ll admit don’t look the best.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro has a 5.5-inch AMOLED display, which looks crisp with great viewing angles. The icons are sharp, colours are balanced, and it is easy to use even in bright outdoors. The display made for a good overall experience while playing games, watching videos etc.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Camera review
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro has a 24MP (12MP + 12MP ) front camera with Dual Pixel technology. The camera didn’t disappoint as it is capable of taking some stunning shots in places where there’s ample light. It is quick to focus and pictures have a great amount of detail, which I liked. Colours look close to natural, though ones taken in bright sunlight look a bit over-saturated.
However, in poorly lit places, the photos appear a bit grainy and camera takes a lot more time to focus, which is not so good considering the price tag. Asus has added a soft LED flash on the front, which does a good job. For me, the highlight of the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro was the Portrait mode that let me take pictures with subject in sharp focus while blurring the background. The results were quite impressive with detailed pictures and right amount of colour balance.
There’s a 16MP rear shooter, which doesn’t disappoint either. Expect some great, detailed results in bright outdoors. There’s an auto mode as well as pro mode for those like to get specific with ISO, white balance etc. However, one does struggle with focus in low-lighting conditions and the details are hazy in such lighting conditions.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Performance and Battery Review
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro has an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with 4GB RAM. It is capable of handling most daily tasks. I could play graphics-heavy games like Asphalt-8, browse multiple tabs, and watch videos online without experiencing any lags or crashes. The phone does get a little warm within 15 minutes of playing games or watching videos.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is backed by a 3,000mAh battery, which lasts for a day on moderate usage. However, if you’re into playing a lot of games on the mobile, you might have to charge it twice a day. In a Rs 24,000 phone, we did expect a better battery performance, especially given the fact that more and more smartphone makers are turning to bigger batteries in devices for a price-point as low as Rs 6,999. My daily usage included watching videos online, listening to music online, browsing social media platforms, playing games, and clicking photos.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Software Review
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro runs Android 7.0 Nougat with company’s ZenUI 4.0 skin on top. One good thing is that Zenfone 4 Pro ships with less bloatware when compared to previous devices. Apps can be organised to show separately in the app drawer or in groups that stacks together Google apps or social media apps etc. The notifications menu gives quick access to features like Bluelight filter, Report location (SOS call or message) , and Multi-window. Despite the less bloatware claim, the Zenfone UI has a long way to go before it improves.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Verdict
The highlight of Asus Zenfone Selfie 4 Pro is its dual selfie camera. There’s no denying that the front shooter is impressive, but what makes the phone a less viable option is the price-tag of Rs 23,999 which is expensive. The phone makes sense only for people who’d buy it solely for the selfie camera.
In the dual front camera department, Oppo F3 makes for good mid-budget option as it comes with 16MP+8MP front shooters and a 3,200mAh battery at Rs 19,990. In terms of design, performance, and rest of specifications, there are other affordable options as well. For instance, the Moto G5s Plus with dual cameras start at Rs 14,999. Xiaomi Mi A1 at Rs 14,999 runs stock version of Android, and features 12MP+12MP dual rear cameras.
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