Asus ZenFone 6,Best Value Phablet in Middle Class. Nowadays more and more phablet jumbo. Already phablet, jumbo anyway. One of the latest is the Asus ZenFone 6. As the name implies, Zenfone 6 is a phablet Android 4.3 with a screen size of 6 inches. This phablet, along with his brother Zenfone, Zenfone 4 and 5, arguably kicked off the current smartphone market, because the specs are including wah, call it: an Intel Atom Dual Core 2GHz, 2GB RAM and 13MP camera, but has a price of Rp. 3.099 million, which is actually under market devices with comparable spec.
This is the other main specifications:
- Intel Atom Z2580 processor dual core 2GHz
- 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, micro SD slot up to 64GB
- Jelly Bean Android 4.3 (upgradeable to 4.4 Kitkat) with interface Asus Zen
- 6 inch IPS screen HD resolution (1280x720 pixels, 245 ppi) with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 and ultra-sensitive panel for use with gloves
- Rear camera (Panasonic) PixelMaster 13MP with autofocus, aperture f / 2.0, 2MP front camera
- 1080p video recording
- Dual SIM (DC-HSDPA +), WiFi, Bluetooth, Micro USB, GPS
- Non-removable 3230mAh battery
Is Zenfone 6 as well as the performance promised by the specs? Consider the full review below.
Impression Design and Materials, Quality Screen
In line design, the third Zenfone same series. Inpirasinya is of the Asus Padfone which came out last year. Mainly from the lower front bezel, which has a circular pattern and lustrous metallic, making Zenfone be elegant design. While the side and back of the casing material is a plastic material with a matte finish, which is relatively looks more luxurious than the plastic with a glossy finish.
In the white color of our review, you must be careful because if the gross would be quite difficult to clean. The plastic casing can be opened but it is quite hard. Unfortunately the 3230 mAh battery on Zenfone 6 is not removable. Two SIM card slot and a micro SD slot is present behind the battery cover
Plastic material used has a matte finish, so the device is not slippery when you sweat. Moreover, the rear casing can be changed. If you buy a red color and was bored after a while, you can buy a chassis, yellow. Asus also equip accessories Zenfone to sort the Smart Cover, replace the system chassis. Zenfone ergonomic enough when gripped, even though the side a bit stiff, but the back is slightly curved quite comfortable. The weakness of the design according to our Zenfone 6 LED notification is too small, and volume buttons and lock / power which is quite loud.
Adopt a 6-inch screen size, the screen is very satisfying lovers Zenfone video or mobile games. Because not only large, but also quality. Coated Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Zenfone claimed ultra sensitive screen, so it can be used when you use gloves. The color quality is quite bright and pleasing to the eye, but do not get stuck into unnatural. This is because the use of IPS screen on Zenfone 6. Black color is quite good, while the screen looks natural, but still vibrant and pleasing to the eye, and has excellent viewing angles.
You feel less natural Zenfone screen? Or even less kicking? There Asus Splendid technology, which allows you to adjust the color temperature (white balance) and saturation on the screen as you want. Three points that can be changed is Temperature (blue to yellow), Hue (reddish to greenish) and Saturation (the higher the stronger color). Saturation current is converted to its lowest point, the screen becomes black and white. Splendid is not the settings from the Settings menu, but a default application of Zenfone Series.
Regarding sharpness, screen Zenfone 6 does not disappoint, although large (6 inches) but it looks pretty good, and does not have negative effects such as striped, which occurs in middle-class 720p phones. Overall not as good as juniors, Zenfone 5, which has the same resolution but smaller 1-inch screen, but on the whole screen Zenfone 6 is better than the average mobile phones in the same price range.
Interface and Input Text
Zenfone series using Zen UI. Artificial interfaces Asus has a design somewhat similar to Asus countrymen vendors, namely HTC with Sense UI. The difference, Zen UI looks more fun and relaxed, with icons colorful and flat. Overall the interface is beautiful and refreshing Asus relative to the size of the Android smartphone.
In the area lockscreen, as always there is time and date information, as well as the schedule of three major shortcuts, ie camera, calls and SMS. While the notification bar display more funny, the Quick Settings icons round. There are a total of 12 Quick Settings along with owner information here. Of the 12 that icon, you can hide some of your liking.
Nothing special or odd with homescreen on Asus ZenFone 6. Pinch the screen to adjust the direction of the respective pages Home screen. On the Recent Apps menu no default task manager for the management of RAM on Asus ZenFone 6. The main menu can display all applications, downloaded applications and applications that are frequently used. In addition, each application icons can be hidden or given security in the form of a password.
Needless to say, when typing in Zenfone 6 with one hand is not possible because a large enough size. In addition, the default keyboard is quite comfortable when used for typing. There swipe functionality, and ease of use to increase vocabulary in the dictionary. Also of course the usual features such as Auto Capitalization, punctuation auto, auto spacing, and so on. Unfortunately there are no features that simplify typing one-handed as two separate keyboard or keyboard shrunk and placed at the edge.
Asus equip Zenfone series with features that are quite abundant. Like Do It Later, File Manager, Setup Wizard, Splendid, Super Note and What's Next. Overall, the performance is very satisfactory compared Zenfone 6 devices in a similar price range. 2GB of RAM is very helpful, as well as Intel, although dual core but the performance was not much different than the quad-core processor phones belonging to other middle class.
Camera and Video Recorder
The camera is one of the excellent features on Asus ZenFone Series. For Zenfone 6, Asus provided him with the best camera compared to other Zenfone ranks. With a large aperture of f / 2.0 and Low Light mode with Pixel Merging technology makes Asus braved another phone to take pictures in the dark. Low Light mode combines 4 pixels into one. Combined with image optimization algorithm, the images become brighter.
However, as the impact of the merger of four pixels, the resolution of the images is reduced from 4096x3072 pixels (13MP) to 2048x1152 pixels. Not only the Low Light mode on the camera Zenfone. Other modes are Auto, Time Rewind, HDR, Panorama, Night, selfie, Miniature, Depth of Field, Smart Remove, All Smiles, Beautifications and GIF Animation. Also there are various features such as brightness adjustment, GPS, white balance, ISO, exposure, and so forth.
The use of the camera is quite easy, as if you would be led to make a good photograph. Software will recommend the necessary mode, for example, if the condition of the room was dark, there will be an icon Low Light to quickly switch modes with ease. To switch to Burst Mode is also easy, quick access hatch '' Turbo '' near Tombo virtual shutter. But the resolution to 2048x1152 pixels burstmode lowered to. Setting both photos and videos into one, separated by a clear category. You can use the
volume button as a shutter, or as a digital zoom.
The results of most of the camera is good, but sometimes it is not natural. In some circumstances, the image processing software is too aggressive in generating images. This can be minimized by turning off Optimization feature on the menu settings. Which is not good in the photos Zenfone 6 LED Flash which is less spread, so the picture becomes too bright in the middle of the course and be unused. HDR mode on Zenfone 6 is quite useful in a photograph where the object is the source of light, although the impact is less natural results, but the picture looks good.
It should be noted is the Low Light Mode. In addition to combining four pixels into one, Asus also slow shutter speed so that the incoming light more. Do you expect a very clean picture in the dark-darkness, but at least with this mode, you can shoot in the dark is better than most smartphones, even compared to most pocket digicam though.
As for the video recording of its less abundant than the camera. There are only mode Auto, Low Light, Miniature and Time Lapse for video recording. Low Light mode for video recording resolution of 1920x1080 pixels is reduced into 1280x720 pixels. The results of good and clear video recording, somewhat less natural, but good, vibrant color and crisp. The existence of the pause button is quite useful in recording the moment you want it. The absence of OIS make the video recording rather shake it, but frankly not too intrusive.
Photo Gallery and Video Players
Nothing special from the photo gallery on Asus ZenFone 6. You can synchronize with Google Drive account, Google+ and other cloud-based services, such as the Asus WebStorage, Facebook, Flickr and so on. Asus default gallery also can use face detection, and make thumbnail images with the face in the middle thumbnail. One interesting feature is that you can easily see detail photo / exif data with the icon arrows pointing up. The details of focal lens, ISO levels, shutter speed and aperture openings directly visible.
The video player Zenfone 6 arguably less than the maximum. Only video mp4 and mkv are rotated, while for the format wmv, avi and mov illegible. Likewise with subtitle .srt format. Whereas with a nice big screen, use Zenfone 6 for watching HD movies would have been nice. The solution is easy, simply install a third-party video player application like MX Player, Mobo and so on.
Music Players
The music player on Zenfone 6 predominantly green color. Songs that there can be grouped by Albums, Artists, Songs, Genres, Composer and Folder. No settings and equalizer sound effects at all on Zenfone. However there Music Mode that uses Asus SonicMaster technology. Existing modes include Power Saving Mode, Music Mode, Movie Mode, Recording Mode, gaming mode and Speech Mode. Sound output via loudspeaker loud and clear, but looking like a smartphone, is dominated by the treble.
connectivity
- dual SIM
- DC-HSDPA 3G +
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n
- Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
- Micro USB
- Micro SD
- 3.5mm audio jack
web Browser
To explore the virtual world, users can use the Asus ZenFone 6 Google Chrome as a web browser engine. The white color on the screen nice and natural make browsing relatively comfortable. Performance when opening the desktop version of a website with a lot of content is still fast and smooth. There are several standard features such as Incognito, Share, Find, and arrangements of standards such as privacy, accessibility, content and others.
Benchmark results
- Antutu: 22 859 points
- Quadrant Standard: 9655 points
- NenaMark 2: 60.4 fps
- Multitouch Tester: up to 10 touch
- HTML5test.com: 293 out of 555 points
Battery Life
- Review and Screenshot (screen stays lit): Within 188 minutes (3 hours 8 minutes) battery indicator decreased 44 percent
- Watch movies 720p video (.mkv): battery indicator declined by 4 percent in the film play duration 2 hours (flight mode condition, the screen brightness to 50 percent)
* lit display with a brightness level of 50 percent condition. Internet using Wi-Fi, cellular inactive, normal mode power saving mode is not available in this phone
Conclusion
As a device with a price tag of Rp. 3 million less, in terms of performance Zenfone 6 had almost no equal opponent in the same price range. Only fellow Intel Inside is better, the Lenovo K900 which has come down in price, and even then the difference is still significant with Zenfone 6, which is Rp. 3.7 million. Others, in terms of performance Zenfone 6 comparatively better than the LG Optimus Vu, LG G Pro Lite Dual, Sony Xperia C, Lenovo S820, Lenovo P780, Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos. Compared with some of the top smartphone vendor with a tag of over USD. 3.5 million was Zenfone 6 has a more interesting performance. In terms of design, use of materials and finishes are either giving the impression is not cheap at this phablet. If you have a budget of Rp. 3 millions and looking great sailing Android devices with design and performance style upscale, then Zenfone 6 was the answer.
Pros:
- Quality big screen
- Performance okay with Intel processor and 2GB of RAM
- Micro SD slot
- Design, materials and finishing relatively okay
- Low Light mode on the camera
- dual SIM
Disadvantages:
- The battery is not removable
- Mediocre battery performance
- The camera sometimes unnatural
