Asus announces new Zenfone 4 range with dual cameras galore

At a packed hall in downtown Taipei, Asus made a global announcement that showcased the launch of not just the ZenFone 4 but also five other sister phones in the same lineage that cater to different segments in the line. Announced today with the endorsement of Korean celebrity Gong Yoo was the Zenfone 4, the Zenfone 4 Pro, Zenfone 4 Selfie, the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro and the Zenfone 4 Max Pro.

Not all of the phones will immediately arrive in the Malaysian market and currently slated to launch in the Malaysia market on 25 August is the ZenFone 4 Selfie, the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro and the Zenfone 4 Max Pro. Check out our earlier piece here on preorders for Malaysia. The Zenfone 4 and its other variants may possibly launch in Malaysia at a later time.

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih showcasing the new Zenfone 4 line-up

Some unique features observed across the line on the new Zenfone 4 series are that most of them pragmatically use a microUSB port for charging duties bar the flagship Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 4 Pro that use USB Type C ports. Another feature unique to the new Zenfone 4 line is the incorporation of dual cameras be it on the front or rear, depending on the design with most sporting it on the rear and the Zenfone 4 Selfie and Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro packing it on the front for rather obvious reasons. Another feature they were particularly proud to share was how clean their latest ZenUI 4.0 user interface which had a massive amount of bloatware eliminated for faster loading of most popular apps.

Here’s how the new Zenfone 4 smartphones stack up individually along with a quick hands-on of what they showcased today:

Zenfone 4
The Asus Zenfone 4 comes with a 5.5-inch 1080P Super IPS+ display sheathed in 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass and has ultra slim 2.1mm bezels. The base of the phone has a fingerprint reader as well. In terms of hardware the Zenfone 4 has a Snapdragon 630 64-bit processor built on a 14nm process with Android 7.1.1 and their ZenUI 4.0 user interface supplemented by 4GB RAM and a 3,300mAh battery. Storage needs are sorted by 64GB storage augmented by a hybrid SIM card slot. The rear dual camera incorporates a 12-MP Sony IMX362 image sensor with a 1.4um pixel size, an F/1.8 aperture lens and a fast 0.03 second Dual Pixel phase detection autofocus along with optical image stabilisation. Riding shotgun alongside the primary rear camera is an 8-MP secondary camera with a wide-angle lens. The rear camera array, combined, is also capable of 2160p@30fps with electronic image stabilisation.

The front also has an 8-MP camera with an F/2.0 aperture and a 24mm focal length for selfies. Globally three colours were announced though availability will vary based on region – Midnight Black, Moonlight White and Mint Green at a price tag of US399 which translates to about RM1,730. There’s no indication if the Zenfone 4 will appear in Malaysia anytime soon but odds are it may appear later on seeing as it is the titular flagship of the line.

Zenfone 4 Pro
The Zenfone 4 Pro comes with truly flagship grade hardware and is the flagship of the lot at the launch. Hardware consists of a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display sheathed in 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass and an ‘always on’ feature that shows important notifications and the time even when the phone display is off, a Snapdragon 835 processor supplemented with 6GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.

The rear has a dual camera system which integrates an F/1.7 aperture and a 12-MP Sony IMX362 sensor, has 2x optical zoom and a combined 10x total zoom, optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus, their Dual Pixel tech and PDAF, large 1.4um pixels and fast 0.03 second TriTech autofocus tech to capture snaps and 4K UHD video.

The front consists of a 8-MP selfie camera with an F/1.9 camera. A 3,600mAh battery keeps it powered with fast charging support. It will ship in either black or white at a price tag of US599 though indications are that it won’t reach Malaysia anytime soon.

Zenfone 4 Max
The Zenfone 4 Max has mostly similar hardware as the Zenfone 4 Max Pro. You get a 5.5-inch IPS HD display, a Snapdragon 425 processor, either 2GB or 3GB RAM and 32GB of expandable memory via a dedicated SIM card slot depending on region. The battery is similarly sized at 5,000mAh and should offer similar endurance as the Zenfone 4 Max Pro. The dual rear camera consists of a 13-MP main camera that incorporates an OV13855 sensor, an F/2.0 aperture and a 120 degree wide-angle lens. The front has an 8-MP camera with an F/2.2 aperture and a softlight flash for selfies. Asus has not indicated that it would appear anytime soon in Malaysia though odds are that it may possibly appear later on.

Zenfone 4 Max Pro
The ASUS Zenfone 4 Max Pro is designed to prioritise endurance and comes with a massive 5,000mAh battery that offers 46 days of 4G standby time or 26 days of web browsing on paper. It’s large enough that you can even use the Zenfone 4 Max Pro as a power bank too. To enhance endurance, the phone has a 5.5-inch 720p HD display and an efficient Snapdragon 425 processor running Android Nougat 7.0 supplemented with 3GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The 16-MP front camera has an F/2.2 aperture and a softlight flash for selfies. The rear has a dual camera setup with a 16-MP primary camera with a 120-degree wide angle lens and an F/2.0 aperture, 0.03 second phase detection autofocus.

Of note is that it has two SIM card slots and a dedicated microSD card slot, making it one of the few phones in the new line-up including the Zenfone 4 Max who have the feature.Three colours were announced – Deepsea Black, Sunlight Gold and Rose Pink and will be preice at RM1,099.

Zenfone 4 Selfie
This affordable selfie phone sports a 5.5-inch HD touchscreen up front, a Snapdragon 430 processor with Android 7.0 and Zen UI 4.0 running over it, 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage via a hybrid SIM card slot.

The front dual camera consists of a 20-MP primary camera with an F/2.0 aperture along with an 8-MP camera with a wide angle lens and an LED flash. The rear has a 16-MP F/2.2 camera. A 3,000mAh battery keeps things powered. It ships in Rose Pink, Sunlight Gold, Deepsea Black and Mint Green for RM1,299.

Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro
The most powerful phone out of the current crop intended for Malaysia, the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro offers an impressive array of hardware to help it take impressive self portrait shots. Crammed into a 6.85mm thin casing weighing 137g is a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage via a hybrid SIM card slot and a 3,000mAh battery. The rear camera has a single 16-MP IMX351 image sensor with PDAF and an LED flash.

The front camera consists of a 24-MP DuoPixel camera which has an F/1.8 aperture and the notable ability to capture UHD video . According to Asus, it also has what they call the SuperPixel Engine image processor for better selfies. Other mod-cons include a fingerprint sensor and a microUSB port to charge it. The Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro will retail for RM1,799 and in three colours Rogue Red, Sunlight Gold and Deepsea Black.