What's good
- Crisp and detailed photos
- Decent performance during standard use
- Great build quality
- Good color reproduction, viewing angles and contrast
What's bad
- Slow shutter speed
- Mediocre battery life
- Frame rate drops during graphics-intensive games
The Zenfone 5 is the middle child of Asus' budget smartphone line. Like its siblings, it has rounded edges and, besides the metal band on the bottom of the phone, is made entirely of plastic. Despite the fairly budget materials, reviewers compliment the build quality and premium feel of the device.
Front and center of the Zenfone 5 is its 5-inch, 720 pixel resolution display. While its 294ppi pixel density might lag behind that of flagship phones, Techspot adds, "…it's a challenge to distinguish individual pixels and generally images and text look great." For an entry level device, critics were fairly impressed with the quality of the display as it offers good viewing angles, decent contrast and good color accuracy and quality.
Specs-wise, the phone comes with a dual-core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and up to 16GB of internal storage. When compared to other phones in benchmark tests, the Zenfone 5 performed around the same as the Sony Xperia T3 and worse than the Nexus 5. Still, when tested under normal conditions, experts did not detect any lag during light operations. Under more strenuous circumstances, such as playing 3D games, Trusted Reviews states, "…[it] over-stretches itself on some occasions…There are some frame rate drops…" As with the rest of the phone, the battery life didn't blow its competitors out of the water, but it did last reviewers around 10 hours with light usage. However, when 3G and another SIM are added to the mix, battery life dropped to around 8 hours.
Around the back is the Zenfone 5's main 8MP camera, which comes with Asus' PixelMaster technology. According to Asus, PixelMaster combines software, hardware and optical design for better quality images. When put to the test, most critics agree that the photos were crisp with a good amount of detail. Unfortunately, they also noticed that the shutter speed was fairly slow and many images tended to be overexposed. Still, NDTV notes, "the Zenfone 5 features an excellent camera for the price, but don't expect it to match the quality for more expensive phones…"
Despite a couple qualms reviewers had with the phone, overall they consider it a great value phone. Android Authority states, "For a budget smartphone, it's got a lot of good things going for it…"
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Andrew Williams, TrustedReviewsThere are a couple of little bits to tweak in the Asus Zenfone 5, but the value on offer here is fantastic. Other 5-inch phones at the price don’t get you screens anywhere near as good as this.
- Sofian Nouira, Digital VersusIt may not be free from fault, but the Asus ZenFone 5 4G manages to distinguish itself from most of its similarly-priced competitors thanks to an impressive user interface and numerous practical functions. Its smoothness and responsiveness are enough to make it a steadfast daily companion. That the...
- Manuel Masiero, NotebookcheckThe Zenfone 5 is a new powerful 5-inch entry-level device in Asus’ smartphone portfolio, which offers quite a lot of features for the comparatively low price. Highlights of the smartphone are the current Android 4.4.2 including ZenUI extension, LTE module, HD display with 1,280 x 720 pixels an...
- Thomas Newton, RecombuThe Asus Zenfone 5 is nicely-designed budget phone with a cool user interface, a plethora of storage options and a reasonable price to boot.However our enthusiasm is hobbled by the fact that the battery is rubbish - and it’s not replaceable, a cardinal sin.The camera too isn’t much to wr...
- James Norton, TechRadarIf you are not concerned about 4G or being a version behind on the software, the ZenFone 5 is very easy to recommend. It is a very compelling package having a great screen, decent camera, good performance and a nice software skin. The only device that comes close is the Moto G.Asus should have relea...
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Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Asus ZenFone 5 A502CG user manual here.
Asus backs up the ZenFone 5 A502CG with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your ZenFone 5 A502CG has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Asus support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Asus's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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