Asus challenges iPhone X with all-screen, AI-powered Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5z

The Zenfone 5-series boasts artificial intelligence capabilities, which, unlike some of the other phones, are not limited to camera but have access to display, ringtone, battery and live videos too

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Asus on February 27 showcased the Zenfone 5z and Zenfone 5 at the Mobile World Congress. The smartphones are identical in looks and have similar features. However, these identical twins are powered by different breeds of processors and have different RAM configurations to differentiate.

The next-generation Zenfone-series boasts artificial intelligence capabilities, which, unlike some of the other phones, are not limited to just camera but have access to display, ringtone, battery and live videos as well.

Apart from the AI capabilities, the Zenfone 5z and Zenfone 5 have 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio, thanks to their 6.2-inch fullHD+ screen covering almost the entire front. The 19:9 aspect ratio leaves just a small notch on top to accommodate an 8-megapixel camera, earpiece and sensors – just like in Apple iPhone X but smaller.

Asus Zenfone 5 - Back

On the back, the smartphones sport a dual-camera set-up, which features 12MP and 8MP shooters. The primary 12MP sensor boasts f/1.8 aperture and the 8MP sensor features 120-degree wide-angle lens. Both, front and rear cameras are backed by AI for automatic scene selection and portrait photography, and machine learning to improve the output by learning usage patterns.

Asus Zenfone 5 - Camera

The Zenfone 5z and Zenfone 5 sport 2.5D curved glass on the front and back, supported by a metal chassis that holds them together seamlessly. The Zenfone 5z houses Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC), 6GB RAM and host of storage options starting from 64GB. The Zenfone 5, on the other hand, uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB RAM, and comes with 64GB storage in base model.