ASUS Zenfone Selfie Review

We recently gave you a hands-on look at ASUS‘s camera-centric handset, the Zenfone Selfie. It packs a 13-megapixel camera for both its rear and front shooters that are coupled with two-tone, dual LED flashes in addition to an array of software features to produce high-quality images. Will it perform well on its specializations? We find out.

Design and Construction

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Since it also belongs to the popular Zenfone family, the physique is almost identical to the Zenfone 2 with the button placements up top and at the back. The screen is also one of the things that remained constant, with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display reinforced with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4.

Obviously targeting the younger crowd, the Zenfone Selfie takes a more vibrant approach with bright colors in pink, blue and green. The back cover has a smooth matte finish that’s almost similar with the ZE550ML variant we reviewed back in April. We would have preferred the diamond-cut back cover as this matte, rubbery finish is a fingerprint and smudge magnet.

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The ASUS Zenfone Selfie takes the term selfie to the center of the picture — that is, a 13-megapixel front-facing camera to take that perfect selfie. To be clear though, ASUS is not the first one to do such a feat. There have been others before it, most notably the HTC Desire EYE which also has a 13.1MP front-facing camera, f2.2 aperture and dual LED, dual-tone flash.

What the company added to its front camera is the 88-degree wide angle lens that could fit more people into the shot and take a better group selfie. The dual-tone, dual LED flash along with the earpiece speaker flanks the camera lens right up in the center.

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The trio of non-illuminating capacitive buttons (Back, Home, Recent Apps) also make their appearance here, right above the company’s signature concentric-circle design for the bottom panel.

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Turning it around, we have the same 13MP rear camera with dual-tone flash. What makes it different from its front shooter is the implementation of a laser auto-focus similar to what LG G4 is using to quickly focus on subjects while shooting.

Also seen here is the volume rocker that doubles as a shutter button to make things easier when taking a seflie.

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Up top there’s the power and lock button right beside the 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphones.

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While down below we have the microUSB port for charging and transferring files. From this angle we can also see the handset’s convex form factor when lying on its face — a common sight for Zenfones.

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Removing the plastic back cover, you will be greeted with its removable battery, dual SIM card trays, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. This also reveals the speaker which, just like other Zenfones, is just placed in one side and is in no way a long grille like the holes on the back cover suggest.

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Spotting it from the side we can see that the Selfie doesn’t really boast of a thin form factor. Instead, it possesses a somewhat chunky build, but doesn’t affect its handling significantly.

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Finally, it also has curved corners that make it easier to hold as it sits comfortably on the hand.

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

15 Comments

luphy says:

9 years ago

Its not a good phone… it overheats, drains battery so fast after 3months use… sa una lng maganda…
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ikari says:

9 years ago

Good phone been using it for a month now, down side lang ang hirap makahanap ng original flipcase. Hindi p yta available dito s Philippines
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RCB_1978 says:

9 years ago

I thought the expandable storage of Selfie is 128 GB not 64 based on the Inquirer article during the launching of Asus Zenphone 2 line-up… ano po ang exact info regarding expandable storage nya? 64GB or 128GB?
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imprincessfiona says:

9 years ago

Any feedback from asus selfie user?
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Kaloy says:

9 years ago

medyo umiinit yung likod pag gumagamit ng apps problem is hirap tanggalin ng back cover :/ 4/5 haha Ui is good Cam is slight grainy back cam front cam okay

Nemo says:

9 years ago

Review? This isn’t a review
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Mang Tomas says:

9 years ago

Sir Abe. Favor po: Pwede po ba pakicheck kung compatible yung game na Vainglory at kung smooth sa Zenfone Selfie at sa Fonepad 8? I’ll appreciate it a lot.
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rusure says:

9 years ago

Asus should try to make their Zenfones more pocketable. Unlike other brands, its too lazy to tweak its shortcomings. The most obvious part to improve is the bezel. It’s still the same as the first zenfone that came out. The chin is too long with those capacitive buttons that don’t even light up. Lollipop allows on-screen buttons already, as to why Asus insist on those painted buttons is just plain laziness. Never mind the thickness and weight. Zenfone was big, fat and heavy. It still is.
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Abe Olandres says:

9 years ago

Here: http://www.yugatech.com/mobile/asus-zenfone-2-laser-review/
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Christina says:

9 years ago

When will this be available in the market?
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jrr says:

9 years ago

Hi, im selling my pink zenfone selfie. Maybe youre interested.
Bought it last oct 1. Let me know :)

Jay Rick says:

9 years ago

Is the zenfone selfie processor has an overheat issue?
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angelique says:

9 years ago

asan na po yung review zenfone laser?
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Jun says:

9 years ago

How does the front cam compare with other phones like s6 and iphone 6? Or other phones at its price range
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geloj says:

9 years ago

The selfie looks promising.. :)

Will you have a review for the zenfone max?
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