ASUS Zenfone Selfie Review

Table of Contents

Performance and Benchmarks

Asus has always relied on Intel to provide them with the chips to power the Zenfone. This is the first time that Asus is actually using a Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm for their Zenfone line-up (though we remember the Asus PadFone back in 2012 used a Snapdragon S4 processor).

asus-selfie-benchmark

The Antutu scores of the Zenfone Selfie topped only at the 26,000 range. That’s still below the 30+k range of the Atom Z3560 quad-core processor. Even the low-end Intel Atom x3-C3200 1.33GHz quad-core processor of the ZenPad S 8.0 scored 31,962 with just 2GB of RAM although the Quadrant Standard score are almost even.

We had problems running 3DMark benchmark on the phone — experiencing random freezes and crashes during the test. We think this could probably be a compatibility issue, but apart from this app, the handset didn’t show the same crashes on other software that we ran.

Here are the benchmark scores:

AnTuTu: 26,113
Quadrant Standard: 14,835
Vellamo: 1,496 (Multi-core), 955 (Metal), 1,923 (Chrome Browser)
PCMark: 2,226

In real-life usage, however, it was able to perform decently as we used it for browsing the Internet, social media sites, and playing light games to pass the time. Running some task-intensive apps, we noticed a slight change in temperature on the handset, although not to the point where it’s alarmingly hot.

Connectivity, Call Quality and Battery Life

The Zenfone Selfie can surf the web via cellular data on 4G LTE. It easily connected us online but experienced intermittent connection depending on the place we were in. We also noticed the device getting a bit warm after browsing and being continuously connected online thru data.

As for calls, there were no issues encountered and the quality was pretty clear for both lines. The volume could use a little more volume, but this is just us nitpicking.

asus-selfie-batterylife

As we’ve mentioned previously, the battery life test was where the Zenfone Selfie was able to shine, getting an impressive 9 hours and 20 minutes in PCMark Battery Test. That’s over an hour better than the ZE550ML and a solid 2 hours over the ZE551ML. The Snapdragon 615 with its low-power ARM Cortex A53 running at 1.1GHz made this possible.

Among all the Zenfone variants that we have reviewed, the Zenfone Selfie scored the highest in terms of battery life (updated: the Zenfone 2 Laser scored higher).

Conclusion

asus-zenfone-selfie

The ASUS Zenfone Selfie has almost all the things you love from the Zenfone 2, with the addition of a capable front camera and a laser autofocus at the back. You have dual-tone LEDs at both sides, making sure you have a good color for your images, and its Camera app is populated with features that should help you, however you want your shot to look like.

Priced at Php11,995, it’s a solid performer thanks to its 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, LTE, and a tandem of Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor and 3000mAh battery which are both responsible for over 9 hours of continuous usage.

ASUS Zenfone Selfie (ZD551KL) specs:
5.5-inch full HD IPS display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution, 403ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor
Adreno 405 GPU
3GB LPDDR3 RAM
32GB internal storage
Expandable up to 64GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with dual-tone flash with laser auto-focus
13MP front camera with dual-tone flash, 88-degree wide-angle lens, and f/2.2 aperture
3G, 4G FDD-LTE
Dual-SIM, Dual standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
Android 5.0 Lollipop
3,000mAh Li-Po battery
170 grams (weight)

What we liked about it:

Gorilla Glass 4
Decent performer
13MP cameras with dual-tone flashes
Laser autofocus/88-degree wide-angle lens
Night mode effectively brightens the image
4G LTE
Long-lasting battery life

What we didn’t like:

Display brightness lacking at times
Viewing angles easily suffer

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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