Asus sent out a teaser today for the Zenfone 2. It not only took potshots and Xiaomi and OnePlus but also the likes of Apple and Samsung. But how can one smartphone take on all of them?
As it turns out Asus has five variants of the Zenfone 2, ranging from $322 to as low as $160. The confusing bit is that all the models are called Zenfone 2, but have a string of alphanumerics that can somewhat make users understand what model they are buying.
Four out of the five variants have a lot of things in common — the dimensions are exactly the same, 5.5-inch display, expandable memory card slot, 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front facing cameras, a 3,000mAh battery, LTE, dual-SIM and other connectivity options. All five of them however run on Android Lollipop out of the box.
While the phones might look and feel the same, there are some key differences that would have a massive impact on the user experience. To make things matter more confusing, the five variants of the Zenfone 2 have just three model numbers to differentiate — ZE551ML, ZE550ML and ZE500CL.
The ZE551ML is the top-end model for the Zenfone 2. It comes in three variants that can be easily differentiated with their internal storage. The most expensive one of them has 64GB that comes with 4GB of RAM and a 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor.
It is followed by the 32GB variant that also has 4GB of RAM but a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core processor. The basic variant has 16GB internal storage, 2GB RAM and the same processor as the 32GB variant. However, all the three variants are called ZE551ML. As for pricing, the 64GB variant is priced at $322 (Rs 20,089 approximately), while the 32GB and 16GB variants are priced at $273 (Rs 17,030 approximately), and $220 (Rs 13,700 approximately) respectively.
The ZE550ML too flaunts a 5.5-inch display, but at a lower 720p resolution, and is powered by the 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The handset also features 16GB internal storage, microSD card slot, 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3,000mAh battery. It is priced at $190 (Rs 11,850 approximately).
The cheapest variant is smaller (71.5×148.1×10.9mm) than the others (77.2×152.5×10.9mm) because it flaunts a 5-inch HD display. Also differentiating it from the other variants is the processor (1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor), cameras (8-megapixel/2-megapixel), battery (2,500mAh), and single-SIM card slot. It is priced at $160 (Rs 9,980 approximately).
While Asus has all but confirmed that it will be launching the Zenfone 2 variant with 4GB of RAM in India, it will be interesting to see if it launches the other variants as well. A detailed comparison table follows.
Features
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML)
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML)
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML)
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE550ML)
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE500CL)
Dimensions
77.2×152.5×10.9 mm
77.2×152.5×10.9 mm
77.2×152.5×10.9 mm
77.2×152.5×10.9 mm
71.5×148.1x 10.9 mm
Weight
170 grams
170 grams
170 grams
170 grams
155 grams
Display
5.5-inch 1080p
5.5-inch 1080p
5.5-inch 1080p
5.5-inch 720p
5-inch 720p
Processor
2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core
1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core
1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core
1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core
1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560
RAM
4GB
4GB
2GB
2GB
2GB
Storage
64GB (expandable)
32GB (expandable)
16GB (expandable)
16GB (expandable)
16GB (expandable)
Rear Camera
13-megapixel
13-megapixel
13-megapixel
13-megapixel
8-megapixel
Front Camera
5-megapixel
5-megapixel
5-megapixel
5-megapixel
2-megapixel
Battery
3,000mAh
3,000mAh
3,000mAh
3,000mAh
2,500mAh
Connectivity
LTE, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
LTE, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
LTE, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
LTE, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
LTE, single-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Android OS
5.0 Lollipop
5.0 Lollipop
5.0 Lollipop
5.0 Lollipop
5.0 Lollipop
Price
$322
$273
$220
$190
$160