Asus 6Z First Impressions: Flippin Camera But There’s More to It

The latest flagship phone from Asus packs a powerful processor, large size battery and an innovative set of camera.

Asus 6Z is going up against some really good phones in the market.

(Photo: The Quint)

Asus has launched its latest flagship phone, the 6Z in India with prices from Rs 31,999 and going up to Rs 39,999. With this, you’re getting a device that’s got everything you can ask from a sub 40K phone these days.

The company has heavily focused on the basics, compact screen size, top-end hardware with ample storage space, competent cameras and a large size battery.

That sounds like the dream phone doesn’t it? After spending more than a week using it, here’s a closer look at the Asus 6Z and what it offers for this price and whether it is worth its feature set in the market for the buyers.

Design

The phone carries a tall design profile but it’s not unwieldy. (Photo: The Quint)

As you can see, Asus seems to have worked diligently on the design of the Zenfone 6. It doesn’t carry a notch, of any kind, and neither a punch hole camera. So, the question is, Honey, where’s the front camera? It’s right behind the phone and works in a flippy manner (more on that below).

Flip camera technology on the Asus 6Z.(Photo: The Quint)

At the back, Asus has gone for the tried and tested glass-cum-metal finishing touch, which is slippery. The fingerprint scanner is still positioned at the back, which means, you still don’t get an in-display fingerprint scanner with the latest Zenfone model.

The back panel is a mix of glass and metal, which is slippery.(Photo: The Quint)

However, they’ve managed to retain the headphone jack (OnePlus doesn’t), it supports dual-SIM and even then you’ll be able to expand storage via the additional third-slot for microSD card.

Display

The use of flip camera makes sure the phone manages to pack a near bezel-less screen and no chin profile at the bottom either. This is much closer to the modern design reference than either of Google’s current Pixel phones are, and definitely the OnePlus 7 as well.

Having said that, unlike OnePlus opting for the AMOLED screen panel, Asus has chosen to go with the basic LCD panel, which is not as high on contrast as the former but still not a deal breaker by any means.

Asus 6Z sports a 6.4-inch screen with 92 percent screen to body ratio.(Photo: The Quint)

Outdoor screen visibility is decent, which is no longer an issue with most phones in this price bracket. But where the high screen-to-body ratio comes to the forefront is how you can view content.

The lack of bezels sure is a pure delight, especially when you’re streaming content with no distractions between the screen and your eyes.

Hardware and Software

Flagship hardware on offer with the Asus 6Z.(Photo: The Quint)

In terms of hardware, you’re getting the latest in the market. It is powered by Snapdragon 855, with up to 8GB RAM and offering 256GB storage. But with the option to expand storage readily available, people can easily go for the 64GB option and still manage to bump up the space to 256GB, if needed.

But it’s fair to say that Asus has made sure the headlines belong to its camera optics and the battery on board. Yep, that’s because the Asus 6Z comes loaded with a mammoth 5000mAh battery.

We also wanted to highlight the mediocre quality of voice calls, where the voice of person at the other end was much louder than expected which sounded jarring on the mic. Hopefully this can be fixed with a software update. 

Still, we were surprised to see that OnePlus 7 Pro (206 grams) with a smaller 4000mAh battery, is heavier than the Asus 6z (190 grams) even when it packs a 5000mAh unit.

This ensures the phone manages to offer screen on time of over 8 hours on a single charge. Add to that, the 5000mAh unit does get charged quicker than we imagined.

Stock Android Pie version running on the phone.(Photo: The Quint)

With respect to the software of the 6Z, it is worth pointing out that Asus is finally making use of stock Android interface on its device. This results is a cleaner, fluid software that responds nicely to the capability of the flagship processor in tow.

Camera

Flip motorised camera with 48 and 13 megapixel sensors.(Photo: The Quint)

Asus has opted for a motorised flip camera, which ensures that you get to use the 48-megapixel and 13-megapixel sensors on both the sides.

We would have liked Asus to make sure the camera lens doesn’t protrude this much, leaving the phone in an unbalanced state when lying on a table.

The sensor is intuitive enough to operate as a gimbal for videos. It also offers a unique way to click panoramic photos where users can hold the phone horizontally and click a panoramic photo which is much cleaner than a hand held shot thanks to the motorised camera.

The shot is wide enough to have the user in it as well.

Here are a few camera samples:

Shot in day with the Asus 6Z.

Shot with mid-level light on offer.

Shot in low light

Macro mode shot on the Asus 6Z.

As you can see, the camera does a decent job in most conditions, especially when clicking in broad daylight. But we did notice some noise in the images clicked during the night, which can be fixed with a few software updates.

Worth the Price?

Asus has done a commendable job with the 6Z and after all the legal hurdles, this phone clearly has everything you’d want from a phone in this price segment. With prices starting from Rs 31,999 the 6Z undercuts the OnePlus 7, its closest competition for now.

It sports a screen which will satisfy most users out there, the hardware matches up to the flagship peers, and using stock Android on the phone means you get the most out of the hardware.

The camera tech in use is different but the results are quite good and the battery life is probably the best in its segment, especially when it’s housing a 5000mAh unit.