Every time a new smartphone comes out of the market, it is always compared to its predecessor as its own benchmark so if it falls short of its previous model, there is a good chance that the current model will hit the bottom faster before it can even take off.
That has been the case for the Samsung Galaxy S5 released in March last year and the HTC One M9 released in April this year. Because of their slight improvements from their predecessor variants, they got the ire of their consumers and the criticisms ultimately sink whatever chance they have of making good in the retail markets.
Although considered a mid-range smartphone manufacturer, Taiwanese tech company Asus is not about to go the same route as its fellow Taiwanese tech firm, HTC, in the development of its latest flagship smartphone.
Asus has made waves last year with its ZenFone which drew rave reviews and good market performance because of its excellent features and capabilities vis-à-vis its affordable price. But its successor, the ZenFone 2 is actually a very classy and more superior smartphone which make it fare well in the market.
In fact, the ZenFone 2 is so warmly received, it actually breed a lot of variants after it was officially rolled out to the retail markets in January this year. As of this time, the ZenFone 2 already has more than five variants but some of them are market-specific. Some variants are only available in some markets.
Strong points
The review made by Hardware Secrets on the Asus ZenFone 2 identified the strong points of the smartphone compared to its predecessor.
Apart from its sturdy and great design, the ZenFone 2 has a great cost/benefit ratio and performs excellently well. It has a big screen with full HD resolution and equip with fast charging battery.
It has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front snapper and is capable of supporting 4G LTE and NFC. It also comes with Dual SIM capability and has an expandable storage via a microSD card slot.
In terms of downsides, the Asus ZenFone 2 is considered a little thick for most of today’s smartphones and that it is not yet capable of recording video at 60 fps or at 4K, which is a bit asking too much for a mid-range handset.
Stronger presence in India
Meanwhile, Asus has intensified its presence in India, the second-biggest market in Asia for smartphone users, with its recent partnership with Foxconn, reports the Times of India.
Through the agreement, Asus has permitted Foxconn to begin manufacturing of smartphones in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, which will certainly improve the market presence of the Taiwanese tech giant in the burgeoning Indian market for smartphones.
The partnership between Asus and Foxconn will begin with the manufacturing of two new variants to the ZenFone 2, which are the ZenFone 2 Laser and the ZenFone Go. The company targets to manufacture 1.5 lakh smartphones a month by the end of the current financial year, which shall account for almost 80% of handset sales in India.
India is one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets globally. It is poised to overtake the US as the second-largest market in the next few years. Shipments in India grew 44% to 26.5 million units in April-June, says the data by research firm IDC.
For being just compared to the flagship phablet of the Korean tech giant launched in August, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, in terms of design and performance, it is already an honor for the Asus ZenFone 2.
While the Asus ZenFone 2 has had many variants since it was officially released by the Taiwanese firm in January this year, the fact remains that it has become one of the most cost-affordable smartphones/phablets that can rival other flagship devices of big name companies.
The Asus ZenFone 2 created a lot of buzz in the global smartphone industry when it was released because it had 4GB of RAM, which means it is powerful and fast enough to process data and whatever smartphone app that is thrown its way. In fact, it is on that aspect that it is better than the newly-launched and shiny Samsung Galaxy Note 5.
Some say that the phone looks exactly like another high-end flagship smartphone of 2014, the LG G3. Both smartphones are made of brushed metal, their volume buttons are located below the rear camera, and their front panels has a metal band below the screen.