Asus zenfone 2 laser lte review năm 2024

This handset is heavy, not at all slim but because of the curvy body it is comfortable to hold. Weight with battery is 170 grams and dimensions are 77.23 x 152.30 x 10.53mm.

The power button and 3.5mm audio jack is placed on the top side. Micro USB is at the bottom and volume rocker is on the back. There are dual mics for noise cancellation.

The Zenfone 2 Laser comes with a 5.5 inch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection and supporting 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. Colour reproduction, touch response and viewing angles are very good.

There is LED notification, native video calling is not supported and handset is loaded with following sensors – accelerometer, light, proximity, gyro and magnetic.

This is a dual SIM handset, there are two micro SIM slots and both the SIM slots support 4G. The micro SD card supports up to 128GB external cards. There is SIM slot 1 with overlapping micro SD card and SIM slo2 (check image below), you can use 2 SIM and a micro SD card. This is not a hybrid SIM slot.

Memory, Storage and OS This handset is packed with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Of the 16GB storage you will get around 11GB free space and of the 2GB RAM about 900MB free RAM on the first boot. Apps by default are getting installed on internal storage, but there is move to SD card option – it will work with some apps. OTG is supported.

Asus Zenfone 2 Laser is running 64 bit Android 5.0.2 with Asus ZenUI.

Performance and Benchmark This handset is using the 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 cortex A53 MSM8916 quad core processor coupled with Adreno 306 GPU. Performance is smooth and handset does not heat up much.

Benchmark

Benchmark App Score Quadrant 13398 Antutu (64 bit) 1st – 23310 , 2nd – 23309 Nenamark 2 53.8fps Multi touch 10 point

Gaming I played the Asphalt 8 – this game got installed on the internal storage. The game is playable in high visual quality mode, game play was smooth.

Camera The best thing on the Zenfone 2 Laser is the camera. There is a 13MP camera on the rear that makes use of Laser to get a faster focus. Front camera is of 5MP resolution. Rear camera comes with dual LED flash support and it can shoot 1920 x 1080p videos.

There are a lot of camera mode including night mode that reduces the megapixel resolution but captures brighter shot in very low light conditions. Then there is the super resolution option – in this mode users can shoot images in up to 52MP resolution, better use a tripod when using this mode.

Auto focus is fast thanks to the laser AF, however manual tap to focus is not as fast. Camera quality is excellent. Do check the sample images and video at the end of this review.

The ZenFone 2 range by Asus is a bit confusing, because there are so many different variants. Different chipsets, RAM, display resolutions and storage capacities make it a difficult phone to purchase, and you need to study the spec-sheet and price carefully before hitting the 'buy' button. As if this wasn't confusing enough, Asus has decided to launch more ZenFone 2 models, and the one we're reviewing today is the Asus ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL).

You can leave it to Asus to be even more confusing than you expected, with multiple models within the ZE550KL sub-model of the ZenFone 2 Laser. The device we have for review has a 5.5-inch 720p screen, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC and 2GB RAM on board, while there is also a Snapdragon 615-powered option with 3GB RAM.

What's so special about the Laser, you ask? The Rs. 9,999 smartphone has a laser-powered autofocus system, which fires an invisible laser pattern onto the subject area to map the scene and properly adjust the focus accordingly. This should theoretically lead to quicker focusing and better shots, but is that the practical reality? Read on to find out.

Look and feel The Asus ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) looks similar to the Asus ZenFone 2 (Review | Pictures). Both handsets are the same size and shape, and Asus retains its distinctive concentric-circles pattern on the chin of the device. It's near-impossible to tell the difference between the two phones at the front.

The sides remain free of any buttons or slots, and the bottom has the Micro-USB port. The power button and 3.5mm port are at the top of the device. Touch gestures within the user interface allow you to wake the device with a double tap and launch certain apps, so you won't really need the power key for much apart from powering on and off the device.

Like the ZenFone 2, the volume rocker of the ZenFone 2 Laser is at the back of the device, just under the camera. Although it takes some getting used to, we eventually got comfortable with the positioning and it's a convenient place to put the volume controls. We were also satisfied with the display, which at 720x1280 pixels is suitably sharp for a budget device. Colours and brightness are adequate as well.

The Laser departs from the design of the ZenFone 2 in one small way; the dual-tone flash is to the left of the camera instead of above, and the laser is to the right of the camera. The rest of the rear of the device is exactly the same as the predecessor, with a similar curved rear that is just slightly slimmer at 10.8mm, and a speaker grille at the bottom. The back panel is removable, with the replaceable battery and SIM-slots underneath. The Laser uses what appears to be a hybrid SIM slot, but you can actually use both a SIM and microSD card, with the storage card slotting in above the SIM.

Specifications and software Asus has often used Intel mobile chipsets in its smartphones, and all variants of the ZenFone 2 sold in India thus far use Atom SoCs. However, the ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) departs from tradition to use Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The cheaper variant (that we tested) uses a Snapdragon 410 SoC with 2GB of RAM, while the more expensive variant uses a Snapdragon 615 chipset with 3GB of RAM. The Laser is a bit expensive for a Snapdragon 410-powered device (considering you can get a Snapdragon 615-powered Yureka Plus for less), but this can be justified to some extent by the laser autofocus system that is the signature feature here.

The rest of the specifications are identical in both devices: 16GB internal storage, 13-megapixel primary camera, 5-megapixel secondary camera, up to 128GB expandable storage support, and a 3000mAh battery. Refreshingly for a budget device, both SIM slots are 4G capable.

The Asus ZenFone 2 Laser runs Android 5.0 with Asus' own ZenUI layered on top. We aren't fans of the look of the user interface, but it's zippy, efficient and mostly unobtrusive in its function. It automatically groups certain apps together, which can be either extremely convenient or irritating, depending on how you look at it.

There's plenty to like in the user interface, including improved security, customisation in the form of what shows up on the quick settings bar, screenshot file format, and more. You can also set the camera to quick-launch on double tapping the volume key, and set gestures for launching certain apps even when the device is asleep. ZenUI offers an impressive level of customisation and is one of the better custom overlays amongst the budget Android lot. There are some useful apps and tools, but there is also a bit of bloatware which can't be uninstalled.

Camera The Asus ZenFone 2 Laser is named so because of its signature feature; laser-autofocus for the primary camera. The 13-megapixel rear camera is at the top center and is adorned by a dual-tone flash and laser, while the 5-megapixel front camera sits near the top-left corner. On paper, the rear camera really stands out among the rest of the spec-sheet. This is the kind of camera configuration we're used to seeing on high-end devices; the laser autofocus system was recently seen on the LG G4 (Review) and the OnePlus 2 (Review | Photos).

The camera itself is decent in both well-lit and darker indoor settings, but tends to produced washed-out images in daylight. This can be fixed to some extent with the use of HDR mode and some careful focusing, but it's still definitely a problem worth noting. However, the rest of the colour range is good, and sharpness and detail and adequate for a sub-Rs. 10,000 device.

(Click to see full-size image)

Bear in mind, the laser autofocus system is less effective over longer distances and open environments, because the receiving sensor is too small to capture the reflecting laser beam at times. Furthermore, this leads to a lack of ability to accurately focus on moving objects. The phone's software does revert to the traditional contrast detection methods of focus when required, though. However, the ZenFone 2 Laser is best when shooting over shorter distances.

Shooting up close produces excellent results, capturing plenty of information quickly and accurately. The laser-autofocus system works well to quickly and properly focus on objects within a reasonable close shooting sphere. It also quickly adjusts to slight movements. Although the laser system is only slightly (and usually negligibly) faster than a traditional autofocus system, it's definitely more accurate and usually gets the focusing of the subject spot on.

The camera app is comfortable enough to use, with plenty of options in terms of modes and tweaks. Most key settings are easy to reach and quick to toggle, and there are some excellent filters and modes, including time lapse, depth of field, and a GIF creator, to name a few. The manual mode has a long list of professional options, along with a level indicator to ensure straight shots.

(Click to see full-size image)

Performance While camera performance is generally favourable with the Asus ZenFone 2 Laser, it's important to note that the device is an entry-level smartphone with specifications that are good for only basic performance. However, despite that we were impressed with the way the phone handled standard smartphone functionality. Dead Trigger 2 ran smoothly, with minimal heating and battery drain issues. Our test videos also ran smoothly, including the heavily encoded samples. The user interface itself is comfortably snappy, but there is a bit of noticeable delay when starting up apps and unlocking the device. This shouldn't bother budget users too much, though.

We ran the Asus ZenFone 2 Laser through our usual suite of benchmark tests, and results were more or less in line with other Snapdragon 410-powered devices. GFXBench and 3DMark returned scores of 9.5fps and 5298 respectively, while AnTuTu and Quadrant produced scores of 23545 and 13872 each. While better performance can be attained at the same price, it's important to remember that you're paying a premium for the technology behind the camera and the improvements it brings to the phone's photography abilities.

Finally, the phone performed well in our video loop test to determine battery life, going for nearly 14 hours on a full charge. The large 3000mAh battery is certainly a contributor to this, and the rest of it can be put down to specifications that work efficiently with the system. With regular usage, the Laser is expected to go over a day on a full charge.

Verdict The Asus ZenFone 2 Laser is a bit of a misfit among other phones in the sub-Rs. 15,000 price bracket, because of the use of laser autofocus technology. The phone is essentially a budget device with budget specifications and an entry-level chipset, but the addition of some nifty camera technology that actually works well sets this phone apart. Provided you concentrate most of your photography in closed, short-distance environments, you're unlikely to find a quicker and more capable camera phone at this price.

Outdoor shooting, underwhelming performance compared to some of its peers, and a slight delay when opening apps are the only real weaknesses of the Asus ZenFone 2 Laser. However, there is a sense of consistency and reliability in the device, and it won't fail you when you need it to work. Furthermore, it looks decent, is built well and has great battery life.

If you're willing to spend a little more, there is even the option of the Snapdragon 615-powered ZenFone 2 Laser, which comes with 3GB RAM and is expected to offer better performance on paper, though we haven't had a chance to test it yet. However, at under Rs. 10,000, the Asus ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) with 2GB RAM is probably the best closed-environment camera performance on a budget smartphone, and it's worth checking out if you're a photography enthusiast.

Does Asus ZenFone 2 Laser support 4G?

Asus ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) Summary Good battery life, 4G connectivity on both SIMs and decent looks cap off the device, and it's an excellent option for budget users seeking a good camera.

When was the Asus ZenFone 2 laser launched?

Asus ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KL) mobile was launched in August 2015.

Which country made ZenFone?

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What model is the Asus z00ud?

ASUS-ZENFONE SELFIE Z00UD ZD551KL-32GB-SILVER (6 Months Seller Warranty).