Asus ZenFone 6 announced with a 48MP flip camera, Snapdragon 855, 5,000mAh battery

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Asus isn’t one of the most noteworthy OEMs out there, but the company has actually managed to produce and release amazing devices with amazing hardware at relatively low price points. Last year’s ZenFone 5Z, for example, was able to compete with the likes of the OnePlus 6, the OnePlus 6T, and the Xiaomi Poco F1 at delivering value for the price they’re asking. Now, they’re preparing to launch their newest flagship device, the Asus Zenfone 6, which sure looks like an interesting affair.

The device has now been announced, and it shows off some of the most bleeding edge technology from Asus. The device is set to compete against devices such as the OnePlus 7 Pro, and by the looks of it, it may be a decent enough alternative.

Specifications Asus Zenfone 6 Dimensions and Weight 159.1 x 75.4 x 9.2 mm;

190 g Display 6.4-inch FHD+ (19.5:9, 1080×2340) LCD, full-screen design;

83.8% screen-to-body ratio, Gorilla Glass 6 SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, 7nm process

Octa-core (1 x 2.84GHz, 3 x 2.41GHz, 4 x 1.78GHz) RAM and Storage 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB MicroSD expandability Yes, dedicated microSD slot Connectivity GPS, WiFi 2.4G/5G 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, BT 5.0 Battery 5000 mAh w/ 18W fast charging USB Type-C 3.5mm headphone jack Yes Fingerprint Scanner Rear-mounted Rear Camera 48MP, autofocus + 13MP, ultrawide Front Camera No (rear camera flips to the front) Android Version Near-stock Android 9 Pie Colors Midnight Black, Twilight Silver

The big news here is that the ZenFone 6 will be applying moving cameras in order to eliminate the notch and give users more effective screen real estate. This time, they’re taking a similar approach to the Samsung Galaxy A80: the device does not have a front-facing camera, but instead, the same rear camera setup flips to the front to allow users to take selfies. It’s slightly different in the way it doesn’t slide up to flip like the A80 does: the whole camera mount just flips up. It’s the same overall concept, though.

In my opinion, this is a trend that I’m actually excited to see pick up steam. As smartphone manufacturers inched closer to having completely bezel-less displays, notches arose as a temporary tradeoff while OEMs figured out what to do with the front-facing camera and all of the other sensors. Now that we’re closer to overcoming the notch, we’ve started seeing more and more devices launching without one, like the OnePlus 7 Pro, the Realme X, and, now, the Asus ZenFone 6 as well.

This dual camera mount’s main sensor is a Sony IMX586 sensor, the same 48MP sensor found in the OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 7, the Realme X, the Xiaomi Mi 9, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro, and several other phones. It should be able to provide pretty decent camera performance, but we’ll have to see how well it fares in real life. We also have a 13MP secondary wide-angle lens. We don’t have a front-facing camera, but we don’t need one, as the same rear camera flips to the front.

Of course, this flip camera implementation allows Asus to completely remove the notch. The 6.3-inch display is nothing to write home about, but the phone does provide a seamless all-screen experience, which is something users might appreciate at the phone’s price point.

Other specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, in line with every other flagship of 2019. We also have a 5,000mAh battery which, coupled with the Snapdragon 855’s efficiency, should be able to provide plenty of juice throughout the day. Other things that deserve a mention include the presence of a headphone jack—a rarity on flagship phones these days—as well as the presence of a dedicated microSD card slot.

We’re yet to know the exact release date for the Asus Zenfone 6, but we know that the base model is priced at $499, making it compete with other devices in the same price bracket such as the OnePlus 7, the Realme X, and the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi K20.

Source: ASUS