Asus ZenFone 5Z update adds Lift to Face Unlock, RAW capture, & EIS/OIS auto switch

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The Asus ZenFone 5Z is one of the many cheap Qualcomm Snapdragon 845-powered smartphones available on the market today. It’s being hailed as a OnePlus 6 competitor, not just in price, but in performance as well. The company is supporting it well enough so far, and an update has come out which offers a huge number of camera improvements. These include RAW capture support, EIS/OIS switching, and panorama mode. On top of that, there are some new features as well such as a lift to face unlock. You can check out the full changelog below.

Asus ZenFone 5Z update adds a number of brand new features

12 New Functionalities Lift to Face unlock No need to press the power button to wake and face unlock

Gesture Controls incorporated 10 New Camera Functionalities Live Filters enabled in the camera

Enable RAW file support

Enable Panorama feature

Support Auto anti-flicker feature (Phone will auto-detect electricity frequency based on lighting condition and switch the frequency setting between 50 Hz and 60 Hz to prevent flickering)

Add on/off button for EIS

Enable flash in Pro mode

Support EIS feature in [email protected] & 18:[email protected]

Support EIS/OIS auto switch feature during video recording (The Camera will switch to either OIS or EIS to take super smooth videos depending on conditions)

Support overheat detection in video recording mode (Mainly useful while recording)

Support 3 Dimensional Noise Reduction feature also in PRO mode 4 Camera Improvements Camera Improvements

HDR Functionality improvements

Improve Manual White Balance function in PRO mode

Selfie Camera improvements Boost audio quality in video to 192kbps bitrate

The huge amount of features added to the camera alone will certainly make it a contender in that regard against the likes of the new Xiaomi Poco F1 and the OnePlus 6. While the Asus ZenFone 5Z cuts a number of corners to achieve its Rs. 29,999 price tag, it’s certainly no slouch either. Camera and HDR improvements are always welcome, and people generally don’t complain about the addition of new features either. Lift to face unlock has been a common request on both the OnePlus 6 and the Asus ZenFone 5Z, so it’s great to see developers listening to their users.

All of that is great, but Asus has also added a number of options for camera enthusiasts as well. You can switch between Optical Image Stabilisation and Electronic Image Stabilisation, for instance. RAW capture has also been enabled, along with some improvements to the camera’s Pro mode. Finally, an increase in audio bitrate is great. While the video quality is important, audio fidelity often goes ignored when talking about recording video on your smartphone.

The update is out via a staged rollout, so you may not get it immediately. Let us know in the comments when you get it and what you think of it!