Asus ZenFone 2 Laser

In a world of high end and expensive smartphones, Asus offers an affordable option with the Zenfone 2 Laser. Measuring in at 6 x 3 x 0.4 inches, experts could not use it easily one-handed, but found the curved back and flat edges provided a good handling experience. While the design doesn’t stand up to flagship phones, they still consider it quite sleek thanks to the good build and brushed metallic plastic case. Users can remove the back cover to replace batteries, access the dual SIM slots or increase storage via the microSD slot.

The 5.5-inch, 1080p LCD screen offers a pixel density of 401ppi. For its price, experts were quite impressed with its clarity, excellent details and “punchy” colors. While it pales in comparison to higher end devices, for the price they found it very impressive especially since Asus included Gorilla Glass 4. The only complaint they had was with its low maximum brightness. This made it difficult for them to see the screen on bright days.

Unlike its predecessor – the Zenfone 2 – the Laser doesn’t feature an Intel processor. Instead, it features a midrange octa-core Qualcomm processor instead. While this leads to slightly slower benchmark scores, in real-life testing reviewers still found it quite responsive and fast during day-to-day tasks thanks to the 3GB of RAM. They didn’t experience any hiccups even when playing graphics-intensive games on the highest quality setting. And if up to 32GB of storage isn’t enough, the microSD card can accept up to 128GB. In order to keep the phone running, Asus opted for a 3,000mAh battery. Thanks to the less battery draining screen and processor, the battery lasted experts a full day. Plus, since it is removable users can swap it out with a fresh one if it ever gets too low.

The laser in its name comes from the laser autofocus on the main 13MP camera. At first, experts were worried it would be just a gimmick, but when put to the test they were surprised with how quickly and accurately it focused. This was especially noticeable when they took close-up shots providing nice depth of field and accurate focusing. Android Police adds, “…[it] is usually on the money with the first attempt.” With that said, the pictures aren’t perfect. While passable they noticed images were often washed out in daylight. Still, for the cost of the phone, it manages to provide excellent detail and decent color range.

Overall, reviewers highly recommend this phone to shutterbugs who don’t want to spend a ton of money on their smartphone. NDTV states, “…it looks decent, is built well and has a great battery life.” PC Mag adds, “The Zenfone 2 Laser offers moe bang for your buck than many unlocked budget phones, with an attractive combination of solid performance, camera quality and battery life.”