ASUS have released tons of Zenfones this year and if you’re looking for an affordable one then you might want to opt for the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0. And no, this one doesn’t have the same specifications of the ASUS Zenfone 2 but this one packs midrange specs which make the smartphone more affordable
Hardware and Design
The design of the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser is similar to other Zenfones. Compared to the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5, the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 got a metal brushed design look similar to the Zenfone 2 and of course, the arc back design which makes the phone easier to hold. The materials are still plastic despite having that brushed metal look..
The volume buttons are placed at the back too but since the smartphone has a smaller 5-inch display compared to other Zenfones, I could easily reach the power button at the top of this phone easily.
Inside the device is a dual sim card slot, which supports both Micro sim along with the MicroSD card slot if you need more storage from that 16GB of Internal storage. There’s a MicroUSB port below the smartphone and the 3.5mm audio jack is placed at the top of the smartphone. Basically, the look of this smartphone is very similar to the Zenfones that were released before.
But how about the features that set the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 different from others? Well, this Zenfone is not the cheapest but it is pegged below P8,000 which is placed on the affordable line.
The smartphone also supports OTG if you need to use your flash drives and accessories. The audio? It’s not something to be desired of this smartphone but of course, it’s loud enough but not satisfying for audiophiles.
Display
There are two variants of the Zenfone 2 Laser and this is the smaller brother with a 5-inch HD display while its bigger brother, boasts a 5.5-inch display. Since this smartphone is just running on Snapdragon 410 processor, I think they made the right choice of not using a Full HD display because the Snapdragon 410 processor wouldn’t be enough to run Full HD apps and games on this smartphone.
Regarding the display, yes, it does look good and the colors aren’t washed out. It’s not as good as the Zenfone 2 but it does look good for an HD display but of course, it’s not sharp as the Full HD display of the Zenfone 2 and other smartphones with higher resolution. But again, the smartphone’s display is good.
Software and Performance
This smartphone still opt for the ZenUI which is the same UI used on the previous Zenfones that we’ve reviewed before. There’s nothing swiped off from this smartphone and you can still expect the ASUS apps along with the Zenfone 2 Laser such as PC Link, which lets you mirror the display of the smartphone to your PC.
But of course, the customizations are still there and the themes are still customizable on this smartphone. Some apps that you can see on the smartphone are power saver, which lets you optimize and control the power consumption of the smartphone and kids mode that lets you have control of what apps your kid can run on the smartphone.
The smartphone runs on a Snapdragon 410 processor along with 2 GB of RAM. When it comes to performance, it can’t match its bigger brothers’ processors such as the Intel Atom Z3580 and Snapdragon 615 but this smartphone can still do the job well.
And if you’re planning on playing on this smartphone, you could play some latest games on this one but don’t expect to have the full enjoyable experience such as the NBA 2k16. You can’t max out the settings and you have to set it at the lowest to enjoy the game.
Camera
The ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 packs a 8 Megapixel Rear Camera with Laser Auto-Focus and Dual-LED Flash. For its price range, the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser is the only smartphone that have a laser auto-focus. So what does that mean? It means that you could now focus and shoot images faster than most smartphones.
When it comes to images, the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 can’t replace the image quality that you could get on the ASUS Zenfone 2 and other flagship smartphones but it does a pretty good job for its price. The Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 can shoot fast and the images that I took have almost the right colors. It’s not the best but it’s good for its price. Check out the images that I shoot below.
Verdict
ASUS didn’t fail to impress me with their ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0. It’s a really good device for its price and I would highly recommend this smartphone especially if you’re looking for one at its price range. The ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser 5.0 is now available for P7,295 nationwide.
