Asus Zenpad S 8.0 Review  

The ASUS Zenfone series have become widely popular in the county thanks to its powerful specs yet, still sports a price that everyone can afford. And recently, they have brought the very popular Zen brand to the tablets and they named these tablets as the Zenpads and today, we’re gonna review the most powerful and most beautiful Zenpad, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0

Design and Hardware

If you’ve read my review of the ASUS Zenpad 7.0, the design is very similar except that this one is thinner and it packs a better materials and hardware. Yes, it is still plastic but this one has a better feel and it looks better than its Zenpad brothers because of its chamfered edges on the back. However, the back can’t be removed and there are no sim card slots on this tablet.

It might not have the same full metal unibody of he iPad but this tablet is the thinnest 8-inch WiFi tablet and that is something that you can really appreciate. ASUS has also went into the more fashionable design that is able to fit for all lifestyle in the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0.

Inside, the tablet is similar to the ASUS Zenfone 2 ZE551ML. There’s the Quad-Core Intel Atom Z3580 processor and 4GB of RAM. The Intel Atom processor inside it might not be the best in gaming but it can surely handle most tasks and games on the tablet. Besides, the 4GB of RAM is really something in this tablet because it really helps in multitasking and it avoids the lags and slowdowns in the tablet.

The ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 comes with a flip cover and compliments the fashionable design of the tablet. The cover looks like a clutch bag and it houses the Zenpad. There are also pockets not only for the tablet but also some calling cards and if you have a Z stylus, you can also house it there. But unfortunately, the Z stylus isn’t available yet.

Unlike other tablets, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 also comes with USB Type-C. So what is so special about it and why should we like it over the good ol MicroUSB that we’ve been using for a long time. Well guys, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0’s USB Type C is not only future proof but they’re also reversible just like the lightning connector of the iPhones and iPads. It also features a faster data transfer compared to its Micro USB brothers.

There’s a sizeable 64GB of Internal storage on the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0. For most people, this amount of storage is already more than what they need and in case you need to transfer files from other devices that are saved on the MicroSD card, I’m happy to announce to you guys that this tablet comes with a MicroSD card slot. And if you’re really into media files, there are dual front facing speakers on the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0, which gives you a more dramatic, and more realistic experience when you’re watching movies however, I felt that the speaker isn’t loud as I expected however, I was happy that the speakers were crisp and clear.

The ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 also features a Pixelmaster camera on both front and back however, the camera performance is not on par with the camera on the ASUS Zenfone 2 but I noticed that the tablet can still capture brighter images even at lowlight however it’s a little bit grainy. At well-lit conditions, the tablet’s camera performs just okay for a tablet.

Display 

ASUS went for the 4:3 ratio for the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 instead of the typical 16:9. If you don’t have any idea about it, the 4:3 displays are like the iPads, instead of having a taller and wider display in portrait, they look more squarish. However, when you’re watching movies, you might notice that the most movies aren’t on full screen, which is a disadvantage of having a 4:3 display.

However, browsing the Internet and reading ebooks are very ideal on the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 because of its 4:3 ratio. One of the things that you might also like with its display is that the resolution is sweet. It’s an 8-inch 2k Display and ASUS has this feature called VisualMaster, which gives you really, smooth videos and even at some games.

Software

The user interface is ZenUI. It’s ASUS’ own user interface for their Android devices. It’s fast and the colors were really vivid and lively to the eyes. Thanks to its processing power and ZenUI, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 is really fast and responsive. Unlike other tablets, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 is so far one of the fastest on an Android tablet

However, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 also packs a lot of apps inside. There are a lot of bloatwares and apps preinstalled on the device. But of course, there are still some useful apps that are preinstalled on the tablet. Some of its very useful applications are PC Link and Share Link. They are very useful especially when transferring files to other devices and mirroring your device to your PC.

Yes, the Quad-Core Intel Atom Z3580 processor is powerful. There’s 4GB of RAM and if you’ve seen my review of the ASUS Zenfone 2 before, you would probably know how powerful the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 is. Most apps and games would run smoothly and flawless however, I still notice there are still some games and applications that aren’t really fuly compatible with the processor like NBA 2k16 that doesn’t run on the tablet well.

Verdict

No doubt, the ASUS Zenpad S 8.0 is one of the best Android tablets out there. The price is reasonable too for its hardware and I was very happy that this one comes with a flip cover that looks very fashionable and has a good material. Overall, this is a tablet that is really good whether you love playing games, reading books, browsing the web or even watching a movie. This might not be the most powerful Android tablet out there but this one has definitely become my most favorite Android tablet.