ASUS Zenfone 7 Pro Review: Triple Flip-Camera

ASUS released the brand new Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro series last week, and today we’re ready to release our test of the company’s latest “Mainstem” flagship device.

This year’s Zenfone 7 Series, which includes the regular Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro, is sticking to a very well-received and innovative flip-camera design, with the addition of a new camera to my module and improving on its specification. We’ve also seen improvements in the main specification on the part of the phone itself, with the adoption of the new 90 Hz AMOLED display from the LCD screen, as well as Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 and 865+ chipsets.

This year, the company is also introducing two types of phones – in addition to high DRAM and storage configurations, the high-end model features high-binding SOCs as well as camera systems employing OIS. Separate things – which is an interesting way to segment.

Starting with the hearing of the phone, Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro run Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 SC and thus 5G-enabled devices thanks to the X55 modem. ASUS here runs the new high-performance Snapdragon 865+ on the 7 Pro model which brings 10% more CPU and GPU performance thanks to the increased frequency of these IP blocks.

Further differences between the regular Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro are in the DRAM and NND storage segment. The regular variant comes with 6GB LPPDR5 and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage, while the Pro gets 8 and 256GB respectively.

The main selling point and different factor of Zenfone 7 in contrast to other phones in the market right now is the fact that it operates a full-screen display without any excellent camera cut-outs, enabling a seamless screen experience without interruptions.

A major upgrade this year compared to last year’s model is the OLED screen transformation from LCD, which makes this year’s model significantly more attractive to users. The 6.67 ”screen has 2400 x 1080 resolution in 20: 9 aspect ratio, and has a 90Hz refresh rate capability.

Although not as high as the 90 Hz line for 2020, it is still a big improvement compared to other 60 Hz phones and the ASUS employs a 200 Hz sample touch controller that has a big impact on fluidity and responsiveness when you talk to your phone. Has managed.

The back of the phone features a glass back-panel that comes in either “Pastel White” (pictured) or “Ora Rora Black” color variants. The phone lacks wireless charging.

Notably, this is a very large phone that is compatible with the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Galaxy S20 Ultra which is slightly larger and chunky than the Zenfone 6. This is something that ASUS actively accepts. There is a deliberate design choice so that they can fit into more components and larger batteries, as well as enable the various antennas required by 5G connectivity.

The camera setup now has triple modules. As the primary main camera, we’re seeing a 64MP IMX686 sensor with 0.8µm pixels thanks to its quad-bearing color filter layout 16MP by default. A large f / 1.7 hole is provided in the optics.

The Ultra-Wide-Angle also adopts the same setup on the ROG Phone III with the ability to detect 1.4µm pixels and dual-pixel phase focus with a 12MP IMX363. Ics pixels have f / 2.2 aperture with 113 view wide viewing angle. Unusual is that it has auto to-focus capability which means that this module can do dual duty as a macro module as it enables super close focusing capabilities.

New in the setup is the 8MP telephoto module that provides 3x optical magnification thanks to multi-frame interpolation The camera can be digitally cut and enlarged up to 12x zoom useful in the app. The f / 2.4 hole is provided in the optics here.

The main camera on the Zenfone 7 Pro as well as the telephoto module OIS show in their modules, while the regular Zenfone 7 does not cost this. We haven’t seen such a split by the seller in some time, but it’s a price-cutting measure that ASUS has decided to make for a cheaper model.

The flip-c camera seems to be familiar with what we’ve seen on the Zenfone 6 externally, although the internal system of the ASUS new pay generation module has been greatly improved. The new module employs a new motor capable of 2.2x the torque of its predecessor, although it is 40% less.

ASUS has also replaced the complex 49 signal and power cables that connect various camera modules to the phone’s mainboard with a new 18-layer flexible printed circuit cable that promises to be twice as durable even though the total signal trace has increased to 110. Output. ASUS claims that it is good enough for 200,000 flips, which is 100 flips for more than 5 years a day.

I’ve never had the pleasure of getting hands on with the Zenfone 6, but the camera mechanism on the 7 series seems very solid and robust.

A new feature for the flip-screen is the ability to position itself at the center corner from the inside of the camera app, giving you different capturing angles, which is almost impossible for any other phone on the market.

Beyond your exclusive fully-flipped 180 setup in which the camera can serve as high-quality frontal selfie cams, the module can also sit at a 90 ° or 135 angle. The phone’s Norama capture feature takes a flipping module to sweep the landscape while you hold the phone still.

The phone is much thicker than the 9.6mm, but that’s largely due to the included 5000 mAh battery, which inflates the device weighing 230 grams.

ASUS has released the 3.5mm headphone jack of this pay generation. Their reasoning about the change was that due to the internal action required by the 5G antenna they decided to remove the jack to save space.

A special item on the bottom of the phone is the LED notification light on the left side of the USB-C port. ASUSA said here that due to the reduction in the size of the bezel they had to remove it from the front of the screen, but they did not want to leave the light completely, so they put it at the bottom of the phone. This is really quite a useful and more power-efficient way of handling things that are always on display so I appreciate this detail.

On the left side of the phone is a long SIM tray that is capable of holding two nano-SIMs as well as a microSD card simultaneously.

The right side sees the traditional volume rocker, as well as the triple-function power button. ASUSA has chosen a capacitive fingerprint scanner from Goodix to integrate into the power button – a cost-cutting measure that allows a Zenfone to be delivered at a lower price-point. In addition to the traditional single-press power button function, dual-pressing the button opens the Google Assistant, and you can customize or disable this functionality.