Can a$300 smartphone stand up with the best Android devices out there from heavyweights like Samsung, LG, and HTC? That’s what Asus is trying to answer with the ZenFone 2. It’s not alone either — a whole host of smaller smartphone manufacturers are trying the same thing this year. Similar to the Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 and OnePlus One, the ZenFone 2 from Asus makes a strong case that it’s not implausible. In a year that’s produced some of the best flagship smartphones we’ve ever seen, these smaller players are trying to win by pairing an appealing price with surprisingly robust performance. In Asus’ case, a low price tag and unproven processor could be seen as handicaps, but they don’t hold it back from hanging with the big guns.
On first impression, the ZenFone 2’s budget price is painfully obvious. The phone’s design is basic in every sense: it’s a plastic phone that feels like plastic. If you’ve picked up any LG-branded smartphone over the past couple years, you’ll have some clue of what to expect. The rear shell is textured and offers a nice grip that never had me worried about fumbling it, but if the goal was to invoke metal, Asus missed the mark.
Perhaps handcuffed by its$200 starting price, the ZenFone 2 just can’t match some of the flashier designs we’ve seen from other Android manufacturers lately. There’s no curved screen, no metal finishes, and upon picking it up you’re greeted by a pretty large chin bezel beneath the display. It’s not a head-turning or envelope-pushing design — it’s mostly just generic. Three capacitive menu buttons add significantly to the phone’s height, and these keys bizarrely don’t light up, which is one cost-cutting shortcut I wish Asus hadn’t taken.