The Asus Zenfone 5 comes alongside the smaller Zenfone 4 and the slightly larger
Zenfone 6 , and it’s our pick of the bunch.
The arrival of the excellent sub-£150, 5-inch
Motorola Moto G2 makes it difficult to recommend the Zenfone 5, but after the disappointment of the more diminutive Asus Zenfone 4 this is a big step in the right direction for Asus. It’s one of the Taiwanese company’s first phones headed for the mainstream, and it’s a bit of a revelation.
At around £119 SIM-free, the 5-inch Zenfone 5 is one of the biggest handsets you can get at the price. Although the battery life isn’t great, it offers decent hardware, a good camera, and represents excellent value for money.
Asus Zenfone 5 – Design
The Zenfone 5 is the middle of the range of 3 Zenfones, all featuring slightly curved plastic backs, and is available in a handful of colours. As seen on its Zenbook laptops, and somewhat of an Asus signature look, the range also features a little metal lip underneath the screen with a shiny finish textured with concentric circles.
Some of the more subtle finishing touches that we saw in the smaller Zenfone 4 are missing, simply because the larger handset doesn’t suit them. Although it’s not a bad looking phone this gives the Zenfone 5 a slight clunkiness and a look that smacks of inexperience.
The Zenfone 5 embraces more vibrant colours than its smaller predecessor. It comes in comes in bold, metallic red or purple rear cover colours as well as white and black.
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The rear cover is a removable plastic plate with a soft touch feel. At first we found the edges to be a little severe, but once you’re used to the shape you start to notice the nice, tactile finish more.
One of the great features of the Zenfone 5 is that everything is designed to be within easy reach. After the initial bed-in period that comes with any larger phone, we found it fairly easy to use one-handed. While the screen isn’t as super-slim as the likes of the LG G2, and at a rather beefier 72.8mm width and 10.3mm thick, the curvature of the phone’s back makes it easier to handle. And the power/volume buttons are kept on the side, within ( mostly) easy reach of your thumb.