First of all, the plastic back panel sports brushed metallic finish; the volume rocker is also on the back this time, the same way it is in LG’s top-end G series. We are not fans of the volume key on the back, and stick to the same view in Zenfone 2’s case as well.The smartphone edges are thinner, so your fingers may sometimes creep up on the bezels around the screen( the even the touchscreen itself if you have big hands) .
Though the rear casing is removable, you cannot replace the battery. Under the flap are the dual micro-sim slots and single microSD card slot.The metallic Power button is located on the top this time around, flanked by the 3.5mm jack and mic. We found the Powerbutton to be rather stiff, and many a times we had to press the key 2-3 times to turn the screen off.The front panel has the selfie camera, 5.5-inch screen covered by Gorilla Glass 3, and soft-touch keys. The soft-touch keys are still not backlit, so you will have to rely on the haptic feedback to locate them at night; this is not too big a problem, but we would still prefer to havebacklit keys. The metallic chin below the screen has the concentric semi-circles like the ones you have previously seen on Zenfone 5, but this time they are fainter in appearance and you will notice them only when you rub your finger alongthe metallic surface.Asus has not changed the overall appearance of Zenfone 2.