Asus ZenFone 5Z Smartphone — Hands-on and First Impressions

[Redaktion]

After a series of lackluster ZenFone sales, Asus launched the ZenFone 5Z in July this year to appeal to those who value flagship-grade performance at an affordable price. The ZenFone 5Z goes against the reigning flagship-killer champion, the OnePlus 6, and it offers a similar feature set for much less dough. Does the ZenFone 5Z have what it takes to be a worthy contender to the OnePlus 6 or has Asus cut deep corners to reach more pockets? Let's find out.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ZenFone-5Z-Smartphone-Hands-on-and-First-Impressions.328684.0.html

[Stan]

Did you tried before writing that wireless charging wasn't available ?
I thought this phone had wireless charging

[Alejandro]

This phone looks impressive. My main concern would be with security updates. How's the Asus track record on this regard? I see from the screenshots that your unit has Android security patch level of June 5, 2018 which is almost 4 months old. This is a red flag for me.

[Vaidyanathan]

Did you tried before writing that wireless charging wasn't available ?
I thought this phone had wireless charging

Hi Stan. Can confirm. No wireless charging on the 5Z.

[Vaidyanathan]

This phone looks impressive. My main concern would be with security updates. How's the Asus track record on this regard? I see from the screenshots that your unit has Android security patch level of June 5, 2018 which is almost 4 months old. This is a red flag for me.

Yeah. I would have preferred a more regular update cadence. AFAIK, Asus has a once in 3-month update window for security updates so I am expecting an update by the end of this month.

[nandan]

Why no Full review as other smartphone reviews. No details written about PWM of display. Whether screen flickering is there or not.

[Glenn Williams]

Is there no PWM test results for this device?  :(

[Kshitij Iyer]

PWM Frequency 2315 Hz
Response Times Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80%: 53.2 ms*
Response Times Response Time Black / White: 27.6 ms*

[Marty McLeod]

I just got a ZenPhone 5Z to try after trying the Huawei Mate 20 X and Moto  G7 and getting eye strain from both.

Sadly I'm getting the same problems after only a short while when using the 5Z so it'll have to go back to Asus.

Even though the listed 2,315 Hz PWM would seem high I wasn't sure the one I have is that high, since I started have exactly the same problems (headache, vision problems, and eye strain) as I did the the other 2 phones with PWM frequencies that were supposedly much lower (~250Hz or so).

Not sure what I'll do now except maybe try the Sony 10 Plus. My current phone the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is easy on my eyes.

What a terrible problem as it appears that pretty much ALL of the nice, modern phones are unusable by those of us who get eye strain.  :-\

[Vladislav B]

Construction "is still fragile"? Meaning specifically what? Is it easy to bends or twist or creaks when pressed hard? It actually feels like a small glass and metal brick. No IP rating or likely to crack if dropped from a considerable height does not make a device "fragile".