News & Reviews:   ASUS ZenFone 6

Things are getting pretty interesting in the war against the notches and this time the latest innovation comes from ASUS. From leaked renders by Twitter leaker @evleaks show that the upcoming ASUS Zenfone may sport a dual slider. It was not specified which model of the ASUS Zenfone this could be but it might just be the ASUS Zenfone 6 as the team who created these renders are the same people who designed the ASUS Zenfone 5.

ASUS is planning on launching their ASUS Zenfone 6 on the 16th of May. No specs or features had been shared about the device by the Taiwanese company yet but an ASUS smartphone model did surface on Geekbench showing off its tech specs.

Ahead of the reveal of the ASUS Zenfone 6 at MWC 2019, leaks of the prototype of the anticipated smartphone has surfaced. As the race of which smartphone will be able to shrink and finally get rid of the pesky notch on the front of their phones rages on, the Asus Zenfone 6 seems to have gotten creative with placement of the notch on their screens.

When it first came out, the ASUS ZenFone range of smartphones made a huge impact as devices that looked as good as flagship smartphones with nearly as good performance and features yet were priced for the entry-level to midrange. Obviously, the ASUS ZenFone 2 range of smartphones have rather big shoes to fill, but with features like 4GB RAM, 5MP PixelMaster front cameras, 64-bit Intel processors, 4G LTE and improvements across the board, the new ZenFones could very well surpass the achievements of its predecessors. Does it live up to the hype or break expectations? Check out our full review of the 4GB RAM enabled ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with 32GB storage to find out.

The ASUS ZenFone 2 is really making waves as an affordable yet performance-level smartphone. It turns out that it also has a tool to make the transfer from your old smartphone easier, allowing you to transfer stuff like contacts, calender and bookmark data to your new ASUS ZenFone 2. While it has a whole bunch of different smartphones to choose from like Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Lenovo and LG, it seems that this is the perfect tool for those who previously got an ASUS ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 or ZenFone 6 to transfer your data over. Personally, I did it with my ASUS PadFone S as the list of models available is both comprehensive and up-to-date. The transfer is done via bluetooth though, so make sure your phone supports bluetooth if you intend to use the Data Transfer tool for your new ASUS ZenFone 2.

ASUS recently scheduled the Android L or Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the ASUS ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5, ZenFone 6, ZenFone 5 LTE and PadFone S for the end of April 2015. Now with the end of April set for today, a new schedule has been released today revealing that an OTA schedule starting with the ZenFone 5 LTE A500KL in the beginning of May 2015 and ending with the PadFone S PF500KL in the beginning of June. Bear in mind that the schedule could change again, but this should give all those ZenFone and PadFone S users in Malaysia an idea of when to expect the latest Android L update. Incidentally, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update has already been rolled out for the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME572C/CL so ASUS tablet users should expect their sweet upgrades soon.

ASUS Malaysia recently launched a trifecta of affordable yet feature-filled devices with the ASUS Fonepad 7 FE171CG, ASUS ZenFone C and ASUS EeeBook X205. The Fonepad 7 FE171CG doubles tech specs and features by offering a slimmer 7.9mm thin body, 8MP rear camera, 16GB storage and 2GB RAM for just RM529. While it doesn't replace the Fonepad 7 FE170CG, the ASUS ZenFone C replaces the ZenFone 4 smartphones for RM349. Notable tech specs for the ZenFone C includes a 4.5-inch display, larger 2100 mAh battery, 5MP PixelMaster camera with Low-Light function and SonicMaster audio with external amplifier. The third device is the ASUS EeeBook X205 which is a stylish and thin Windows 8.1 notebook computer with an 11.6-inch display for just RM699 for the 32GB storage version and RM799 for the 64GB storage version. Check out our hands-on photos of the three ASUS devices.

The newly announced ASUS ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom smartphones are making waves around the world as ASUS have opted to make one really good ZenFone instead of a new version for each of the three previous original ZenFone smartphones. Due to the 5.5-inch display (which hits a very nice sweet spot in our opinion) the closest original ZenFone in terms of size would be the ZenFone 6, so we've used our tech comparison tool to compare all three smartphones. Key features that the new ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom bring to the table are 64-bit Intel Processors, 5MP selfie-ready front cameras, 4G LTE cat 4 connectivity, dual tone LED flash and for the ZenFone 2, rear volume controls. While there are no Malaysia release dates yet, we expect the ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom to reach us in the next few months or so as the original ASUS ZenFone smartphone range was launched regionally in April 2014.

Local Malaysia price details for the ASUS ZenFone 2 or ZenFone Zoom are also unknown still but based on the current US price of $199 (RM707) we expect the 2GB RAM ZenFone 2 to be priced around RM699. This would result in a drop in price for the existing ZenFone 6 and other previous ZenFone smartphones. Rumours indicate that AnTuTu benchmarks for the new ZenFone 2 could be around 39000 to 41000, which is a huge jump over the previous ZenFone 6 which scored 19661 on AnTuTu. Feel free to compare the ASUS ZenFone 2 or ZenFone Zoom with other smartphones using our tech spec comparison tool or check out the links below:

• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs ASUS ZenFone 5 vs ASUS ZenFone 6
• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Huawei Ascend Mate 7
• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Grand 2

ASUS Malaysia recently announced that their online portal the ASUS Store now accepts online banking through Fpx to pay for the various ASUS ZenFone smartphones available at the site. Previously the ASUS Store only accepted payment through credit card or cash-on-delivery (CoD). This means that you can now pay using Maybank2u, CIMB, Public Bank, Hong Leong, Bank Islam and RHB online banking. In related news, the ASUS Store is currently holding a New Year Flash Sale with the ASUS ZenFone 4 going for RM269 with a free bumper case. If you need help deciding feel free to check out our detailed ASUS ZenFone 4 review. ASUS Malaysia also announced that they recently sold more than 600000 ASUS ZenFone smartphones here in Malaysia so as a reward a special promotion will be available on 12 January 2015, so stay tuned for further developments.

ASUS officially announced the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML smartphone at CES 2015 recently. Instead of offering 3 new versions of the original ASUS ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6, the new ZenFone 2 is just a single size with a 5.5-inch display (which is a good direction we think). The overall rounded back and metallic front panel with concentric circle design remains the same but the bezel is thinner at 3.3mm while the side is also slimmer at 3.9mm. The back looks like brushed metal (but is probably still anodized plastic) and features a dual LED true tone flash (amber LED + white LED). As we predicted, there is a Rear Key control as well for volume and perhaps scrolling. According to ASUS, there will be two versions. Both will feature the same 5.5-inch display but the more premium one will be the world's first smartphone with 4GB of RAM while the other one will remain at 2GB of RAM. Other notable tech specs include a 64-bit 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 processor and 5MP front camera retailing at $199 (RM707).