A cheap Android 4G phone with one critical flaw
There are plenty of cheap Android phones and the standard by which we judge all of them is Motorola’s Moto G 4G. While it’s by no means perfect, its combination of performance, responsiveness, battery life and price makes it hard to beat. This means Asus has its work cut out with the ZenFone 5 LTE. Not to be confused with its cheaper 3G-only stablemate (which has a different processor), it costs £200 without a contract - £50 more than the Moto G.
The ZenFone 5 LTE comes wrapped in a plain plastic casing with a boxy shape. This makes it somewhat uncomfortable to hold, especially given the expansive five-inch screen, but it’s manageable. The rear panel comes off easily, giving you quick access to the micro SIM and microSD slots, but the battery is fixed in place.
This is all well and good, but the phone’s build quality is alarmingly poor. Applying just a modicum of pressure causes the screen to bend and can result in the rear panel popping off with several loud creaking and snapping noises. This came as such a surprise, given the far sturdier build quality of the smaller ZenFone 4 (see our review; Issue 432), that we carried out the same test on a second review' model to make sure - with the same appalling results.
This substandard construction is a shame, especially as the ZenFone 5 LTE is otherwise a pretty good phone. Unlike other ZenFones, which have Intel Atom processors, this model uses a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor paired with 2GB of memory. It’s the same processor used in the Moto G, but with double the amount of memory, enabling it to perform much more smoothly when running multiple apps simultaneously, or when you browse the web with lots of open tabs. Although its 3D graphics performance was unimpressive, this isn’t a problem unless you’re interested in games or graphic-design apps.
The responsiveness of the ZenFone’s touchscreen was also better than that of the Moto G, with less lag between touch and response. Plus, it has a handy optional mode that lets you use it while wearing gloves, which is especially useful in winter. The screen’s image quality, while decent, is inferior to many cheaper phones. Text looks sharp, thanks to the 720p resolution, and it’s reasonably bright, but images have a blue-ish tint. The Moto G’s screen is brighter with more accurate colours.
Battery life was impressive. It lasted just under eight and a half hours playing video on a loop. When connected to O2’s 3G network in central London and used for browsing the web, phone calls, GPS and photography, the battery lasted a lengthy 31 hours and 17 minutes. Calls did sound a little fuzzy and distant, but the din of a nearby construction site was effectively filtered out.
Unsurprisingly, the camera wasn’t up to scratch. Even photos taken in bright daylight suffered from a lot of noise and a soft focus. Fiddling with the extra shooting options that have been added to the camera app made little difference. It’s definitely a camera of last resort.
Asus hasn’t confirmed whether the ZenFone 5 will receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade, leaving it on Android 4.4 KitKat for now. It’s still a good operating system, especially as Asus hasn’t altered it too radically, with most of its modifications limited to extra apps, such as a file manager and a note-taking app. The exception to this rule is the notifications drawer, which is now overflowing with settings shortcuts, and cluttered as a result.
The Asus ZenFone 5 LTE has a lot going for it, but we can’t recommend it unconditionally because of its very low-quality construction. The Moto G is far sturdier, and cheaper too, so unless you’re put off by its modestly flawed responsiveness, it’s a better buy.
VERDICT
A good Android phone let down by its shoddy build quality.
SPECIFICATIONS
5in 1280x720-pixel touchscreen • 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor • 2GB memory • 16GB storage • 4G • Micro SIM • MicroSD slot • Android 4.4 KitKat • 145g • 148x73x10mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty