Asus unveils new ZenFone 4 series

• Asus places a big emphasis on photography with the new ZenFone 4 series
• Power-packed ZenFone Max Pro doubles up as power bank

Asus' new ZenFone 4 line up is all about improving its photography game

Taiwanese device maker Asus finally took the wraps off its latest generation of ZenFone smartphones at its global launch event in Taipei after months of teasing renders of the devices.

Truth be told there were leaks of Asus’ upcoming devices a week before their big reveal but nevertheless, Asus chief executive officer Jonney Shih presented the new range with gusto and confidence to a packed hall of international media.

During the launch event Asus revealed that the ZenFone 4 series will consist of five new models: ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, ZenFone 4 Selfie, ZenFone 4 Max Pro, ZenFone 4 and ZenFone 4 Pro, Asus’ new flagship model.

Across the board, Asus has made improvements to the ZenFone 4’s photography capabilities equipping all new models with dual camera arrays.

Asus confirmed that three models: ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, ZenFone 4 Selfie and ZenFone 4 Max Pro are slated to hit Malaysian shores on Aug 25.

A New Flagship Rises

Models holding up the new ZenFone 4 and ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro

Standing at the very top is the ZenFone 4 Pro sports a glass and metal design that has a 5.5-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) AMOLED display.

The ZenFone 4 Pro features a dual-camera system with 16-Megapixel with an aperture of f/1.7  that has a Sony IMX362 image sensor.  The camera is also able to do 2X optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for blur-free handheld shots.

The front camera features an 8-Megapixel camera with Sony IMX319 sensor, f/1.9 aperture and 88-degree wide angle view.

Under the hood, the handset will be using Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, up to 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage with an expandable slot and 3,600mAh battery.

The ZenFone 4 Pro's little brother the ZenFone 4 looks similar on the outside but the display is an LCD instead of AMOLED and has a mid-range Snapdragon 660 or 630 processor and slightly smaller 3,300mAh battery.

For its dual camera, it has a 12-Megapixel shooter with Sony IMX362 for its main sensor and is complemented by an 8-Megapixel sensor with a 120-degree wide angle lens. It too has an 8-Megapixel front facing camera.

There is, however, no confirmation when the two models are coming to Malaysia but prices start at US$599 and US$399 for the ZenFone 4 Pro and ZenFone 4 respectively.

For the Selfie Lovers

Want better looking selfies and wefies? Then Asus' new ZenFone 4 Selfie series may be for you

The selfie focused ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro comes decked in an aluminium unibody that is just 6.85mm thick. It comes with a 5.5-inch screen (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) AMOLED display.

On the inside, the Selfie Pro will run on Android 7.0 with Asus’ improved ZenUI 4.0 interface. It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Power users can expand it all the way up to a massive 2TB with a microSD card.

Of course, the primary feature of the Selfie Pro is its dual front camera featuring a 12-Megapixel that Asus has cleverly rigged to output 24-Megapixel shots.

A common feature on all the cameras in the ZenFone 4 range is the ability to take 120-degree wide angle shots to fit more of the scenery and makes capturing group selfies a breeze.

The 16-Megapixel rear camera with a Sony image sensor and Asus’ f/2.0 aperture, phase detect auto focus and the ability to capture videos in 4K resolution.

To top it all off, the Selfie Pro comes with a 3,000mAh battery with fast charging.

It will come in three colours to choose from: red, gold and black with a recommended retail price of US$419 (RM1,799).

Following it closely behind is the ZenFone 4 Selfie that has a unibody design that is marginally thicker than its higher end cousin.

Though it has a 5.5-inch display it has a lower resolution HD (1,280 x 720 resolution) IPS display.

Spec wise it comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that is expandable up to 2TB with a microSD card.

Similar to the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, this selfie model also has a dual front camera with a 20-Megapixel main front camera with an aperture of f/2.0 coupled.

It maintains a 16-Megapixel rear main camera with a f/2.0 aperture complemented by Phase Detect Autofocus (PDA) fast focusing.

Asus said the ZenFone 4 Selfie will be priced at US$302 (RM1,299) and comes in three colours: gold, pink, black and green.

Power All Day

For all day battery life the ZenFone 4 Max Pro holds so much power that it can power other devices

For users who need a phone that goes on and on, there is the ZenFone 4 Max Pro. Sporting a massive 5,000mAh battery packed into an aluminium-alloy body with diamond-cut edges that Asus touts to last up to 46 days on standby.

The battery is so large that it can double up as a power bank to charge other devices using the included USB On The Go (OTG) cable. It is smart enough that it monitors its own battery and prevents it from draining below 30% capacity.

It sports a 5.5-inch HD (1,280 x 720 resolution) IPS display with a 2.5D contoured display glass. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Like the other models. it supports microSD cards up to 256GB in size.

Asus said it will run Android 7.0 on Asus ZenUI 3.0 and will have dual rear cameras with a 16-Megapixel main camera and a second wide-view camera that has a 120-degree wide-angle lens and f/2.0 aperture.  

Not forgetting selfie lovers, it also has a 16-Megapixel front camera with a Softlight LED flash, electronic image stabilisation for shake free videos.

The ZenFone 4 Max Pro comes in black, gold and pink and has a retail price of US$256 (RM1,099).

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