The ASUS ZenFone 2 Review
by Brandon Chester on May 26, 2015 8:00 AM ESTWiFi Performance
While 802.11ac is still very much a cutting edge WiFi technology with limited adoption, it's rapidly becoming a necessity in the smartphone space just to remain competitive with the specifications of other manufacturers. Because of this, both the $199 and $299 models of the ZenFone 2 sport 1x1 802.11ac WiFi. It's funny to see this included in such an inexpensive smartphone when it's left out of $700 laptops like the ASUS UX305.
The ZenFone 2 uses Broadcom's BCM4339 WiFi + BT4.0 module. A single spatial stream 802.11ac implementation means that it's limited to a maximum speed of 433Mbps. To see how fast the ZenFone 2 can send UDP packets I've run it through our standard iPerf test for mobile devices.
Theoretical maximum speeds are rarely able to be achieved in real world testing due to interference, distance, and other factors. 293Mbps is pretty good for a 1x1 802.11ac implementation on a phone, and much better than some other inexpensive devices like the Lumia 735 which only support 802.11n. 802.11ac isn't very widely adopted yet among consumers and so I don't think ZenFone 2 users will be disappointed in their WiFi performance now or in the future.
GNSS
Thanks to a tip from a reader, I can confirm that the ZenFone 2 uses Broadcom's BCM4753. This is different from most devices which use the GNSS solution built into Qualcomm's Gobi modems. Despite this, I didn't notice any issues with the accuracy or speed of the GNSS implementation on the ZenFone 2. With GPS assistance data cleared and the device in airplane mode I was able to achieve a 3D fix in around 55 seconds. This will obviously vary depending on weather conditions, the positions of satellites, and various other factors. With GPS assistance info getting a lock took less than five seconds.
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lexfury - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
It's a shame this isn't the equivalent of $200 in the UK, I would have snapped one up as a replacement for my sadly departed Nexus 5, but the cheapest I could find was £172 from a Chinese website.Not even available from within the UK yet as far as I can see, but will be £200+ no doubt when it arrives.
Still a great bit of kit for the money even at the equivalent of $250 or $300.
Dave* - Sunday, June 7, 2015 - link
Both models are available on Amazon, a U.K. supplier and fulfilled by Amazon (so free next day delivery for Prime customers).Sammaul - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
Phone has it's warts, but overall it really seems to be a very good value. And apparently others agree....every color, both versions, are in the top 30 unlocked phones on Amazon US. If Asus continues to update and support this, it could be their ticket into the US market. If they pull a Huawei(with the Mate 2 not getting updates), I will be very disappointed.0iron - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
"Fast charging is essentially a trade off between battery longevity and charge times, and it really relies on the assumption that smartphones are replaced every two years which is less time than any user would notice possible adverse effects. This rapid replacement of devices is somewhat worrisome, but that's a topic for another time"I really hope the topic about fast charging effect on battery wear will come out sooner rather than later. Reason is I just bought S6 for my wife & our replacement cycle normally in 3-5 years. I foresee to keep S6 for a long time.
I will avoid fast charging now, unless it's really necessary.
cmvrgr - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Is it a truly DUAL SIM DUAL ACTIVE ?Rayb - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Of the 2 only SIM 1 will do data, SIM 2 is limited to text and calls.cmvrgr - Monday, June 1, 2015 - link
Yes. Is the only officially dsda in the world. I hate that nobody in a review mentioned it. Check their site. And the only with that feature that support band 20 (800) in Europe.nofumble62 - Saturday, May 30, 2015 - link
My Nexus 5 power switch just got stuck last week (phone gone into boot loop), so I got the $200 ASUS as a replacement. I did not miss the Nexus Lollipop at all. The Zenfone2 phone is sweat, at unbelievable price. All my old apps work just fine, and much faster than the Nexus. (I paid $350 for the Nexus5 and thought it was a bargain). I love the double tap to turn on-off. This definitely will eliminate the power button issue like in the Nexus5. I use the power button on the Nexus 5 at least 50 times a day. With the ASUS, may be 2.About bloatwares, it is non-issue. ASUS launcher actually gave me more features than standard Lollipop (such as double tap, shake). The ASUS email apps works great for my hotmail. Previously I used Outlook apps from MS, and it crashed all the time on the Nexus (what's a shame MS).
I tried Google Now launcher, and quickly realized that the double-tap does not work, so I went right back to ASUS launcher.
Anyway, I think this phone got subsidize money from Intel. It won't last forever. Get yours. Heck, at this price, I may pick one up for backup.
cmvrgr - Monday, June 1, 2015 - link
I I haven't decided yet. Super with dsfa , huge ram and good specs.I wonder if the camera is in sony imx 214 quality levels. If someone can confirm that will be super. The only that I hate from Intel cpus is that flash is not running.
I like zenui and runs smoothly in my Asus fonepad 8 dual SIM with 1gb ram only....
Bikram - Monday, June 1, 2015 - link
HI,Yes agreed that Zenfone2 battery discharges fast..... but one factor which is responsible is that it has Dual SIM Dual Active feature... which means that It has 2 receivers always active.... so eats up more power... thats the reason why maximum phones are Dual SIM Dual Standby. which helps in conserving the Battery...
I suggest to rerun these test with Single SIM on all the phones and then compare.....
Either I will be surprised... or Everyone else will be surprised.....
Thanks,