ASUS Zenfone 6

Supersnake

Supersnake

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ASUS Zenfone 6 promo video





Zenfone 6 launch event highlight




6.4 inch 1080 X 2340 19.5:9 IPS LCD

Dual lens rear facing camera, flips for front facing photos
48 MP f/1.8 25mm
13 MP f/2.4 11mm ultrawide

Rear placed capacitive finger print sensor
Stereo Speakers
No notch or hole in screen
Snapdragon 855
6 GB RAM, 128 GB Storage | 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Storage
5,000 mAh Battery

3.5 mm headphone jack
FM Radio
 
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Camera is excellent, just use the GCam port.

If this was slightly smaller and had T-Mobile bands (It's missing 66 and 71), I'd buy it. If it was OLED (and sadly, slightly more expensive), I'd love it like it was my child.
 
I like the flipping mechanism for the cameras more than OnePlus’ solution with the sliding camera. Typically the rear cameras are much higher quality so being able to use them for front facing videos/pictures as well is a big advantage.
 
What OS does it run ? A stock AOSP type OS ? Or some TouchWiz crap UI ?
 
Zorachus said:
What OS does it run ? A stock AOSP type OS ? Or some TouchWiz crap UI ?
Click to expand...

From what I've read, it's near stock Android OS, akin to Google's or Moto's OS. Also, Asus has apparently committed to a 3-year update cycle with security updates coming at least ever other month.
 
Stereo Speaker Sound Output
​

Lewis Hilsenteger tested the speakers at (7:00)






Dan Dragomir, a Romanian reviewer tested the speakers at (17:10) The phone has Alarm, Media, and Call volume sliders, and it also has a toggle to Synch ringtone and notification volumes. There is an additional toggle for Smart Volume which will adjust the volume of incoming call ringtone and media playback based on background noise levels. And lastly, the phone has an Outdoor Mode toggle. At various points in his testing he had all of the features enabled.







In this final example ChigzTech most convincingly lets you hear how loud and clear the sound is. Examples start at (4:10) and extend up to (7:20)

 
this looks like a better bang for buck than the oneplus 7 pro if your ok with not having a oled. plus it has a headphone jack. and the flip camera seems like a smarter design.
 
Gabe3 said:
this looks like a better bang for buck than the oneplus 7 pro if your ok with not having a oled. plus it has a headphone jack. and the flip camera seems like a smarter design.
Click to expand...

Along with a 5,000 mAh battery and a non-curved screen.

So far the sole drawback for me is TMobile is likely to not approve the firmware for VoLTE activation. To my knowledge and to the TMobile reps I have spoken to, TMobile has never given VoLTE permissions to an ASUS phone.
 
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Looks surprisingly good, glad to see a headphones jack too.
 
Supersnake said:
To my knowledge and to the TMobile reps I have spoken to, TMobile has never given VoLTE permissions to an ASUS phone.
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The manufacturer pays for the certification. Put that one on ASUS. Also, it's missing two VERY important bands for T-Mobile, I wouldn't even consider this phone with the bands it has.
 

ASUS Zenfone 6 VS Google PIXEL 3a - Camera Comparison





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Round 2: ASUS Zenfone 6 VS Google PIXEL 3a - Camera Comparison 4K 60 + EIS




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Spoke to ASUS technical support today regarding two issues. They created a case and will escalate it to a higher tier who will reply to me tomorrow.

(A) I pointed out that their Region C set of bands do not include bands 66, and 71. I wanted to know if they have plans to include them prior to their North America release, and if not I requested that they do.

Region C
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 26(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 41(2500), 46 - C version


(B) I pointed out that their May 26 update which is now rolling out, includes VoLTE for certain Asian and Russian carriers. I wanted to know if they have plans to include VoLTE for North American carriers and if not I requested that they do.

Version
16.1210.1904.11

[Model Name]
ZenFone 6 (ZS630KL)

[Release Date]
2019/05/26

[Release Note]
1. Camera Super Night Mode & HDR+ Enhanced mode(HDR++) performance Improvement on image processing speed and image quality
2.Add volume key functions: to control the flip camera rotation; set the volume key as "Shutter, Zoom, Flip camera" in Asus Camera's settings manually.
3. Use smart key as shutter to take pictures in Camera mode.
4. Update default wallpaper and ringtone
5. Improve camera rotation stability
6. Optimize translation strings in Setting
7. Enable TaiwanMobile Volte, MTS Volte/VoWifi, and KDDI/Docomo/SBM Volte
 
Supersnake said:
Spoke to ASUS technical support today regarding two issues. They created a case and will escalate it to a higher tier who will reply to me tomorrow.

(A) I pointed out that their Region C set of bands do not include bands 66, and 71. I wanted to know if they have plans to include them prior to their North America release, and if not I requested that they do.

Region C
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 26(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 41(2500), 46 - C version
Click to expand...


That's... That's not how this works. LTE bands are baked into the modem. If they release a phone without particular band support, then the phone simply doesn't have that band support. You can't add bands with software updates, or they would have just opened those bands up in the first place.
 
entropism said:
That's... That's not how this works. LTE bands are baked into the modem. If they release a phone without particular band support, then the phone simply doesn't have that band support. You can't add bands with software updates, or they would have just opened those bands up in the first place.
Click to expand...

I requested that the inclusion of bands 66 and 71 be made via a firmware update.
Received their response today.


May 30, 2019

Hello xxxx ,

Thank you for your patience and patronage!

In regards of your escalated query, our engineering department confirms the enabling of any GSM LTE bands cannot be done within firmware since it's integrated in the hardware of the modem itself.

Also on all our current unlocked USA/CANADA Zenfones, we currently do not have support for Voice Over LTE VoLTE in our North American market at this time.

Best Regards,
xxxxxx
ASUS Product Support
 
entropism said:
That's... That's not how this works. LTE bands are baked into the modem. If they release a phone without particular band support, then the phone simply doesn't have that band support. You can't add bands with software updates, or they would have just opened those bands up in the first place.
Click to expand...
depends if the phone is sold by a carrier. some carriers require certain bands to be disabled

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/general/how-to-add-rf-lte-frequency-bands-to-t2886059
 
Gabe3 said:
depends if the phone is sold by a carrier. some carriers require certain bands to be disabled
Click to expand...

Completely irrelevant. Then you're talking about a completely different model, and in this case, it's a completely fictional one.
 
I just can't fathom why they don't have NFC. I didn't care about it at all for years, but now my phone is a car key, house key, wallet, and I forget what else.
 
DWolvin said:
I just can't fathom why they don't have NFC. I didn't care about it at all for years, but now my phone is a car key, house key, wallet, and I forget what else.
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thats a little scary but I guess its more secure. I've never used nfc but thats surprising its not included.
 
I hope the fixed the issues with previous Zenfones, in that they are fragile. The phone I have is a Zenfone 3 Zoom, and it's great, but if you drop it, case or not, its all over for the screen. Also, it has a tendency to bend if kept in your pocket.

That all being said,the specs are fantastic. My zenfone 3 zoom has the same 5000mah battery as the zenfone 6, and I usually charge it every 3 days.

Asus camera software is lackluster, but I use Gcam/Google Cam software from the pixel.
 
These companies making budget friendly phones need to just make a regular phone. No gimmics. Just make a good phone. That's what got OnePlus where it is now.
 
So I just read that the Zenphone just got Android 10, and that it does have NFC (because 10 broke Google pay for some). Did anyone here pick one up, and if so how do you like it (and what service)?
 
DWolvin said:
So I just read that the Zenphone just got Android 10, and that it does have NFC (because 10 broke Google pay for some). Did anyone here pick one up, and if so how do you like it (and what service)?
Click to expand...

I live in Finland and have this phone. I can confirm it does have NFC, and it received Android 10 last week.
 
Do you like it? What did you trade up from? I have an Essential PH1 that I really like since it's basically a Nexus phone. All of the updates are there day one, but the phone is starting to show it's age...
 
DWolvin said:
Do you like it? What did you trade up from? I have an Essential PH1 that I really like since it's basically a Nexus phone. All of the updates are there day one, but the phone is starting to show it's age...
Click to expand...

My previous phone was an LG G7. I din't have any bad experience with it. I'm in no way a power user though. I switched to the ZenFone 6 just out of curiosity. So far I find it a good phone. I like the large battery and am ok with the camera. I tried the Gcam for a while until it started crashing after an update. I've been meaning to find a newer version of the Gcam, but haven't got around to it.

The phone screen is great for not being an OLED screen. The phone is a bit heavy, mainly due to the large battery I guess, but I like that it's still at around 50-60% at the end of the day. There's also no wireless charging, but it's not a must have feature for me.

Overall I'd say I've had a pleasant experience with the Zenfone 6.
 
Cool, thank you! I'm a bit sad that I found out it doesn't have band 71, which is long-range and goes through walls (US/T-Mobile). I'll just see whether this or a Oneplus 6t is cheaper whenever my Essential PH1 dies.

Also not interested in 'power user' latest and greatest. To expensive!
 
Band 66 is just an expansion of band 12. So not having it isn't a big deal.

Band 12 is the primary band used for extra range and penetration. Band 71 is just slightly lower frequency than that. Not all phone have it and not all areas rolled it out yet.

Band 4 is the main band that most phones spend their time on when not roaming or and have a good signal.

The biggest problem is the lack of VOLTE. That means the call quality will be piss poor on the 3G network. That's a hard stop for me and that's a real shame because this phone is otherwise perfect.
 
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