The Asus Zenfone 6 was one of the most innovative phones of last year while at the same time offering incredible value for money and a superb software experience. Sadly it was never marketed that well in the UK, so didn’t gain the traction it should have.
Asus has thankfully stuck with their flip camera concept with the launch of the Asus Zenfone 7 & 7 Pro.
Asus Zenfone 7 & 7 Pro Chipset / RAM and Storage
Normally brands offer different specs with the camera and overall build when there is a Pro and Standard model. Asus, on the other hand, have used two different chipsets, the older Snapdragon 865 and the brand new SD865+.
Then the Pro model comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage while the standard model has 6GB and 128GB.
Both phones can be upgraded via microSD.
Not much else is different with the phones (the Pro has optical image stabilization)
For me, this is one of the times where I would opt for the none pro over Pro mode. There is decent cash saving to be had with the none-pro, and the Snapdragon 865 has enough performance for everything I do with plenty to spare.
Camera
Asus has kept the flip over camera giving them an advantage over most other brands; you don’t get your screen interrupted by an ugly punch hole, and you then get three high specced lens that can be used for a selfie. On the downside, you lose face unlock.
The primary camera is a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, this is then paired with a 12MP ultra wide-angle IMX363 sensor and then a 8MP telephoto lens. It is not the best overall spec in the world but it competes with most flagship phones that are priced similarly.
One the Pro model has optical image stabilization
Display
You get a 6.67-inch AMOLED display running at 90hz with 200Hz touch sampling rate and a resolution of 1080p+ (20:9) with 1000nits peak brightness, this is then protected by Gorilla Glass 6.
Battery
Both phones have a massive 5,000 mAh battery which is one of the largest capacities in a flagship phone. The charging has been upgraded from the 18W of the Zenfon 6, but still below many competing brands, you now get 30W.
Price and Availability
The Asus Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro will be released globally on September 1. The vanilla model costs NT$21,990 in Taiwan with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage, which is about £570. The Pro is NT$27,990 (£725) for an 8/256 GB unit. Global pricing will be confirmed later next week, and you can expect the UK pricing to be higher than the Taiwanese due to VAT/import logistics. This will likely mean it costs quite a bit more than the launch price of the Zenfone 6; however, the OLED display and triple camera mean it will easily compete with other similarly priced phones.
