We tested most of the major models of ASUS Zenfone series locally and I guess the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5S deserves a drum roll. Find out in this ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5S Review.
The 32G version of the Zenfone 2 Laser is far better that the previous generation. There are similarities and differences too.
Let’s list down the obvious similarities. The physical design is retained — curved back cover, the positioning of the buttons and cameras including the size of the screen. The differences are found under the hood so to speak. There is an improvement in the RAM and storage and like we said in our Facebook post yesterday.
Unboxing the 32G Z2 Laser 5.5s
Standard accessories are inside the box. All items are colored black.
The packaging is also standard to the Zenfone 2 series.
Build and design
You still get plastic housing with the Z2 Laser 5.5S, but ASUS made sure that every cent you spent on this device is all worth it. You get a premium device that is nice to hold in the hands.
If you previously own a Zenfone 2 series, you can easily be familiar with the positioning of the buttons.
It has a removable back cover, a removable battery with the power button located on top of the device side by side with the 3.5mm audio port.
The volume control is at the back, just below the 13MP Pixelmaster camera. The dual-LED flash is on the left and the laser AF is on the right side of the camera.
The ASUS logo is laser printed below the volume control while the Zenfone branding is right above the speaker grill.
UI and Software
You also get the same feel about the UI called by ASUS as ZenUI. The version that was sent to us by ASUS PH got an upgrade already to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. However, you don’t really feel the difference because of the custom UI which runs the whole show.
And like the other Zenfone 2 models, the entire list of pre-installed apps by ASUS are also present.
While you can’t uninstall most of them, ZenUI allows user to organize the apps the way you want it. You can customize and arrange the apps in the View Mode when you open the app drawer.
Performance & Battery life
The engine of the Z2 Laser 5.5S is the one responsible for the smooth operation of the device. It has a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 octa-core CPU which is paired with Adreno 405 GPU plus an upgraded RAM of 3GB.
Throughout the review, we only had a fast and smooth performance of the device. This is given that we only used common apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and bunch of Google apps.
The 3,000mAH battery also impressed us. We got almost 10 hours of juice with mobile data turned on. On WiFi, it could extend up to 14 to 16 hours until you recharge.
It will take also about two hours to get 100% battery charge.
Camera
The 13MP Pixelmaster may not be the best camera in this generation. But hey, we liked the color rendition, the sharpness, and lets credit the fast laser AF in taking still photos.
The video recording is also awesome. We’ve used this smartphone to record several of our YouTube videos and we liked all of them.
Here are raw shots of the Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5S.
Low light shot
Dark scene with external lights
Filtered photo using Pixelmaster features
Automatic settings
Front camera
Broad daylight shot
Another broad daylight shot.
Conclusion
For the current SRP of Z2 Laser 5.5S of P8,999 (Lazada sale price is P8,545), this Android device is the best that you can have today. It is fast and smooth and will give long battery life.
