ASUS ZenFone 6 review: The phone for selfie-obsessionists and Android purists

The ZenFone 6 is not the ASUS phone you might have been expecting. It's not packed to the gills with bloatware, or plastered with an obnoxious UI skin, or built like an iPhone copycat.

Instead, ASUS has refocused its smartphone efforts on the things that are more likely to appeal to Android Central readers like you. In brief, that means top-end specs at a competitive price, epic battery life, and differentiation through a notch-free design and a wacky flip camera setup.

With a price targeting the standard OnePlus 7 but with a markedly different set of strengths, it's possible the ZenFone 6 could be one of the most surprising Android success stories of the year. After two weeks with this intriguing device, though, it's clear that some compromises have been necessary to pack all this power into such a competitively priced device.

The Good

  • Fast performance
  • Clean software
  • No notch, minimal bezels
  • Humongous battery
  • Unique camera features

The Bad

  • Display just OK in daylight
  • Main camera falls behind OnePlus 7
  • Both cameras prone to over-brightening, over-sharpening images

Flipping good

What I love about the ZenFone 6

ASUS ZenFone 6

ASUS's new flagship phone isn't really trying to be slim or sleek. It's an unashamedly huge slab of a handset. And although it's clad in the same metal and glass like most other mainstream handsets, the in-hand feel is almost like a relic of smartphone history.

That's not a bad thing, though. The chamfered side walls are a throwback to fan-favorite phone designs of old. (A touch of HTC design DNA, perhaps.) Meanwhile, the weighty feel is a reminder that this device has the largest battery in any mainstream phone.

This is a big, chunky phone with beefy specs.

At 6.4 inches diagonally at 19.5:9 aspect ratio, the display is large enough to feel expansive but not excessive, and ASUS's unique approach to cameras means there's no need for a large bezel or notch. (That said, the borders that are there are a little thicker than competitors like the Honor 20 series.) There's also no in-screen fingerprint; instead a capacitive rear-facing fingerprint scanner takes care of biometric duties. (Face unlock is an option, though cumbersome to use with the flip camera.)

For a phone reportedly (eventually) hitting the market in the U.S. around the $499 mark (and is already on sale in Europe for €549 including tax), the ZenFone's spec sheet is remarkable. The core hardware is every bit as beefy as the high-priced competition:

ASUS ZenFone 6 hardware specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CategoryFeatures
DesignCorning Gorilla Glass 6, 3D Curved Glass with NMT technology
Dimensions159.1x75.44x(8.4-9.1mm)
Display6.4-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD, 19.5:9, 91% screen-to-body ratio, 100% DCI-P3 colorspace
Weight190g
CPUSnapdragon 855
GPUAdreno 640
Main Camera48MP Sony IMX586, f/1.79
Second Camera13MP 125-degree ultrawide
Video Recording4K UHD, 3-axis EIS
Wireless802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MIMO, WiFi-Direct, Bluetooth 5.0
SIM/SDTriple slots: 2X nanoSIM, 1X microSD
OSAndroid 9 Pie, ZenUI 6
NFCYes
Battery5,000mAh, 18W Quick Charge 4
ColorsMidnight Black, Twilight Silver

ASUS ZenFone 6

I've been using the 8GB RAM / 256GB storage model, which absolutely flies through both heavy gaming and everyday smartphone tasks. ASUS has tuned up the Android runtime for faster launches of common apps, and the "OptiFlex" feature can intelligently preload apps based on your usage patterns. Needless to say, I rarely saw a single splash screen in my few weeks with the phone.

The ZenFone 6's monstrous battery is the main eye-catching hardware spec. At 5,000mAh, it's the largest in any mainstream phone, and a major reason for the phone being as chunky as it is. In our briefings ahead of the phone's launch, the company was upfront about the trade-offs involved in packing in such a large battery: It could've included a 4,000mAh battery with 40W charging in the same chassis size. Instead, it went with 5,000mAh and 18W fast-charging, which I think was the right decision.

My battery life from the ZenFone 6 has been in line with some of the better-performing Android phones out there, though it wasn't consistently better than the Huawei P30 Pro (which has a mere 4,200mAh battery) in terms of screen-on time. Perhaps the less efficient LCD display is a factor there. Nevertheless, this is easily a two-day phone unless you're really pushing it to the max.

ASUS ZenFone 6

The ZenFone 6's quirky flip camera is both a strength and a weakness.

The other eye-catching feature is ASUS's quirky camera setup. In lieu of a separate front-facing camera array, the ZenFone 6 sports an innovative flip camera module, packing in standard and wide-angle shooters at 48 and 13-megapixels respectively. (The main shooter is the same Sony IMX586 used in the OnePlus 7 series and many others.) And because they can face in either direction — or anywhere in between — there's no need for any dedicated selfie cameras.

An extensive amount of engineering has gone into ASUS's new camera module — from the "liquid metal" alloy used in its chassis to the custom stepping motor that allows it to smoothly rotate. And like other leading mechanical camera setups, the ZenFone 6 will also retract its phone into the body if it detects a fall. Check out our initial preview for more on the engineering behind the flip camera.

Using a flagship-tier wide and standard camera for selfies is a bit of revelation, with front-facing image quality beating just about everything besides the Google Pixel 3. (Google still wins on the basis of HDR+ and Night Sight.) Even then, the ZenFone can produce a wider-angle shot than Google's phone, and there are more software tweaks on offer in ASUS's camera software.

One particularly neat trick, as mentioned, is how the flip camera can be held at any point between front and rear-facing. Similar to a rotating viewfinder on a standalone camera, this lets you frame up a shot at an unusual angle — for example at eye level with a pet or a small child, or facing upwards to capture clouds or skyscrapers.

Take photos from the front or the rear - or anywhere in between.

As far as software processing goes, ASUS has various levels of "HDR+" processing. This isn't the same as Google's HDR+ feature, which uses its own proprietary Gcam technology, but it does use multi-frame processing to — usually — ensure captures are evenly exposed with ample highlight and shadow detail.

ASUS goes a step beyond this with its "HDR++" mode, which is essentially a dedicated daylight shooting mode. You won't want to use it in anything but ideal lighting conditions, and my results have been pretty mixed, but not terrible. Sometimes images come out looking flat compared to full auto; other times the sharpening can go overboard. It's a situational feature, and wherever I used it I found myself taking a shot in full auto as a backup.

The dedicated night mode itself works much like the same mode on other flagship phones — hold still for a few seconds to capture a brighter image. Once again, ASUS is prone to flattening images somewhat, but generally speaking the improvement compared to full auto was evident and welcome, with improved noise reduction and color reproduction.

Throughout my review period, the ZenFone 6 has had two major software updates, both of which have markedly improved photo quality. In particular, low-light quality and over-sharpening of images have improved since I first started using this phone.

While this phone isn't going to challenge the Pixel 3 or Huawei P30 Pro in terms of raw image quality, is it an incredibly fun camera setup to use, and undeniably one of the best for selfies.

Great specs and solid cameras don't mean much if the user experience doesn't measure up, though. In the past, ASUS's ZenUI has been hit-and-miss in this area, with a heavily customized interface and, sometimes, a handful of bloatware on top. In the new ZenUI 6, this all changes. And instead, the philosophy for ASUS's software is now much closer to Android One, or OnePlus's OxygenOS. It's basically stock Android with extra features layered on top.

ZenUI 6

I've already touched on some of the behind-the-scenes optimizations that ASUS has made to keep the ZenFone 6 feeling fast and smooth.

There's also a new, Pixel-like aesthetic to all ASUS's built-in apps, with bright whites and blues throughout — as well as a focus one one-handed usability, thanks to major controls being moved to the lower portion of the screen. ASUS also has its own one-handed mode, mapped to a double-press of the home key, and its own implementation of night mode, which darkens the interface in its own apps.

ZenUI 6

There's also a decent selection of navigation options, including the standard three-button (back, home, recents) arrangement, Android Pie-style two-button navigation, and full-screen gesture navigation similar to Android Q.

All of this contributes to an excellent pure Android experience on ASUS's best hardware to date. The extra features added atop stock Android are unobtrusive and easy to ignore if you find they're not for you. Meanwhile, the Android experience is as uncluttered and pleasant as anything from Google or OnePlus.

Zenophobia

What I don't love about the ZenFone 6

ASUS ZenFone 6

As with any mid-priced flagship phone, the ZenFone 6 includes some unavoidable compromises in order to hit its competitive price point. Firstly, due to the unique nature of the flip camera, there's no water resistance or IP rating. Everyday hazards such as rain probably won't damage the phone, but you'll want to avoid dunking it in a pool, or leaving it out in the rain.

And the unique camera module also has a knock-on effect in other areas. It's a total lint magnet and frequently came out of my pocket covered in dust — likely due to the sharp edges, and the clearance between the body and the back of the camera module.

What's more, that same gap between the phone and the camera can cause haptic feedback to feel rattly at times, most noticeably when the phone is held flat in the hand, facing upwards. That's unfortunate because otherwise, this phone's haptic motor is solid.

Inevitably, when a phone boasts high-end specs and a low price tag, there are compromises elsewhere.

My other slight complaint is with the daylight visibility of the phone's IPS LCD display. It's not horrible, but it's clearly a step behind other modern OLEDs. Even compared to flagship AMOLED panels of a few generations ago, the ZenFone can sometimes struggle under exceptionally bright daylight conditions. And that can be problematic when taking selfies, if you're squinting into a dim phone screen while trying to frame up your shot.

On a related note, I've found ASUS's night photo mode, though competent, falls behind OnePlus's and Honor's. As mentioned earlier, software updates have improved the camera considerably over the past few weeks, so hopefully that trend will continue in the months ahead. ASUS certainly has solid foundations to build upon.

There's also an auto-panorama mode that uses the motion of the motor to automatically pan through the scene, which sounds neat, but in my experience framing shots using this mode was often problematic.

Worth the cash?

Should you buy the ZenFone 6? Absolutely!

ASUS ZenFone 6

There are more "affordable" flagship phones than ever on the market right now. However, ASUS manages to stand out from the crowd with a focus on battery life, clean, fast software, high-end specs and a unique approach to smartphone photography. There are trade-offs for sure: This is a big, chunky, heavy phone with an average-looking screen that lacks some common features like water resistance.

4 out of 5

But if you value battery longevity and selfie performance, as well as one of the most enjoyable software experiences in any Android phone, the ASUS ZenFone 6 is definitely worth your time and money.

Alex Dobie
Executive Editor

Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.

23 Comments
  • This appears to be a very good phone. Vastly improved software. A killer 5000mamp battery. Plus the price 499.00, not bad at all! A new innovation with the flip camera. Hundreds less than the top dogs!
  • It's a good phone......shame you can't actually buy it yet in the UK. Asus UK opened pre-orders ages ago and gave an initial release of June 20th but this came and went with no official communication from Asus. Now it looks like those who pre-ordered will have to wait till the end of July and most likely August for the phone. Asus's handling of delivery has put many off this phone as they can't trust the company to get the warranty/after-sales right. Sort it out ASUS!!
  • Exactly.. the "official" store is just another vendor in ASUS's eyes so they don't have any idea when stock will actually show up either. In the end I went with the OnePlus 7 Pro. At least oneplus could sell me a phone on the day they promised to in the UK, and it arrived a day early into the bargain :) The Zenfone is a great phone on paper, but as long as it stays on paper only I'm not interested. Strange that reviewers don't seem to have any problems getting phones, it's almost as if ASUS don't care about the little people; you know, the ones that will be shelling out their own hard earned cash on their phones if only they could. It doesn't exactly give you a warm feeling about their competency in other ways!
  • The only thing that puts me off is the LCD screen, yes the battery life is good but it could be that much better with an OLED one and viewing the screen in daylight could be a massive issue. I don't personally care about IP ratings or water resistance, I have never put my phones in that position and don't intend to. Lastly the camera is a big thing for me so if it's not that great then I might pass, I want to test it out first, if I can, before purchasing.
  • In this case; yes, the LCD is not a great one. Brightness is inconsistent and the resolution is too low for VR. While you CAN make an LCD that's better than an OLED, it's rare. The HTC U11 display was better than the Note 8, but this Asus display is clearly not on par with either.
  • I like the idea of this phone but the US carrier compatibility is very limited. Especially since the Amazon link at the bottom of this review is the global version that's missing most of the radio bands you'd need for it to work in the US. It doesn't even have bands 4, 12 or 17 which are very widespread throughout the AT&T and T-Mobile networks, let alone 66 or 71 which are becoming more common. Even the North America version is lacking some bands for AT&T and especially T-Mobile, and Asus has yet to confirm whether there's any VoLTE or wifi calling support. The North America version of last year's Zenfone 5z had neither of these things in the US. The phone looks very interesting but without a proper US version it's a non-starter to me.
  • I agree, however Asus currently has three variants out there: A, B, and C. The C variant has bands 4, 12, and 17. https://www.asus.com/us/Phone/ZenFone-6-ZS630KL/Tech-Specs/ Look under "Network Standard" toward the bottom of the page. Now, I'm sad because I'm on Verizon and none of those variants support band 13. Supposedly, Asus is going to do an official release in mid/late July for the USA. I'm not holding my breath for another variant or VoLTE/wifi calling support.
  • Right, the C variant is supposedly the North American version, which isn't what's being sold in the Amazon link above. The C variant is still missing bands 66 and 71, among others, and unfortunately VoLTE & wifi calling are unlikely given Asus' track record. I think the Zenfone 6 is a really interesting phone but it's unfortunate there's not a proper US version.
  • Ive used Asus phones in the past and have worked great with AT&T
  • But did you have access to VoLTE or wifi calling?
  • Excited to read a review of this phone, but no mention of whether or not it has a 3.5mm headphone jack? The pictures also don't give any hints. I'll go to another website to find out, but the review just seems incomplete without mention of a feature that is still a dealbreaker for many.
  • Yeah, kind of weird they didn't mention that. The Zenfone 6 does have the headphone jack, though.
  • Definitely has a 3.5 jack with 24-bit/192kHz audio.
  • I owned the Zenfone 2 way back when it was going to be the first phone available with 4GB of ram in the US, haven't even been interested in owning another Asus phone until now This phone is a breathe of fresh air at its price point in a stagnant market where the price of all too similar flagships climb progressively higher and higher year after year!
  • My wife had the Zenfone 2, and used it for 3 years or more. That thing was bulletproof. She finally had to replace it when it started getting glitchy, and I'm pretty sure that was only because of app incompatibilities with the Intel processor. But we still have it as a backup phone.
  • Great review Alex. P30 pro is still the smart phone king. Too bad about the current US/Huawei ban, a P40 pro next year would have been killin it.
  • Huawei P30 Pro isn't smartphone king for me, in my opinion it's the Pixel that remains leader, with the best software and cameras.
  • I like cool mechanical things, so I'd have no problem with this. I do see a few things that would not work though: Video using both the front and back camera at the same time, though it was something I never used when I had it. VR apps that turn the camera on, which is going to be a problem if you accidently left it in selfie mode the last time you used the camera app. And then there's the crazies that spend hours in the rain with their phone getting drenched because the photo op will never exist again, and the other guys are scared to actually USE their buttons in the rain which they would have to do because the rain is hard enough to make touchscreen controls useless. And if that seems oddly specific, it's because *I* was the crazy one! But you know what's weird? All the engineering and hard work that went into destroying those evil bezels that kill hummingbirds and make people go blind... and do you know what we gained in screen to body ratio over a phone that has bezels like the U12 Plus? 3% Anyway, I'm glad companies are setting aside the "thin" obsession and giving us some meaty batteries.
    Does anyone know if this has some type of substantial face unlock? Even if it does, it would be awkward if the phone is laying down which would block the camera mechanism.
    VR would be marginal due to the screen resolution, even though the battery would be good at it because VR is a battery burner.
    Oh, and I just noticed that the weight of this phone puts it near the limit of many gimbals, and the other complication is that switching cameras would throw the gimbal off balance, and I don't think most gimbals have enough adjustment built in to compensate for the big camera sticking out in front use, unless you use counterweights. Most of you guys/gals wouldn't care about that though, and that's understandable.
  • Honestly...about the Screen....LCD LED, OLED.... most people don't care, don't know the difference. I use the lowest setting possible on my Mate 10...1280x720 . When I put it to 2560x1440, except for the icons shrinking, no useable difference to me. So HURRAY for ASUS for realizing this and going for battery life with just a decent screen. What he calls big and chunky I call normal. After all, most people put their stealth little phones in a nice chunky case for protection, so again...who cares. Just if all the phone makers would just loose the glass back, we'd all be better off for it.
  • Don't know why, as the lower res looks fine to me, but the U12 Plus in max resolution does not give me headaches like most other phones. If I change it to 1080p, my eyes get irritated after half an hour. At QHD+, it's easier on my eyes. I still have other phones in use with metal or plastic backs, but glass sticks to my skin and makes it easier to hold. Last night I fell asleep with my hand hanging off the side of the bed, and the phone stayed there for over an hour until someone woke me up.
    BTW, I don't use a case unless it's a high risk environment, and the U12 feels delicious in the hand, lol.
  • Selfies and selfie cameras; the bane of the human race.
  • Probably the best ZenFone in years but I still won't pick this over an Android One phone or Pixel phone especially.
  • No way I'm jumping on the Asus bandwagon again. I bought the ZF 2 when it came out and loved it. Sadly in within just a handful of months they completely stopped updating the phone, I mean less than a 1 year after purchase, all updates just stopped from Asus. It now sits dead in a drawer somewhere in my pile of dead electronics. Sad. I urge all interested in this new phone to think twice before investing good money in an Asus phone. You have been warned!