The Asus ZenFone 5

This is the Little Red Riding Hood of the ZenFone line up.  Not too powerful, not economical, it's the perfect balance (well, that has yet to be seen actually, but it's what I'd imagine).

What you're going to get for this is the following specs.  (check out the press release below for a more fuller explanation)

  • 6.2" 2280x1080
  • Snapdragon 636 quadcore
  • 4GB (or 6GB variant) RAM
  • 64GB storage + microSD
  • rear cameras (Sony IMX363, AI)
    • 12MP (f/1.8, 83°, 1.4µm)
    • 12MP (120°)
  • front camera
    • 8MP (f/2.0, 84°)
  • 3300mAh
  • Android 8

Similar to the Z variant, it's the large size with 90% screen to body ratio.  The big difference and what you'd be saving some money here is the processor (and if you get the 4GB RAM model.  They haven't said how much that'll save you tho'.  But again, to most people there's not a real noticeable difference.

It will still have the AI enhanced cameras, same battery (with AI charging) and ZeniMoji.

Just waiting to hear what the price saving will be.

ASUS Announces the All-New ZenFone 5 

-- The most intelligent ZenFone ever features a striking all-screen dual-camera design and harnesses the power of AI to adapt and learn, delivering perfect photos every time --
Key Points
  • Intelligent cameras: Dual AI-enhanced cameras featuring Sony IMX363 sensor with 1.4um pixels, 120° wide-angle camera, Night HDR and AI Scene Detection
  • Intelligent performance: Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform with AI capabilities
  • All-screen display: Ultraslim-bezel, all-screen 6.2" display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio for a bigger and more immersive viewing experience in a compact 5.5"-class body
  • All-round intelligence: New AI-enhanced convenience and communication features for display management, charging, ringtones and ZeniMoji live-animated avatars
ZenFone 5 
Barcelona, Spain and Fremont, CA (February 27, 2018) — ASUS today announced the all-new ZenFone 5, an exciting next-generation 6.2-inch dual-camera smartphone that's the first ever ZenFone to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The ZenFone 5 invigorates mobile photography, giving users a simpler, smarter way to capture and share every magic moment.
The ZenFone 5 is the first smartphone available worldwide to be powered by the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 636 Mobile Platform, designed to support advanced photography, AI capabilities, long battery life, and fast connectivity. The ZenFone 5 has an intelligent dual-camera system that adapts and learns, delivering perfect photos every time. With its flagship Sony® IMX363 sensor, 120° wide-angle secondary camera and AI-enhanced camera features — including AI Scene Detection, real-time portrait effects, AI Photo Learning and real-time beautification — the ZenFone 5 encourages creativity and frees the user to concentrate on the subject rather than the camera.
Crafted to perfection with premium materials, the ZenFone 5 has a strikingly beautiful ultraslim-bezel, all-screen design, featuring a stunning 6.2-inch display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio in an glass-covered body that's as small and compact as most standard 5.5-inch phones.
Intelligent Cameras

The intelligent dual-camera system in the ZenFone 5 uses the flagship Sony® IMX363 image sensor, with large 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.8 wide-aperture six-element lens that captures up to 5X-brighter and clearer photos in low-light conditions, as well as enabling dramatic Night HDR shots. The 120° wide-angle secondary camera has a field of view that’s 2X wider than a standard smartphone camera, for capturing more expansive landscapes, more natural group shots, and easier photos in cramped spaces.
For truly intelligent photography, the ZenFone 5 is always evolving to constantly improve photos. The special AI-enhanced features in the ZenFone 5 adapt and learn, delivering perfect photos every time and creating a truly personal experience for the user.

  • AI Scene Detection: AI Scene Detection takes the guesswork out of photography. The ZenFone 5 uses the power of AI to rapidly analyze the subject and match it to one of its 16 scene types, optimizing the camera settings for almost any kind of shot from sunsets to pet pics. The result is effortlessly perfect photos, anytime and anywhere. The ZenFone 5 uses advanced big-data analysis to constantly enhance the scene-detection AI algorithms, for ever-smarter photography.
  • AI Photo Learning: AI Photo Learning lets users teach the ZenFone 5 how they like their photos to look. It then automatically adjusts the camera settings for future shots — so photos will always reflect users’ unique style preferences.
  • Real-time Portrait: The ZenFone 5 lets users take professional-looking close-up shots of people or objects, without the hassle. Real-time Portrait with AI technology ensures that the main subject stays pin-sharp, while the background is given a sense of depth with a graduated bokeh effect — created using depth information intelligently analyzed from the subject — for a beautifully artistic photo. Real-time Portrait uses both cameras simultaneously to capture gorgeous portraits and close-ups that make the subject stand out with a real sense of depth, rivaling photos taken with high-end DSLR cameras.
  • Real-time Beautification: The ZenFone 5 gives users their own personal beauty consultant in their pocket. AI Beautification intelligently reads 365 facial points and applies personalized beautification based on an analysis of over two million possible enhancements. It works in real time with any face — regardless of age, shape, skin tone or gender — and produces amazing natural-looking results. It works perfectly in live-streaming video, too.
  • Pro mode: The ZenFone 5 includes the powerful Pro mode that gives users full control of all the camera settings, including white balance, exposure, focus, ISO, and an impressive range of shutter speeds from 1/10000 to 32 seconds. With its support for unprocessed RAW files, the ZenFone 5 is also the ideal choice for users who prefer to fine-tune their images using photo-editing software.
Intelligent performance

At the heart of the ZenFone 5 is the latest powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform, an advanced 14µm 64-bit octa-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) that delivers over 40%-higher CPU performance and 10%-higher graphics performance than the Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, while maintaining excellent battery life.
To deliver maximum on-the-go stamina, the ZenFone 5 has a high-capacity 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast-charge technology. The ZenFone 5 also introduces AI Charging to maximize the battery lifespan and provide total protection. AI Charging dynamically adjusts the charging rate by monitoring the user’s charging habits, slowing down the battery's ageing process.
For maximum flexibility and superb call quality, the ZenFone 5 supports dual 4G LTE SIMs with Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE (DSDV) capabilities. This allows both SIMs to be on active standby, and also supports enhanced HD voice calls over 4G LTE on both SIMs.
All-screen display

By using an ultraslim-bezel, all-screen display, the 6.2-inch ZenFone 5 is as small as most standard 5.5-inch phones. It’s the ultimate ergonomic design that not only lets users see more, but is much less bulky and is more comfortable to hold. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ all-screen display, with its 90% screen-to-body ratio and gorgeous 2.5D-curved glass, delivers a totally immersive visual experience. The ZenFone 5’s all-screen display also supports the DCI-P3 color space, with a wide color gamut that enhances color saturation for amazingly vivid image reproduction.
For optimized visuals with natural-looking colors and good readability in any environment, the ZenFone 5 features intelligent display technology. This uses smart sensors to automatically adjust the display’s color temperature in real time according to the ambient lighting. It also features Smart Screen On, which prevents the screen from turning off when the user's face is detected, avoiding the problem of the screen turning off when the user is reading content for extended periods without touching the screen.
Immersive Audio

The ZenFone 5 has two five-magnet stereo speakers that deliver deep, rich and expansive stereo sound. These are driven by dual smart amplifiers that ensure maximum volume while intelligently protecting them from damage. The ZenFone 5 supports Hi-Res Audio files encoded at up to 24-bit/192KHz sample rates — 4X better than CD quality. For an enhanced listening experience right out of the box, the ZenFone 5 is supplied with a set of premium earbuds. The ZenFone 5 also supports DTS Headphone:X™ for 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound over headphones, for a truly immersive experience when watching movies or playing games.
All-round intelligence 

The power of AI enhances the entire ZenFone 5 user experience, with smart features that make the ZenFone 5 a truly intelligent companion. The phone can be unlocked in 0.1 seconds using face unlock, or in 0.3 seconds using the rear fingerprint sensor, and the integrated NFC capability allows the ZenFone 5 to be used securely with Google Pay™.
AI Ringtone intelligently adjusts the ringer volume according to the ambient noise level, so users won’t miss calls even on a busy street or in a noisy restaurant, and calls received in quieter environments won’t disturb users or their surroundings.
ZeniMoji is a fun new ZenFone 5 feature that lets users animate cute avatars using their own voice, facial expressions and head movements. Uniquely, ZeniMoji avatars can be used in video chats or live-streaming, as well as in text chats, to make them more entertaining.

SPECIFICATIONS¹

ASUS ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL)
Colors Midnight Blue, Meteor Silver
Design Front and rear 2.5D-curved glass display
90% screen-to-body ratio
155g weight
Display All-Screen 19:9 aspect ratio
6.2" Full HD+ IPS display
Capacitive touch panel with 10-points multitouch (supports Glove Touch)
Blue-light eye care filter
CPU Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 636 Mobile Platform with 14nm, 64-bit quad-core processor
GPU Qualcomm® Adreno™ 509
Memory & Storage eMCP 4GB or 6GB RAM / 64GB Storage
Main rear camera 12MP Sony® IMX363 image sensor
Auto (with Night HDR and Portrait)
f/1.8aperture
83° field of view
24mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera
Softlight LED flash
16-scene AI Scene Detection
AI Photo Learning
Instant camera switching
Second rear camera 120° wide-angle camera
6p lens
2X-wider view for more friends and scenery in the frame
12mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera
Front camera 8MP
f/2.0 aperture
84° field of view
24mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera
Instant camera switching
PixelMaster camera modes: Auto (with low light and HDR features), Beauty, Portrait
Face unlock
Video recording 4K UHD (3840 by 2160) video recording at 60fps for main rear camera
1080p Full HD video recording at 30 / 60fps
3-axis electronic image stabilization for front and rear camera shake-free videos
Take still photos while recording video
Wireless technology WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth® 5.0
Wi-Fi direct
NFC with Google Pay™
Connectivity USB Type-C®
Rear fingerprint sensor, 0.3 seconds fingerprint unlock, supports 5 fingers 360° recognition, damp fingerprint recognition
SIM cards Triple Slots: Dual SIM & one MicroSD card
Slot 1: 3G/4G Nano SIM card
Slot 2: 3G/4G Nano SIM card or up to 2TB MicroSD card
Both Nano SIM card slots support GSM/GPRS/ EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+, FDD-LTE, and TD-LTE DSDS network bands. Both Nano SIM cards can connect to VoLTE 4G calling service. But only one can connect to FDD-LTE, and TD-LTE data service at a time.
Navigation GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDSS
Operating system Android™ Oreo™ with new ASUS ZenUI 5.0
Battery 3300mAh capacity with ASUS BoostMaster & AI Charging
Audio Dual 5-magnet speakers with dual NXP smart amplifiers
PMIC internal dual amplifiers
Dual internal microphones with ASUS Noise Reduction
Hi-Res Audio 192kHz/24-bit standard output with HRA-certified earbuds
DTS Headphone:X™ for headphone support
Audio CODEC integrated into PMIC
FM radio
AudioWizard+ with listening profile
¹ Specifications, content and product availability are all subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Actual performance may vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors. Full specifications are available at http://www.asus.com