Which one will rule the mid range?

Since the launch of the Zenfone 2, ASUS has been doing very brisk business selling their newest family of devices. If all things go according to plan, the company may just hit their ambitious 1 million Zenfone target for the PH this year. Of course other brands will be doing their best to try and capitalize on the same price range the Zenfone 2 plays in, and one such company is Lenovo and their upcoming Vibe Shot. We’ve seen the Vibe Shot in person during MWC and here in the Philippines, and if the stars align just right, the new phone may just be Lenovo’s ace in the hole against the Zenfone 2. Let’s take a look at the specs:

Let’s start with the display. While both phones have full HD displays, the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML has a slightly bigger 5.5-inch panel. As far as screen quality goes, both are the same, though we’ll have to spend more time with the Vibe Shot to be absolutely sure.

Moving on to the guts of the phone, the ASUS Zenfone 2 obviously has the upper hand when it comes to RAM, as it surpasses the 3GB Vibe Shot with its industry leading 4GB of RAM on board. As far as processor goes, the Zenfone 2 may hold an edge over the Vibe Shot – our only frame of reference for the performance of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 processor is the OPPO R5, and based on that phone, we felt that the processor felt sluggish and unimpressive, and suffers from thermal problems. To be fair to the Vibe Shot, it felt fast and responsive when we handled it back in MWC and here in the Philippines, and Qualcomm has produced a second version of the 615 processor that fixes many of the issues of the previous SoC.

The Zenfone 2 meanwhile has rather excellent performance from the newest Intel Atom processor, and the 2.3GHz version along with the 4GB of RAM gives the phone beastly performance.

If there’s one aspect of the specs that the Vibe Shot has a clear edge over the Zenfone 2, it’s on the imaging side. The Vibe Shot’s externals and camera has been designed with imaging in mind. It has a 16-megapixel sensor over the Zenfone 2’s 13, has a Xenon flash instead of an LED one, and has a comprehensive manual mode that you can turn on with a flick of a switch.

While the Vibe Shot hasn’t officially received a price here in the Philippines, we at least know where it’ll fall when it’s released locally around June or July. Lenovo has priced the Vibe Shot in China at around RMB 1799, or around Php 12,900. Lenovo doesn’t even have to price it that low to be able to compete effectively with the Zenfone 2 – if they price it below 15K or around Php 14,500, it has the potential to become the Zenfone 2’s biggest rival in the PH.

What are your thoughts on the Zenfone 2 Vs. Vibe Shot matchup? Let us know in the comments below.

Check out our other Vibe Shot and Zenfone 2 stories:

Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.3GHz/4GB RAM Review
ASUS VP Eric Chen Talks about the Zenfone and Zenfone 2
3 Reasons Why it’s Better to get the Zenfone 2 During Official PH Launch
Check out the ASUS Zenfone 2 Accessories
Unboxing the ASUS Zenfone 2
ASUS Zenfone 2 Initial Review: Certified Beast of a Smartphone

Lenovo Announces Vibe Shot
Lenovo Vibe Shot Initial Impressions: Sleek and Sezzy Smartphone Camera
Lenovo Vibe Shot Hands-on, First Impressions: A Phone That Wants to Be Your Point and Shoot
Lenovo PH Mobile Head: A7000 Lazada Exclusive For Now, Vibe Shot Coming in June/July
Lenovo Prices Vibe Shot In China, Retails Below 13K