Asus Zenfone 5Q Unboxing: Another Look at the Lite

Asus Zenfone 5Q Unboxing: Another Look at the Lite

Let’s Unbox the Zenfone 5Q!

Today, we’re going to be taking another look at the Asus Zenfone 5Q AKA the Asus Zenfone 5 Lite; a phone that we first saw at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. As you expect the device is a step down from it’s sibling with none of the AI functionality that the Taiwanese brand were touting but it’s still a plenty capable device.

Before we jump in with our initial impression, let’s show you what’s inside the packaging so you know what to expect if you do decide to pick it up.

Asus Zenfone 5 Lite Specifications

  • 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor
  • Adreno 508 GPU
  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB of expandable storage
  • 6-inch Full HD+IPS display; 18:9 aspect ratio, 2160×1080 resolution
  • 16-megapixel primary at f/2.2 aperture + 8-megapixel secondary wide-angle rear camera f/2.4, PDAF, EIS, LED Flash
  • 20-megapixel primary at f/2.0 aperture + 8-megapixel wide-angle secondary front cameras f/2.4, EIS, LED Flash
  • 4G, LTE
  • Dual SIM
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Facial Recognition
  • 3300mAh battery
  • Android Nougat 7.1.1 with ZenUI 4.5

What’s In the Box?

The Asus Zenfone 5Q will ship in a clean white cardboard box that gives very little away about the device that lies inside. Slide off the sleeve and you’ll be greeted by a partition that will include a silicon case, a bit of documentation, and the SIM ejector tool. No sign of the case for us who are getting the units a bit ahead of launch though. Dig a little deeper and you’ve got the unit itself plus the usual suspects: a micro USB cable, wall charger, in-ear headphones, and several tips in different sizes.

Getting More Time with the 5Q

Even though this is the Lite version of the Zenfone 5, the 5Q still features pretty much the same build quality. You have a metal frame sandwiched by glass. It looks really premium but as you can imagine, you’ll need to wipe it down often because you won’t be able to avoid smudges if you plan on using it without a case.

The device is pretty light, weighing in at 168 grams. While its dimensions are pretty much what you’d expect from a 6-inch device with an 18:9 display, it feels thicker than most. This is most likely due to the fact that the back of the device doesn’t round out to make it fit better in the hand and upon spending more time with the phone than we did in Barcelona, we’ve had to adjust our grip more than usual to reach the top of the screen or across it.

In case you missed it during Mobile World Congress, let’s take another tour around the device to see it’s button and port layout; starting off with the right side where you’ll find the power button and volume rocker.

You have access to the SIM tray on the left of the phone and we’re glad to see that we’re seeing less and less of the hybrid SIM tray and more triple slotted trays.

You have the headphone jack on top of the device.

Finally, on the bottom, is where you’ll find the micro USB port, flanked by speaker grilles though only the right side actually houses a speaker with a microphone on the left.

As mentioned earlier, the Zenfone 5Q has a 6-inch IPS display with an 18:9 aspect ratio at Full HD+ resolution. You’re not getting a wider color gamut on the 5Q, so expect it to have the same color saturation as most IPS displays out in the market though viewing angles are great and the panel definitely has enough brightness to be used outdoors. Also, it’s hard not to miss one of the biggest differences between the standard Zenfone 5 and the 5Q, this one doesn’t have a notch; just a bit of bezel on the top, bottom, and little bit on the side.

Speaking of that top bezel, it houses two front cameras: a 20-megapixel main camera at f/2.0 and a secondary 8-megapixel wide-angle camera at f/2.4. The front cameras feature Night HDR mode so you can capture more detail in low light and, of course, portrait mode for a bit of that software assisted bokeh.

On the back of the device are two more cameras. The main rear camera is at 16-megapixels at an f-stop of f/2.2 equipped with phase detection autofocus and support for 4K video. The secondary camera is also an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera at f/2.4 to get better photos of picturesque landscapes or simply get a group shot without the one taking the photo yelling for you guys to compress to fit you and your friends in the entire frame.

You’ll also find the fingerprint scanner on the back of the device though you do have access to facial recognition if that’s your cup of tea.

Under the hood of the Asus Zenfone 5Q is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which means you’ve pretty much got the same hardware as one of the variants from last year’s offerings. That being said though, navigating through the device is quite smooth and we’re eager to see how it stands up to our typical usage though technically it should have more than enough zip for your standard social media apps and a bit of gaming as well.

Out of the box, the 5Q still runs on Android Nougat 7.1.1 with ZenUI 4.5 on top of it but the company is eyeing the third quarter of this year to bring it up to Oreo and the latest version of the UI overlay. You’re still getting a few pre-installed apps here and there but definitely not as much as they used to put on their devices.

Juicing up the system is a 3300mAh battery which should last you till the end of the work day and possibly longer depending on your usage patterns.

That’s pretty much it for this quick look at the Asus Zenfone 5Q, which should be available next month. Pricing for the device has yet to be revealed but definitely looks promising given the price tag for the Zenfone 5 Pro that was unveiled during Mobile World Congress.

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