(MWC 2018) Asus Zenfone 5 Lite Quick Review: A More Traditional Approach

While the hype around Asus smartphones may be centered on the newly released Asus Zenfone 5 and its much stronger sibing, the Asus Zenfone 5Z, people looking for a possibly more affordable phone might want to turn their attention to the third addition by the Taiwanese brand — the Asus Zenfone 5 Lite. Sporting an 18:9 display plus quad cameras, the Zenfone 5 Lite might just be the phone for people who might want more screen real estate without living that notch life.

Let’s have a look at its spec sheet.

Asus Zenfone 5 Lite Specifications

Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor
4GB RAM/3GB RAM
64GB/32GB internal storage
6-inch Full HD+IPS display; 19:9 aspect ratio, 2160×1080 resolution
16-megapixel primary at f/2.2 aperture and wide-angle secondary rear camera, PDAF, EIS, LED Flash
20-megapixel primary at f/2.0 aperture and wide-angle secondary front cameras, EIS, LED Flash
4G, LTE
Dual SIM
WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC
GPS, A-GPS
Fingerprint scanner
Facial Recognition
3300mAh battery
Android Oreo with ZenUI 5.0

Initial Impressions: No AI But Still a Solid Smartphone

Whenever a “Lite” version of a smartphone is released, you usually expect a bump down in specs and in build quality but, in case of the latter, you’re getting the same premium feel with the Zenfone 5 Lite. It has a metal frame sandwiched by glass panels. This device deviates a little bit in terms of ergonomics we seen in most smartphones today. Instead of having curved edges, the back of the Lite rests flush against the table when you lay it down but, thank to its narrower dimensions, it’s still quite easy to hold and the buttons are still easy to get to.

Speaking of which, let’s take the usual tour of the button and ports on the Zenfone 5 Lite.

You can find the power button and volume rocker on the right side of the device.

Access to the SIM tray is on the left side.

The headphone jack can be found on top of the phone.

While the micro USB port is on the bottom and is flanked by a speaker grille. We really would have liked to see a USB C port with the Zenfone Lite but we’ll take what we can get.

On the back of the device, you have the dual rear cameras of the Zenfone 5 Lite. You have a primary 16-megapixel camera and secondary wide-angle lens. Just below the rear camera array is the fingerprint scanner, which is still easy given the dimension of the device. We like it that the cameras don’t jut out of the chassis that much compared to other devices that have a similar setup, though we are worried that the chrome accents might get scuffed up with everyday use. Hopefully, the device comes with a silicon case out of the box, which the company usually does with their usual devices.

The display of the Zenfone 5 Lite measures in at 6-inches and employs a more traditional approach to an 18:9 display. Yup, you won’t have to contend with living the notch life on this one if you don’t fancy having it. It’s an IPS panel with just the right amount of color saturation and brightness. You’re also getting a decent amount of sharpness with Full HD+resolution.

For taking selfies, you have two cameras up in front as well and it’s a similar setup as the rear cameras with a slight bump up in the main camera, which sits at 20-megapixels. Asus has yet to disclose the exact megapixel count for both secondary cameras on the Lite but the option of going wide and including more people or scenery in photos is always welcome.

The Asus Zenfone 5 Lite will also come in 2 configurations and will come with either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor or the Snapdragon 430 for an even more affordable variant of the device. We’re guessing it’ll be paired with 4GB or 3GB of RAM respectively and storage will most likely be pegged at 64GB or 32GB as well. There’s no word from their local marketing arm on whether we’re getting both variants of one of the two. We’re hoping they at least bring the 630 powered device for those looking for a bit more computing zing.

For the battery, you have 3300mAh worth of juice and that should be enough to get you through the day but, of course, that’ll all depend on your mileage and software optimization. We’re getting Android Oreo out of the box for the Lite and the new overlay from the brand — ZenUI 5 — and we definitely hope that they’ve trimmed it down plus optimized it further.

No price has been announced for the Asus Zenfone 5 Lite but we should know more by the time it gets launched locally. We really hope that Asus gets their pricing right as they go #Backto5.

To read more about the Asus Zenfone 5 and its features click on the links below: