Zefone 2: Post your thoughts and experiences

[Twotems]

I've had my Zenfone 2 4GB 32GB ZE551ml for about a week now and despite initial battery issues they've been addressed by Asus with two updates in the last week. I'm loving it now that the issue has been resolved.

I'll post more later when I have some time. If you have one or you're considering buying one ask away!

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I bought this phone to replace my Nubia Z7 Max (which is for sale btw) not because there was anything wrong with the Nubia, but because I just had to have this one. The Nubia was a battery beast so I was very disappointed initially with the battery of the Zenfone 2. After tweaking it for a couple of days (the Zen UI allows some root type permissions) there was a negligible improvement but it was still pretty pathetic. Then Asus updated the phone twice in the last week and wow! The battery life is now excellent. They also added a couple more root type permissions that helped. Basically the cause of all the battery issues is Lollipop 5.0 in my opinion.

My version is the Worldwide 4GB 32GB ZE551ml with the 3580 processor (Do Not buy the Chinese or Indian models unless you live in those countries since they have very limited LTE frequencies). The phone is a beast and doesn't disappoint in any area (now the battery issue is sorted). I'm not a camera junkie and haven't even taken a picture with it yet so I can't comment there. Other than that there is no other phone available that matches it spec for spec. 4GB ram, sd slot, dual-sim full active, Worldwide 3G and LTE, very reasonable pricing and top-notch support. Phones from the popular brands like Xiaomi, Meizu, One Plus etc may each surpass it in some areas but don't offer everything in one package like the Zenfone 2.

Performance wise it's super fast (my Antutu is 46,302) and super smooth with zero hiccups under any circumstances so far. The Zen UI is nice too but that's a subjective thing for most people. Maybe Damian can chime in here since he has the 2GB version. In the meantime please feel free to add your comments and ask any questions because I can't cover everything.

[GizBeat]

Thanks for your initial impressions. I'm very impressed with it other than the camera which is fine, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

Will be writing the full review up today and hopefully have it up tonight (+7 GMT). In short summary, if people are looking for a very powerful phone that will have tons of development support due to it being an international model, it's a winner. With the caveat that though the camera is fine, it's not what you'd expect given the price and in comparison with how great the rest of the phone is.

I'd venture to say that the $140 MT6582 Elephone P3000 has a significantly better camera, but don't hold me to that as I haven't made a head to head comparison yet.

[pato2015]

i have the 550 ml version ..all i can say it has great battery life..im now on testing mode if it can last 7 days as the standby time view says. nice reviw regarding zenfone 2 by the way on this site...

[edcoolio]

Very interested to hear all comments about these devices.

One huge weakness of the last series was the battery life, which seems to be addressed.

I'm still very curious about the camera compared to various other China and mainstream devices.

[modestMouse]

i have the 550 ml version ..all i can say it has great battery life..im now on testing mode if it can last 7 days as the standby time view says. nice reviw regarding zenfone 2 by the way on this site...

What's the difference with 550 vs 551?

Very interested to hear all comments about these devices.

One huge weakness of the last series was the battery life, which seems to be addressed.

I'm still very curious about the camera compared to various other China and mainstream devices.

See gizbeat review has a few samples from camera. They look good.

[pato2015]

i have the 550 ml version ..all i can say it has great battery life..im now on testing mode if it can last 7 days as the standby time view says. nice reviw regarding zenfone 2 by the way on this site...

What's the difference with 550 vs 551?

Very interested to hear all comments about these devices.

One huge weakness of the last series was the battery life, which seems to be addressed.

I'm still very curious about the camera compared to various other China and mainstream devices.

See gizbeat review has a few samples from camera. They look good.

550 ml has a reslolution of 720*1080 p on 1.8ghz , 2 gb ram..while the 551ml has 1080*1920 p on 1.8 /2.3 ghz models with nfc and has 2 gb / 4 gb ram...but in terms of actual screen view its almost the same..550 ml is more energy effecient while the 551 ml 4gb are what they called a beast