Asus Zenfone Live Review

The Zenfone Live comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD display with HD (720p) resolution and and a metal unibody design.

While most of the smartphone manufacturers are focusing on selfie based devices with high megapixel count, Asus claims to have gone a step ahead with the launch of Zenfone Live -- the phone that focuses on live streaming. Asus calls it as the world’s first smartphone with a Live Beautification feature for video streaming which is here to serve users who love to create live videos on social media platforms. With the price tag of Rs. 9,999, Zenfone Live is Asus's another attempt to recapture budget segment. Design The Zenfone Live comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD display with HD (720p) resolution and and a metal unibody design. Weighing 120 grams, the smartphone is slim, compact and has rounded edges, making it comfortable to hold. The device measures 141.18 x 71.74 x 7.95mm and has a 75 per cent screen-to-body ratio. Overall, there's nothing exceptional about the design, it's generic. The display is decent and not great as it only gets the job. Viewing angles are good and the sunlight legibility is at par. Like other Zenfone devices, Asus has also provided an option to tweak the colour tones in the display setting. The Navigation buttons are located below the display and are not backlit. The volume rocker and power button are placed on the right hand side, while the hybrid SIM tray on the left. At the bottom edge, there is a micro USB port, bottom-firing speaker and the microphone. The top has the 3.5mm audio jack and secondary microphone. Light sensors, and the 5MP front camera with LED flash are placed above the display. It also features a blue light filter so that you can read or browse without straining your eyes. The phone does not have a fingerprint sensor, which is disappointing. Performance and OS The Asus Zenfone Live boots on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with company’s own Zen UI on top. The UI has loads of bloatware and unwanted apps, some of which cannot be removed. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Quad-core processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of ROM and the Adreno 305 Graphics chip. The specs are decent enough for everyday tasks like web browsing, social media usage, clicking photos or playing lightweight games but don't expect it to perform well while switching to graphic intense games. While multitasking, the phone struggles and may irritate you as it gets stuck. Out of 16GB storage, around 9.91GB is free and out of 2GB RAM, 1.89GB is usable. The Zenfone Live also supports USB-OTG functionality that allows you to expand storage and transfer content on-the-go. The mobile is 4G VoLTE capable. With hybrid SIM tray, it can house two Nano SIM cards or one Nano SIM along with a microSD card. Asus also boast about two "highly sensitive" MEMS microphones, tuned and positioned to reduce noise and ensure that your voice is heard during live videos even when there's noise around you. Camera The Asus Zenfone Live comes with a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash. Camera UI is simple and has 12 modes including Auto, HDR Pro, Beautification, Super Resolution, Children, Low Light, QR Code, Night, Effect, Selfie, Panorama, and Time Lapse. The smartphone struggles in camera department as the overall quality and sharpness of photos we have taken from this device was just average. Photos taken in natural light are fine while in artificial light there is some grain/noise visible in pictures. In terms of video, the camera is capable of recording 1080p videos at 30 fps. The smartphone has a 5-megapixel front facing camera with f/2.2aperture and a selfie flash. It clicks decent selfies and also offers beauty mode that softens the skin tone and removes the blemishes. The major highlight of the device is its BeautyLive app, which allows users to live stream through the primary 13MP rear camera or 5MP front camera by applying a beautification filter. It lets users remove blemishes when live streaming to social media sites. Battery The ASUS Zenfone Live comes with 2630mAh battery that can take you throughout a day with casual usage. It will last a single day easily if you’re not a social media or gaming addict. It also has several power saver modes to save battery life. Heavy users will see the battery draining quickly and we advise them to carry a power bank. Verdict Asus Zenfone Live is a lightweight and handy smartphone. With BeautyLive app, its decent for users who really want to make themselves look great during Facebook Live sessions. But with overall average performance, it's very hard to recommend Asus Zenfone Live at this price point. The smartphone has its task cut out against the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 4, Redmi Note 4 and Lenovo K6 Power.