Asus’s latest flagship, the Snapdragon 845-powered Zenfone 5Z, has a highly competitive price point of just Rs. 29,999. At that asking price, the Zenfone 5Z undercuts rivals such as the OnePlus 6 and the Honor 10, and our first impressions of the new Asus device have been very positive, to say the least.
Merely days after the device’s arrival in India, Asus has now begun the rollout of a new OTA update which brings the latest Android Security Patch and also brings an improved camera, aside from a few enhancements and fixes for some minor bugs.
A key area which the latest update claims to fix is the camera performance. The Zenfone 5Z packs a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 12MP (F1.8) and an 8MP (F2.0) sensor, and an 8MP (F2.0) selfie camera. In our photography tests, we found that the Zenfone 5Z takes some brilliant quality shots in well-lit conditions, but the low light photography, especially with the front camera, leaves a lot to be desired.
Also, in portrait mode shots, the Zenfone 5Z’s software-backed sharpening effects seem a little too aggressive when you zoom into the images. Hopefully, the update has fixed those minor camera issues.
The update, which is 56MB in size, also brings an improved notification LED system, as well as NFC and a secure album. “Fixed occasional screen flicker problem after the start/stop video recording”, reads another point in the official update changelog. Also, the update claims to enhance video call quality and the focus speed during video recording, in addition to improving the overall UI stability and battery management system. The update is being rolled out in a phased manner, so if you haven’t received it yet, it might arrive in the next few days.
