tech2 News StaffJun 08, 2019 19:52:48 IST
Taiwanese giants, Asus have been asked by the Delhi High court to do away with the ‘ZenFone’ moniker in their smartphones which immediately hampered the company’s plan to launch its newest flagship in India – the ZenFone 6.
A company called Telecare Network recently petitioned the Delhi High Court stating that ASUS infringed on its ZenMobile trademark, and the court sided with Telecare, banning ASUS from using its familiar ZenFone branding in India.
As a result, ASUS is renaming the ZenFone 6 to ASUS 6Z, with the phone slated to make its debut on 19 June. The team appears to have taken the High Court judgement in their stride quite quickly as the renewed launch date happens to be just three days after the originally scheduled launch date.
ASUS ZenFone 6 is now ASUS 6Z. Image: Flipkart
However, the ruling will undoubtedly put a dent in Asus’ marketing efforts, as the Taiwanese manufacturer now has to start from scratch with its promotional activity for the phone. Flipkart too appears to have changed the moniker of the Zenfone 6 to ASUS 6Z on its promotional microsite, to reflect the change in name.
Aside from the name change to ASUS 6Z, the phone itself is unchanged from the standard version of the ZenFone 6.
ASUS Zenfone 6: Features and specifications
The Zenfone 6 is packing in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC – the fastest chip an Android phone can have, 6 GB or 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 64, 128 or 256 GB of UFS 2.1-based storage. This is paired with a 5,000 mAh battery for what ASUS is promising is 2-day battery life. The phone supports Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0 tech (18 W) for fast charging.
The 6.4-inch display is notch free and available in an FHD+ resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike the OnePlus 7 duo, this is an IPS LCD display, which means it’s not likely to be as contrasty. Display brightness goes up to 600 nits. This display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6. It’s also 100 percent DCI-P3 rated.
Asus Zenfone 6. Image: Tech2/ Sheldon P
In terms of connectivity, you get USB-C, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and a triple-slot SIM slot. You also get stereo speakers, and praise be, a headphone jack and a notification LED.
The most exciting feature, though, is the camera.
ASUS Zenfone 6 camera
In terms of specs, the camera comprises a Sony IMX 586 sensor that’s rated to 48 MP – just as it is on the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. Unlike on the OnePlus 7 duo, this camera generates full 48 MP images and not 12 MP binned images. The lens aperture is a relatively larger f/1.79.
Paired with this is a secondary 13 MP unit that has a 125º field of view.
Using the rear cameras as selfie cams mean that you can now take 48 MP selfies and 13 MP ultrawides on the Zenfone 6. Stabilised 4k60 fps video is also now a possibility.
What about selfies?
Well, that’s what makes this phone truly interesting. There isn’t a selfie camera. The rear camera flips up.
Now this might sound simple, and it seems like a rather logical choice, but it seems that it took quite a feat of engineering to pull this off. For a start, ASUS had to design an entirely new stepper motor to finely control the motion of the flip. They also had to figure out how to stuff over 40 wires into a couple of holes just a couple of mm wide. If that wasn’t enough, the flip mechanism had to be smart enough and strong enough to not get damaged when there’s an obstacle blocking the flip mechanism.
The advantage, of course, is that you basically get the best selfie camera possible, a camera with all the benefits of a rear camera. That means 48 MP selfies, 13 MP ultra-wide selfies, 4K @ 60 fps recordings with EIS and more.
Asus Zenfone 6. Image: Tech2/ Sheldon P
The flip mechanism is also fully user controllable. You can orient the camera at any angle you like and take a photo. Better yet, you can use the flip mechanism to automatically take panoramas as well.
This convenience also means that you don’t need to precariously perch your phone on some object. You could simply flip the camera 90 degrees and prop it on a table, for example. This flipping can be done via the volume buttons and also via a software feature that pops up in apps like Instagram and Snapchat.
The mechanism has been tested to 1,00,000 flips, which means you can take 28 selfies a day for 5 years at least, according to ASUS. Oh, and the camera immediately retracts when the phone detects that it’s falling.
(Also read: OnePlus 7 vs ASUS Zenfone 6 battle it out in an on-paper specs war)
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