Home Reviews Design & Appearance Starting the Asus Zenfone 5Z review with the design. Asus Zenfone 5Z design is inspired from iPhone X. I’m not a big enthusiast of the top-notch layout. Instead, I prefer a borderless, Samsung’s infinity, and Xiaomi’s full-screen 2.0 display which is much comprehensive. However, one thing I must appreciate is that the top-notch is much compact than that of iPhone X, yet a bit deeper. No doubt, Asus not only copied iPhone X design but further improved it under a limited budget. The outdated monotone color, weird rear camera compartment which looks like it was made at the last minute, is replaced by an elegant and Asus signature concentric circle design with striking color reflection. The design also has some down points. The proportion of the bezels isn’t equal. We find the bottom bezel to be much thicker than the side ones. Indeed, Asus hasn’t found a way to cover those bezels and give a much better and true borderless experience. I’m a simple techie who loves innovation and I don’t find any innovation in Asus Zenfone 5Z. It’s a must for Asus to start innovating its smartphones as it does with the notebook lineup. 5Z is simply an iPhone X inspired design with plenty of design improvements Mentioning the built quality in this Asus Zenfone 5Z review, the phone is a sandwich of matte aluminum alloy chassis with the glass covering. We miss that the chassis isn’t waterproof, but that doesn’t question its durability. At one side the aluminum alloy along with Gorilla Glass Protection 5 coated provides immunity to scratches. Meanwhile, on the other side, the circle design, smooth and flat glass texture provides maximum comfort. The glass built means that it supports wireless charging. The rear has a bright surface with the concentric circle layout. A rear fingerprint reader is located at the top bottom, meanwhile, the camera compartment is at the top left corner like iPhone X. The glass rear has a nice reflection. For a much approachable view, every port has been provided at the bottom, which includes a Type-C port, the microphone, thankfully a 3.5mm audio jack, and the speaker opening. I wished that there were two speaker openings since the speakers are stereo, for a much better sound effect. But I guess Asus provided just some vent to save space. Now for the physical factors, the phone weighs around 155 grams, which is too lightweight for a flagship 6-inch above smartphone. The credit goes to the glass covering which feels much premium and lightweight than the pure metal itself. The 5Z occupies a space of 75.1 mm x 152.6 mm x 8.0 mm. Since the phone is perfectly symmetrical, one can feel that the weight is equally distributed around the body. In short, neither it’s an extraordinary looking smartphone, nor it is a cheap one. It’s simply an improved copy of iPhone X (an ordinary phone). Apart from the top-notch featuring on the front, if we remove it and provide a bordered design, the phone will almost match the mid-end $299 Asus Zenfone 5Q with the same feel and finishing. Continued to page 3 (Screen & Display):
