ASUS Zenfone 7 & Zenfone 7 Pro Announced: SND865/865+ & Rotating Camera

Karamchand Rameshwar - Aug 27, 2020

ASUS Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro are significantly upgraded over the Zenfone 6 in multiple departments, but for a significantly higher price.

Yesterday, ASUS has just launched the duo Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro at an event held in Taiwan. Neither of these devices is gaming-centric smartphones, although the Pro version uses the same Snapdragon 865+ chipset as the ROG Phone 3.

Asus Zenfone 7 Zenfone 7 Pro — This time, ASUS now releases two models in its flagship Zenfone series instead of one.

ASUS Zenfone 7 & 7 Pro: Price & Availability

Currently, ASUS Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro are available in Taiwan, expected to be sold in the international market from September 1. Here are the prices of the two devices:

Zenfone 7 (6GB RAM + 128GB storage): 21,990 TWD (around Rs. 55,300)
Zenfone 7 (8GB RAM + 128GB storage): 23,990 TWD (around Rs. 60,400)
Zenfone 7 Pro (8GB RAM + 256GB storage): 27,990 TWD (around Rs. 70,500)

ASUS Zenfone 7 & 7 Pro: Specifications & Features

In terms of design, the Zenfone 7 duo still uses the same flip camera mechanism as their predecessors. However, ASUS added a telephoto camera and improved the flip mechanism, using a smaller motor with twice the torque. It is known to withstand 100 pop-ups per day for 5 consecutive years, and at the same time withstand a weight of up to 35kg.

Zenfone 7 Pro is equipped with 3 cameras, including 64MP Sony IMX686 main sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS), supporting 8K video recording. Meanwhile, the ultra-wide-angle camera uses Sony's older 12MP IMX363 sensor, combined with a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and OIS. For the standard Zenfone 7, the phone also has 3 cameras similar to the Pro version but lacks OIS.

Both ASUS smartphones use AMOLED displays manufactured by Samsung, measuring 6.67 inches, supporting Full HD + resolution and an aspect ratio of 20: 9. This screen has a 90Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, 1000 nits maximum brightness, 110% DCI-P3 color gamut and is protected by Gorilla Glass 6.

Inside, Zenfone 7 possesses the hardware power from the Snapdragon 865 processor, combined with 6GB / 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage Meanwhile, the Zenfone 7 Pro gets a more powerful Snapdragon 865+ chip and is available in a single variant with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM + 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Both devices have 5G connectivity and support a microSD card (up to 2TB).

The last major improvement on the Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro is the 30W fast charging technology, up from 18W. According to the manufacturer, these two phones can charge from 0% to 60% in just 34 minutes, while last year's Zenfone 6 needed 57 minutes to achieve the same results.

The Zenfone 7 duo is equipped with a 6000 series aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass 6 on the front, and Gorilla Glass 3 on the back which, according to ASUS, is Corning's best scratch-resistant glass today. However, both devices are quite heavy, weighing up to 230 grams.

Asus Zenfone 7 Pro — ASUS Zenfone 7 Pro comes with the most powerful chipset at the moment, the Snapdragon 865 Plus.

Interestingly, despite using OLED screens, both phones have side-mounted fingerprint sensors instead of under-display ones. In addition, they also cut off the 3.5mm headphone jack, but support the aptX Adaptive audio compression standard.