The ASUS Zenfone 5 is definitely one of the hottest mid-range smartphones this year. It was unveiled this year and in our review, we definitely loved the smartphone as it features a premium design and a hardware that is perfectly matched for a mid-range smartphone. But after a few months? Is it still a good smartphone?

It’s a tough one

When I held the ASUS Zenfone 5, the first thing that came to my mind is that the smartphone is that the smartphone’s glass build would break easily. But no, I was dead wrong because I dropped the smartphone more than 3x and there were no cracks or big dents on the smartphone. The glass and the frame of the smartphone is really solid and tough and I love it.

The upgrades

There were a lot of updates for the ASUS Zenofne 5 after our review and it has definitely improved our experience on the smartphone but let’s focus first on the minor features on the smartphone that were added over time after our review of the smartphone.

Right now, the ASUS Zenfone 5 now features a raise to wake the phone which is a big thing for me as I don’t have to press the power button anymore and since it’s already awake when it’s raised, the smartphone would automatically use the face unlock to unlock the smartphone. Pretty helpful added feature if you ask me.

And speaking of face unlock, we previously told in our review that the ASUS Zenfone 5’s face unlock was pretty terrible and thankfully, ASUS has improved it over time, however, the smartphone still isn’t the best one or the fastest one that you can find on a mid-range smartphone.

The Zenimoji on the smartphone isn’t really new but it has definitely improved over a few updates. The ASUS Zenfone 5’s Zenimoji has added more features and you can now do Zenimojis replacing your face using the camera. Really cool.

Another added feature that a lot of you might appreciate is that the smartphone can now hide its notch. Yep, that feature wasn’t able available when the Zenfone 5 came out in the market.

Same performance

The ASUS Zenfone 5 is powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor with 4GB of RAM. The smartphone also features an AI boost which basically boosts up your smartphone and in our usage of the smartphone after a few months, the performance is still pretty much the same and yes, the SD636 processor is still capable of most apps and games however, not as powerful as other smartphones in the mid-range market right now.

The battery life is pretty much the same however, some people might have a different opinion over it as the battery really degrades on pretty much every device that we have.

Better camera

One of the biggest upgrades that ASUS has done for the Zenfone 5 is the camera. When we reviewed the smartphone, we were impressed with its camera but not the best one in its price range. There are two cameras and one of them is wide-angle lens camera. Today, the ASUS Zenfone 5’s camera has really improved whether that’s selfies or the rear cameras. However, don’t expect too much from its wide-angle lens camera at the back but still, the colors, contrast, and almost everything have improved on the smartphone. Check out the shots that we took using the smartphone.

Verdict

The ASUS Zenfone 5 is still a good smartphone after a few months. While it isn’t the best one in its price range when it comes to hardware but we were impressed with its improvements over time. One of the things that I really like about it is the build quality and the improvement in its camera and over the 6 months of use, I’m still pretty happy with it.

It may not be the best smartphone when it comes to specifications but if you’re looking at a smartphone with a solid build quality and jack of all trades of almost everything then you might want to take a look at the ASUS Zenfone 5 that is now priced Php17,995.