ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition Review

There are a lot of Zenfones that were announced last year but the most premium of them all have just been launched late last year and it is the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition. This Zenfone is really special because this one might pack the same design genes of the Zenfone 2 but this one actually pack some surprises.

Hardware and Design

The design of the Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition is very similar to the Zenfone 2 Deluxe but this one features a red accent along with two plastic back covers that can’t be found on other Zenfones. The first back cover has a carbon fibre look while the other one has a geometric pattern just like the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe but this one has a silver color which makes the smartphone look metallic.

The structure of the ASUS Zenfone 2 is really good to the hand, the arc back is really comfortable despite being thick. In case you’re not familiar with the smartphone, the volume button is placed at the back of the smartphone while the power button is place at the top but don’t worry, there’s double tap to wake feature on this smartphone in case the power button isn’t comfy for you. The smartphone still have that three capacitive buttons below the display and unfortunately, these buttons still doesn’t have a backlight which will be confusing at night.

One thing you gotta love about the Zenfone 2 Deluxe is its storage. There’s a 128GB of Internal storage which is already too big for many consumers but if you think you need more, well, the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition also comes with a 128GB of MicroSD. Yep, you have a lot of storage for your favorite art films and photos. Actually, the large storage of the smartphone is really ideal for those people who love to watch movies or record videos on their smartphones. If you think you need more, you can still use your USB OTG on this device.

One feature that you wouldn’t like that much on the Zenfone 2 is its speaker and for the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition, there aren’t much changes. The audio quality is still the same and it wasn’t disappointing but it wasn’t the one that I expected.

The battery life of the smartphone is still the same with the Zenfone 2 and I was able to get a work day of battery life. But at heavy usage, the smartphone wouldn’t last that much. You’ll probably need a Zenpower if you’re planning on using it for gaming.

Display

The display of the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition is still a 5.5-Full HD Display and it is still good, actually, it is even better than the original Zenfone 2 because I notice that the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special edition is brighter than the Zenfone 2.

The display of this smartphone is vivid and with the combination of the colors on the theme of the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition, the smartphone gives a more lively and colorful experience.

Software and Performance

One of the upgrades that you can see on the Zenfone 2 Deluxe is its processor. The clock speed has been upgraded to 2.5 GHz from 2.3 GHz which isn’t a big deal for most consumers but it brings a little speed upgrade on the phone.

The upgrade in the processor isn’t noticeable but you would see the increase in performance in antutu over the original Zenfone 2. Speaking of performance, the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition performs really well. When it comes to games, the smartphone doesn’t fail whether you’re planning on using it on games or heavy applications. I’m using the smartphone for shooting and rendering videos for my vlogs and this smartphone never failed me.

When it comes to gaming, I was able to play games such as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Asphalt 8 (which by the way comes with 25000 credits in this smartphone) and I can play these games really well on the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition.

Unlike the other Zenfones, this one comes preinstalled with a theme that matches the color of the body of the smartphone and of course, there’s still the same ZenUI on the smartphone and sadly, there are no special features on its UI.

Camera

If you are using a Zenfone 2, the camera sensor wasn’t change but I notice that the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition was better than the last time I used a Zenfone 2 and yes, it has greatly improved. I’ve been using the smartphone for a while now and it was good in any conditions but of course it wasn’t the best one. Check out the photos that I took using the smartphone:

Verdict

The smartphone doesn’t have the best performance and the best camera but having a special edition of the smartphone is something to brag about. I mean, the back cover of the smartphone is really beautiful and eye-catching. Actually, a lot of people have asked me about the back covers because they find it really attractive.

If you’re the type of guy who loves to save their media files such as movies and art films on their smartphones, then you might want to look at the ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition because this one gives you a lot of storage.