Asus Zenfone AR review: The phone that warps reality in more ways than one

Asus Zenfone AR review: Performance

Possibly the most disappointing aspect of the Zenfone AR is its processor. Instead of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 – which the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, HTC U11 and US variants of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ come with – it has a Snapdragon 821 processor.

It’s no slouch, but I’d expect the best of the best for this sort of money, not silicon that’s a generation behind, especially when AR and VR app are so computationally demanding.

And, while it feels responsive enough in day-to-day use, as it is clear to see from the below benchmark graphs, it lags behind 2017’s best smartphones on pretty much every metric, fetching up alongside 2016’s Google Pixel XL for general performance.

Another area of the Zenfone’s middling appeal lies in its battery life. A total longevity of 12hrs 26mins in our video playback test is just about up to snuff, but isn’t a scratch on the Galaxy S8, HTC U11 or Pixel XL. The only competitor it bests is  Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium, with its 4K screen. 

Asus Zenfone AR review: Camera

For capturing regular photos and video, the Asus Zenfone AR is, once again, competent but not exceptional. The specifications are all in place. The resolution of the rear camera is 23 megapixels, it has an aperture of f/2 – not the brightest, but sufficient for decent quality low-light snaps – and with autofocus running to infrared and phase detect.

It also has four-axis optical image stabilisation for photos and three-axis stabilisation for video and capture footage at up to 4K, although the latter isn’t as effective as the Pixel XL’s or the OnePlus 5’s superlative electronic stabilisation.

For stills, though, the Asus Zenfone’s camera is a cracker. In low light, it produces clean, relatively noise-free images, which are on par with the OnePlus 5 for colour reproduction, although they’re not quite as good as images produced by the HTC U11, Google Pixel XL and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.

Outdoors, compared head to head with the OnePlus 5, its 23-megapixel sensor helps it capture more detail and slightly more naturally saturated colours, although again, I prefer the output of the HTC U11, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and Google Pixel XL. Avoid the HDR mode, though: it oversaturates colours and makes your images look rather lurid.

Video, on the other hand, is a little disappointing. Although the camera can capture 4K video at 30fps and 1080p at up to 60fps, you’ll have to hold it steady to avoid an attack of the shakes in your footage, despite the presence of optical image stabilisation.

Asus Zenfone AR review: Verdict

For once, I have a straightforward verdict to write, and that’s because, categorically, the Asus Zenfone AR is not a phone I’d recommend.

This is not because there’s anything fundamentally wrong with the phone itself. Indeed, it’s nice to see a smartphone company branching out and doing something different and the screen, camera, design and performance are all perfectly acceptable.

It’s just that, for £800, you can do better. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is now £630, is faster, has a better stills and video camera, and is a simply stunning thing to behold. The HTC U11 has a better camera, is faster and looks nicer, too. And the Sony Xperia XZ Premium… well, I think you get the picture.

The simple fact is that, while the Asus Zenfone AR is an interesting experiment and a competent smartphone, it isn’t good enough to justify being so expensive.