ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser Review

The Zenfone 2 Laser is one of the latest smartphones that ASUS has announced and launched in the country this month. It features a 5.5-inch display, Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, Android Lollipop, and a 13 megapixel main camera with Laser-guided autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. Priced at under 9K, is the Zenfone 2 Laser your next smartphone for everyday shooting? Find out in our full review.

Design and Construction

Being a member of the Zenfone 2 lineup, the Zenfone 2 Laser sports the similar design as the original Zenfone 2. Up front is a 5.5-inch display with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 for protection.

Situated above the display are the earpiece, 5 megapixel AF camera, and the ASUS logo. Found below are three unlit capacitive buttons for navigation and the signature concentric-circle design on the chin.

The left and right sides of the device are devoid of any keys and buttons, but situated right up top are the headset jack, metallic power/lock button, and microphone. Placed at the bottom is the microUSB port and microphone.

Flip the Zenfone 2 Laser on its back and you will see the metallic volume buttons, speaker, the 13 megapixel shooter, dual-LED flash, and the Laser AF which is also found on the Zenfone Selfie. It actually makes us wonder why ASUS didn’t add a “Laser” on the Zenfone Selfie’s name.

Now for the rest of the rear part, this is actually what makes the Laser, or any other Zenfone 2 for that matter, an attractive smartphone. The plastic backplate has a matte metallic finish which helps keep smudges away and gives off a nice glow whenever the light hits it. Its curvature, which thins at the edges, feels nice on the hands and makes the device easy to handle.

Display and Multimedia

The Zenfone 2 Laser comes in two screen sizes – 5-inch and 5.5-inches. Our unit is the 5.5-inch model with IPS display and HD resolution or equal to 267ppi. Pixels are discernible but can still be considered as decent. Viewing angles and colors are good but tend to be on the warmer side. Good thing ASUS included the Splendid app which lets you adjust the color temperature and choose between four screen color modes.

As for audio, the Laser’s rear speakers are capable of producing loud sounds that can fill a small room. By default, the sounds are inclined towards trebles with barely noticeable bass.

To remedy, the Laser features an Audio Wizard that allows you select between five audio profiles (Movie, Music, Gaming, Vocal, Smart), adjust the bass and treble levels, and play around with the equalizer. In our case, the best setting is to put the bass level to max to balance it out. With that feature on, the Laser has one of the nicest speakers around for a smartphone.