ASUS ZenFone Live L1 Hands-on

A couple of months ago, ASUS released an entry-level smartphone designed for those who like taking selfies, want the face unlock feature, and doesn’t cost much, the ZenFone Live L1. Check out our initial thoughts about the device below.

First, let’s take a look at what’s inside the box. We have the unit itself, the wall charger, micro USB port, earphones, and manual. Sadly there’s no jelly case included.

As for the device, the ZenFone Live L1 sports a 5.5-inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 293ppi. It has slimmer top and bottom bezels compared to the previous generation ZenFone Live, although the side bezels remain relatively thick.

It’s not going to impress when it comes to screen quality as it is prone to glare, does not have much vibrancy, and have limited viewing angles. But if you’re not after a really good viewing experience, I think this will suffice for casual use.

Placed above it is the earpiece, the 5MP fixed-focus camera, sensors, and LED flash. It uses on-screen navigation so there are no capacitive buttons at the bottom.

On the left is the triple card tray, while on the right are the power/lock and volume keys. They’re clicky and easy to reach thanks to the phone’s small frame.

Found up top is the 3.5mm audio port, then down below are the micro USB port, main microphone, and the loudspeaker. At the back are the 13MP PDAF camera and LED flash.

When it comes to quality, the ZenFone Live L1 is far from premium since it’s made of plastic. It has a unibody construction that feels solid, light, and has a matte finish that minimizes fingerprints and smudges.

Powering it is a Snapdragon 425 quad-core chipset with Adreno 308 GPU and 2GB RAM. It’s an entry-level setup so we’re not expecting too much from it. AnTuTu gave it a score of 36,477 which is enough if you’re just into social media and light gaming.

As for its software, it’s running on Android 8.0.0 Oreo with ZenUI. It has a simple layout with custom icons. Pre-installed apps are present like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. The rest are from Google and ASUS’ own apps. All in all, you’re just getting 8.48GB of usable space out of the 16GB, but you can expand it via its dedicated microSD card slot.

ASUS ZenFone Live L1 (ZA550KL) specs:
5.5-inch 18:9 HD+ (1440 x 720) display, 293ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 1.4GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 308 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB storage
up to 2TB via microSD (dedicated slot)
13MP PDAF rear camera, LED flash
5MP FF front camera, LED flash
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
micro USB
Face unlock
Android 8.0 Oreo (ZenUI 5.0)
3,000mAh battery
147.3 x 71.8 x 8.2 mm
140 g

The ASUS ZenFone Live L1 is priced at Php5,995USD 102INR 8,660EUR 97CNY 744 and is now available in the market.