At first glance, the Asus Zenfone 6 looks like any other modern Android flagship phone. It has a big screen, slim bezels, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.

But there are three things that make the Zenfone 6 unusual. First, with a starting price of €499 (about $560), it’s cheaper than most similarly-specced phones. Second, it has a rather large 5,000 mAh battery. And third, the rear cameras also serve as the front-facing cameras… because the entire camera system can flip over 180 degrees so it faces the front of the phone.

The Asus Zenfone 6 goes on sale in the EU starting May 23rd. The phone is also expected to become available in the United States soon.

The phone has a dual camera system consisting of a 48MP primary camera and a 13MP wide-angle camera with a 125 degree field of view. The camera system supports phase detection auto-focus, features a dual LED flash, and can capture 4K video at up to 60 frames per second or 720p video at up to 480 frames per second.

When you want to snap a selfie, the camera will flip to face the front of the phone. Engadget notes that the motor kicks in and automatically retracts the camera if the phone is in freefall to prevent damage if you drop the phone.

Since the camera is above the display when facing forward, it won’t cover the screen, which means there’s no notch and you can frame your shot using the screen as a viewfinder.

The phone features a 92 percent screen-to-body ratio and the screen is a 6.4 inch, FHD+ LCD display with support for HDR10. It supports up to 600 nits of brightness.

The Zenfone 6 has a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack as well as dual speakers. There’s also a microSD card slot plus dual SIM card slots.

Other features include an 18W charger, NFC, and a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone.

Prices start at €499 for a model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.1 storage, but higher-priced models will be available with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

via GSM Arena and Engadget

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13 replies on “Asus Zenfone 6 is a flagship with a camera that flips over for selfies”

  1. I’m definitely concerned about the long-term durability of that camera mechanism. That said, the combination of specs and price on this device is crazy good! I usually go for lower mid-tier phones in order to get the specs that I want, such as a large battery and an sd card on the Moto G7 Power. But compared to that, this zenphone is a beast!

    I’m really looking forward to seeing if the final product is as good as advertised.

  2. That price and spec sheet is crazy impressive. What an amazing value. I literally can’t pick a weakness. I’ll be looking to buy day one.

    1. The biggest weakness I see is that Asus has a less-than-stellar track record with delivering OS updates. But hopefully if this model sells better than the typical Asus phone, there’ll be more incentive to keep it supported… or for independent developers to create custom ROMs for it.

      1. It not being AMOLED is a weakness. ASUS is now part of the Google Android Beta Program so there are guaranteed updates for Q and R. I think with their dialing back on models they should be able to keep up with updates. That is, if there are enough staff left in that branch of ASUS to get the work done…

      2. Yepp.
        Historically poor software support, generally unpolished firmware, less options for accessories, and lack of customer service.

        I see the enthusiast community fixing the first three problems, but not the fourth.

        On top, this does lack wireless charging, “super fast” charging, and doesn’t come with an IP68 Certification (it’s probably MORE water resistant than the OnePlus 7 Pro, but less than your typical 2016 IP67 Phone and definitely worse than say an LG G8/Samsung S8 Active).

  3. I see that the site mentions “free angle shooting”. If I’m interpreting this right, that is actually an amazingly good idea for taking pictures of the insides of tight spaces, or taking photos discretely. If it can automatically adjust while tracking motion, it could even be used as part of the image stabilization.
    The camera also seems to have a laser autofocus. If that can be used as a range finder, I know some people will definitely appreciate that.
    AND it even has an SD card slot and a headphone jack!?
    If I wasn’t the type of weirdo who would preorder the Librem 5, I might just get this instead.

  4. Sounds like an awesome phone! Would be even better if they went with Android One. I hope this phone sells well. Maybe more vendors would consider bringing back the microSD card slot and headphone jack.

      1. Android One is only partially about being stock Android. The bigger deal is the two years of OS updates and three years of monthly security updates.

    1. Amazing value at that price…hope the software support is as good as they promise.

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