Her GadgetMatch

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro review: The ultimate selfie phone

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ASUS recently released a slew of ZenFones and for someone like me who gets lost in the sea of specs, I naturally gravitated towards the ones they named after selfies.

Out of six ZenFone 4 models, it was the Selfie Pro I got excited over most — a midrange phone with top-notch selfie capabilities is definitely something I wanted to test drive.

Girl taking a selfie with the ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro

Look and feel

The ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro looks like your typical smartphone, nothing revolutionary in terms of design. The review unit I got to test out came in red; look at how pretty it is:

Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro back

The ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro feels premium enough and it features a 5.5-inch AMOLED display.

Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro

Although I appreciate this — a bigger screen that’s better to check my selfies with — the phone’s size isn’t as friendly to my teeny hands. My thumbs still struggle to reach certain buttons on the phone’s front, and it’s not the easiest to grip for one-handed selfies.

Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro close up of camerasSpeaking of buttons, the Selfie Pro has a capacitive home button with a built-in fingerprint sensor, plus the back and multitasking buttons.Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro butons

The phone’s bottom houses a micro-USB port, an audio jack, and speakers.

Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro bottom ports

Now, on to the star of this ZenFone 4 show.

Taking photos

The dual-cam front-facing cameras are the highlights of this selfie machine. Unlike other smartphones which only have either a bokeh mode or wide-angled photos, the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro allows for both. This is a selfie game-changer, ladies and gents!

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro photo sample

Beauty mode plus bokeh

ASUS’ built-in camera app gives countless beauty mode options: changing your skin tone, softening or brightening your skin, enhancing your eyes, or even thinning your cheeks — you’re allowed varying levels of filter possibilities.

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro photo sample #wefie

Wide-angled selfie with friends!

ASUS offers the capability to take 24-megapixel photos with their DuoPixel technology. This may seem like a big deal, but unless you plan to blow up your photographs to epic proportions, there really is no noticeable difference between the default 12-megapixel photos and the 24-megapixel DuoPixel shots. 

Also, DuoPixel doesn’t activate on wide-angle and beauty mode — which are the modes that count. But despite that, it’s good to know I’ll always be billboard-capable.

Here are more photo samples (because you can never take too many selfies!):

This phone’s 16-megapixel rear camera is a capable shooter. I had no issues with photo quality under great shooting conditions; however, low-light scenarios were a different story.

Additionally, this new ZenFone line comes with a pre-installed Selfie Master app which allows users to shoot video or go live on social media, all with a beauty filter.

Shooting video

My Instagram Story game totally went up a notch because of the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro. The second wide-angle selfie camera didn’t only mean wider selfies, it also meant wide-angle videos! This is an especially great thing for people who like vlogging with smartphones– no need for selfie sticks to get a wider shot.

Both front and rear cameras are equipped with electronic image stabilization (EIS), which means the phone stabilizes your shaky footage automatically — a definite must for those who, like me, walk, talk, and shoot at the same time. 4K video recording is also available on both cams.

Other things that matter

The Selfie Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor. For a medium to heavy social media user, such as myself, this ZenFone was powerful enough to run my daily social media fix (which includes, but is not limited to, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat).

Red ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro

It runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and has 4GB of memory and 64GB storage. This ZenFone series also boasts of a cleaner ZenUI and less bloatware. The 3000mAh battery capacity means a whole day’s worth of uninterrupted selfies.

ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro vs ZenFone 4 Selfie

The ZenFone 4 Selfie is the budget alternative to the Selfie Pro. The question is: What does a US$ 100 price difference mean?

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie left; ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro right

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie left; ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro right

The ZenFone 4 Selfie is fitted with a Snapdragon 430, a more entry-level processor, and the same amount of RAM and storage. That being said, the Selfie Pro is more efficient than the Selfie, with apps launching noticeably faster and lasting slightly longer before needing to be refreshed.

As opposed to the Selfie Pro’s 24-megapixel DuoPixel photos, the Selfie is equipped with a 20-megapixel main selfie shooter. But, does this really make a difference?

The answer is yes. Compared to photos from the ZenFone 4 Selfie, the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro’s photos are brighter and richer. The Pro gives you that extra glow, which is what’s most important when taking ultimate selfies.

Both phones have 16-megapixel rear shooters.

The photos above were shot in the worst lighting conditions, but the Selfie Pro won out in the end. Despite taking multiple shots and focusing on the same area in the photo (the frame in the middle), the two phones took very different photographs. Zooming in would show that the Selfie Pro’s photo has more detail as opposed to the Selfie counterpart.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

If you’re not someone who utilizes the front-facing camera, you’d find nothing special with this phone.

Girl using the ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro

For the Selfie lovers, however, it’s a different story. Choice matters, and this smartphone gives you a lot of them for your photo needs. The slew of options are boundless — wide-angled selfies, bokeh selfies, beauty mode selfies, wide-angled selfie videos — meaning this ZenFone has it all. For it’s midrange price tag, that’s looking like a very good deal.

This ZenFone 4 wasn’t named Selfie Pro for nothing.

It retails at US$ 379 in the US and PhP 18,995 in the Philippines.

SEE ALSO: ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie hands-on and camera review

[irp posts=”18790″ name=”ASUS ZenFone 4 and ZenFone 4 Pro Hands-on”]

Accessories

Dyson Airstrait: Hair straightening with air, not heat

Less heat, less damage

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People may now straighten hair without worrying about heat damage. Dyson has launched the new Dyson Airstrait hair straightener, ushering a new era in hair straightening. As the product name suggests, this innovative tool introduces a new way to straighten hair using just air.

The Airstrait has a simple wet-to-dry straightening process. Airflow is accelerated through the two arms’ 1.5mm openings, creating a high-velocity downward blade of air at a specific angle. This creates a controlled downward force to straighten hair simultaneously as it dries.

With the tool, stylers can achieve a naturally straight and shiny finish that maintains the hair’s strength and healthy look. The Airstrait also speeds the process up by about 25%. What’s best is there is no heat damage, unlike traditional straighteners.

Designed for multiple hair types

The Airstrait runs on a specifically-engineered Hyperdymium motor, a 13-blade impeller that spins up to 106,000rpm and generates 3.5kPa of pressure. Like Dyson’s hair care range, the Airstrait features intelligent heat control that measures the airflow’s temperature to ensure there is no damage.

Users may switch between two styling modes: Wet and Dry. The Wet and Dry modes are pre-set with specific heat and airflow combinations for the best results. A Cool mode is also available to set the style. Moreover, the airflow control has two speed settings, low and high. Drying, meanwhile, can be set to cold shot or root drying.

The science

Dyson has constantly invested a lot financially in research and technology development to craft innovative products in its specific industry. In creating the Airstrait, Dyson engineers studied every detail, from airflow dynamics to hair structure. They also considered thermal, mechanical, and chemical damage and their effects to hair health.

In the end, the Airstrait works based on one key principle. In styling hair to a new shape, hydrogen bonds from each hair strand are broken down. Traditionally, this is done through heat or moisture. But Dyson came up with a tool that just lets water weaken the hydrogen bonds, and then style hair with the optimum level of heat and controlled airflow.

Price, availability

The Dyson Airstrait is available starting April 16 in two colorways: Bright Nickel/Rich Copper and Prussian Blue/Rich Copper. It is priced at PhP 33,900.

Those interested in preordering may already do using this link: Dyson Airstrait

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Her GadgetMatch

Filipina who created Window Garden joins Google Play program

More indie games to come?

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Filipina-owned CLOVER-FI Games is taking the next step to build more accessible mobile games through Google Play. One-woman developer and publisher Camilla Santiago is representing the country at Google Play’s Indie Games Accelerator (IGA) program this year.

Her CLOVER-FI Games studio is behind hit local game Window Garden. The idle game lets players plant and decorate their own virtual indoor garden while relaxing in chill vibes, lo-fi music, and a cottagecore aesthetic. It was released in October 2021, back when Santiago learned app development amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Windows Garden has since amassed a million downloads. In almost three years, it has been received well by gamers with a 4.7 rating based on more than 8,200 reviews.

Google Play IGA

The Google Play IGA is a 10-week course designed for high-potential indie game studios. The program allows these startups to access the best of Google’s programs, products, people, and technology to be able to build and improve a successful organization.

The last Philippine representative in the program was Ranida Games, which had created one-on-one fighting game Vita Fighters. Through IGA, the title received benefits, allowing the developers to improve it.

Like Ranida Games, Santiago’s CLOVER-FI Games is just getting started. Her studio’s goal is to ultimately create more cozy-themed games that are accessible to everyone through mobile platforms.

With the help of the IGA, Santiago will be equipped with the necessary skills and experience needed to create another potentially successful title just like Window Garden. We can only wait as she empowers Filipinas through her craft.

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Her GadgetMatch

Dyson unveils ‘most intelligent hair dryer’ yet

The Supersonic Nural

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During its global launch event in Seoul, South Korea, Dyson has unveiled its “most intelligent hair dryer” yet: The Dyson Supersonic Nural.

The styling tool harnesses Dyson’s new automatic Nural sensor technology to protect scalp health and enhance hair’s natural shine.

One of the Dyson Supersonic Nural’s key features is a Scalp protect mode which is activated by the Nural sensors.

This automatically reduces the dryer’s heat as it nears a person’s head, protecting the scalp from damage. The process is done by having the sensors recognize when the dryer is already nearing the person’s head.

In addition, the Supersonic Nural’s LED light automatically changes under Scalp mode, depending on the distance from the head. Users will see yellow for low heat, orange for medium heat, and red for high heat, for convenient usage.

Moreover, the tool intelligently remembers your last used heat and airflow settings and will apply them the next time it is in use.

Price, availability

The Dyson Supersonic Nural comes in two color palettes: Ceramic Patina and Topaz or Vinca Blue and Topaz.

The entire package will come with five attachments, including two new ones:

  • Gentle Air Attachment
  • Styling Concentrator
  • Smoothing Nozzle
  • Diffuser
  • Flyaway Smoother

However, the technology has not been made available in the Philippines yet as of writing time. To be the first to know when it arrives, sign up here.

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