MWC 2018

ASUS officially announces ZenFone 5 and 5Z powered by AI

We get a midranger and a flagship!

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ASUS’ smartphone series is now in its fifth generation and the ZenFone 5 series brings trendy borderless displays and artificial intelligence to the company’s lineup.

The new Zenfone lineup includes two phones: the ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z. Both sport identical design and similar specs aside from their processing power. The regular ZenFone 5 gets the new Snapdragon 636 processor with the built-in AI chip unlocked, while the ZenFone 5Z has the latest flagship Snapdragon 845 processor and everything that comes with it including AI.

The difference of the new ZenFones stops there because both have the same 6.2-inch Super IPS borderless display with an impressive 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. They’re also the first ASUS phones to use the 19:9 ratio (a bit taller than the usual 18:9) and have a notch on top. It looks like the notch trend has just started with Android phones following the footsteps of the Essential Phone.

Another common trait of the two ZenFones are the dual rear cameras which are equipped with a 12-megapixel f/1.8 main sensor from Sony, specifically the flagship IMX363, and a super wide-angle secondary camera. The rear shooters are also equipped with four-axis optical stabilization and AI-enhanced features including AI Scene Detection for 16 different scenes and objects, photo learning, and real-time portrait and beautification. Lastly, there’s the 8-megapixel front camera sitting inside the notch.

The new ZenFones run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with ZenUI 5.0 on top and are fueled by a 3300mAh battery which is also said to have AI features for better and faster charging.

The ASUS ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z will be available in two color options: Midnight Blue and Meteor Silver.

You can purchase the ZenFone 5Z beginning June starting at EUR 479 for the 4GB memory and 64GB storage configuration. There are versions with 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB as well, but with no pricing as of the moment.

As for the regular ZenFone 5, shipping begins in April. Pricing is yet to be disclosed.

Hands-On

Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco Hands-On

Testament to Nokia’s craftsmanship

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Two years after making its big comeback, Nokia is slowly filling in the pieces of its Android smartphone lineup. The star of course has to be the new Nokia 8 Sirocco, the most premium from the announcements at Mobile World Congress.

But our favorite is the Nokia 7 Plus, a near-borderless Android One phone with Zeiss optics and a beautiful build.

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MWC 2018

Samsung Galaxy S9 Review

Are these new features worth the price increase?

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In our Samsung Galaxy S9 Review video, we hope to answer questions you may have to help you make an informed decision before buying the phone.

Is Dual Aperture a gimmick? How good is the S9’s camera? S9 or S9+? Is it even worth it?

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S9 Hands-On: AR Emoji and super slow-mo

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MWC 2018

YouTubers React to the Samsung Galaxy S9

Do they look like their AR Emoji?

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A new color, internal camera upgrades, and a few minor changes here and there don’t necessarily make the S9 look or feel new.

But is retaining the same beautiful, sleek design such a bad thing? Are the subtle improvements worth the high price tag? Is AR Emoji a gimmick?

YouTubers Mrwhosetheboss, Joshua Vergara, GadgetsBoy, GadgetsJon, The Tech Chap, David Imel, PC Centric, and Isa Rodriguez tell us what they think about the the Samsung Galaxy S9.

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