Hands-On

ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie hands-on and camera review

Published

August 20, 2017

Isa Rodriguez

ASUS has just released the latest in their ZenFone line, and they went all out releasing not just one, but a number of phones, for different types of users. One of the models that I’m particularly interested in would be the ZenFone 4 Selfie.

Marketed as an entry-level phone, at least compared to the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro which was also released, this bad boy boasts the ability to capture all your possible selfies — and capture them well.

I got my hands on this lean, mean selfie machine and here are my initial thoughts.

Look and feel

The ZenFone 4 Selfie is a decent-looking phone equipped with the new ZenUI which means a cleaner interface.

Flip it around and you get a special surprise: A glittery back! For those who aren’t as amused by glittery objects, no need to worry, as this detail isn’t so noticeable under normal lighting conditions.

The ZenFone 4 Selfie has a unibody build that’s surprisingly light — almost too light. And yet, for a phone with a 5.5-inch screen, it feels bigger and wider in my dainty hands. I could tell immediately that I’d have trouble holding it for those one-handed selfies.

Girl taking selfies with ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie, screen facing the camera

Yep, using two hands for selfies

A noticeable detail on this device is its unique camera placement. Instead of having both shooters on one side as most selfie phones are prone to doing, the ZenFone 4 Selfie has its cameras positioned on different sides of the phone’s front.

The bottom of the phone has a capacitive home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner, plus the back and multitasking buttons beside it.

The audio jack is found on the top of the phone; the volume rocker and the power button are on the right side; the triple-slot tray which can house two SIM cards and a microSD card is on the left; and a micro-USB port and speaker grilles are at the bottom.

Camera test run

It’s not called a selfie phone for no reason. The ZenFone 4 Selfie is equipped with dual cameras up front featuring 20- and 8-megapixel cameras, the latter one with a 120-degree view. This means selfies both in wide-angle and bokeh mode — something most selfie phones don’t offer together.

Beauty Mode + bokeh + wide angle

Another winner is the phone’s beauty features found in the built-in camera app. A slew of beauty mode options are available — from skin softening, to eye enhancement, and even cheek thinning — for all your selfie needs. An additional ASUS app, the SelfieMaster, also enables users to shoot video and livestream in beauty mode.

The rear camera is a 16-megapixel shooter. Here are more sample shots with the camera:

Other specs

An efficient Snapdragon 430 chipset powers this selfie phone which runs on Android 7.1 Nougat. It has 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage, expandable to 2TB via microSD and a battery capacity of 3000mAh.

Selfie verdict and first impressions

When companies attempt to produce an entry-level handset, the cameras are usually the first get downgraded. The ZenFone 4 Selfie changes that. On the lower-end spectrum, this particular phone gives you a lot and more when it comes to photography.

Undeniably, this smartphone packs pretty powerful shooters and very detailed beauty options for your pictures. I am very pleasantly surprised and I look forward to more selfies taken with ASUS’ ZenFone 4 Selfie series.

[irp posts=”18430″ name=”ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Unboxing and Hands-On”]

Hands-On

OPPO Reno15 F 5G hands-on

More question marks than exclamation points?

Published

March 6, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

The OPPO Reno15 Series 5G made its way to the Philippines last month, and reception has been pretty great so far.

With a powerful camera package, AI, and a slew of upgrades, there’s a lot to love and not much negative to say. But that’s with both the standard and Pro models.

On the other hand, with the Reno15 F 5G — the series’ supposed budget-friendly “lite” variant —there were more question marks than exclamation points.

I attack this piece once more from a consumer standpoint: shelling out PhP 23,000 to PhP 26,000 for a midrange smartphone that feels and performs like it’s a few notches below its segment doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Performance

With a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the OPPO Reno15 F performs pretty much like any sub PhP 20,000 mid-ranger. It’s acceptable, but does not punch above its weight as expected.

No major hiccups for light and casual usage. But performance struggles a lot for demanding video games.

It also heats up significantly just 10 minutes into a title like Honkai: Star Rail. This is a stark contrast to the marketed 25℃ and up to 10 hours straight of smooth gameplay.

Although, the experience was still enjoyable with several wins and MVP runs in Call of Duty Mobile. It only means the F variant remains a more camera-centric phone rather than an a hard-hitting all-arounder.

As with other devices, the 7000mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC is a strong suit. You’re fueled from dawn ’til dusk, with much to spare. Recharging takes a breeze, too.

Display

The OPPO Reno15 F has a 6.57-inch 120Hz display, with a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio. At least, that allows you to focus on content on the screen.

Content leans more towards the cooler tone, so you’ll have to adjust it manually if you want a warmer or more vivid look.

The 397ppi pixel density is fine to ensure sharper visuals, while the 1400 nits peak brightness is helpful outdoors.

Camera

The device’s 50MP main camera captures decent quality. The color science leans on being natural anew, without being too dull nor washed out. You can pull off smooth portraits too.

I hardly used the phone for stills as I focused on videos, but here are some samples, on the occasions I was able to take the handset with me:

The 50MP front camera is an intriguing add-on, as it is capable of up to 4K video and a wide 100° field of view.

What this does is it essentially removes the need to flip your phone for the popular “0.5” shots. And the quality doesn’t get compromised given the pixel count.

Here are some selfies from different focal lengths:

To its credit, filming with the back camera at 60fps does look and feel smooth, although it can be improved.

Same with the front camera; and the zoom range can be switched from 0.6 to 2x without cutting the recording.

Although, it’s still best to use a selfie stick or small tripod if you’re just after talking head videos.

Speaking of which, here are a few I’ve made with just this device:

@manilaconnoisseur

Naka 99 pesos pala ‘yung large Golden Milk Tea ni @highlandscoffeeph until February 28! Oolong base, cream, and okay pala ang chickpeas as sinker along with red jelly. #highlandscoffee #goldenmilktea #oolongmilktea #freeupsize

♬ Kìa Bóng Dáng Ai – Pháo

@manilaconnoisseur

Laging sold out ‘yung fun run? Try The Conqueror Virtual Challenges. Stay motivated in your running era, make every run count, and get cool medals after every completed challenge. You can even get a free run or discounted bundles! @theconquerorchallenges #virtualrun #funrun #runningera #staymotivated

♬ original sound – Manila Connoisseur – Manila Connoisseur

But for travel and on-the-go captures, as OPPO markets for the series in general, even the Reno15 F can cover a lot of background along with your or your groups’ faces.

Make no mistake, there are some useful AI editing features here. In particular, AI Portrait Glow gives your raw capture an effect to make it look it was taken with flash.

I do not recall the device heating up as well when taking many photos or videos, so you can say it’s more optimized for that task rather than gaming.

Connectivity issues

Meanwhile, AI LinkBoost 3.0, as in the case of the OPPO A6 Pro, doesn’t seem to punch above its weight either.

Once, I also played Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and the session opened to a jittery start despite being on Wi-Fi and having a stable connection. I don’t know what triggered this.

Design, feel

We got the Aurora Blue variant which does kind of resemble the northern lights when you tilt the phone a certain way and when light hits its back panel.

View this post on Instagram

The cursive “Reno” on the large, protruding camera island gives it more style.

However, it’s all just aesthetics. On the downside, the phone is all sorts of slippery.

I couldn’t hold it properly without think of it slipping away from my hands; nor could I put it on my lap with confidence.

So I guess it’s good that it has structural integrity and waterproofing, because you’ll need that.

oplus_16

The 6.57-inch body does have a good balance between being too compact and too large, like ultras and pro maxes.

It has a squarish body and has already adapted to the premium, aluminum frame look from the sides.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Sadly, the OPPO Reno15 F 5G is a Swipe Left unlike its bigger, more capable siblings. There are plenty of plus points for the camera package but take that away, and I don’t see much difference between the Reno15 F and something like the A6 Pro.

Granted, the asking price of this phone will drop significantly in a few months. But throw in a little more, and you’ve got a legitimate mid-ranger that’s more on the premium side rather than the cheap end of the spectrum.