Is the Asus ZenFone 5Z better than the OnePlus 6?

The Asus ZenFone 5Z, which was unveiled at MWC 2018, Barcelona, finally arrives in India.

Ashish Narsale gives you a sneak peek into what the phone has to offer.

Asus brings its most robust phone, the ZenFone 5Z, to India, to take on the OnePlus 6 in the battle to become the cheapest phone built with a flagship processor, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845.

It has an aluminum 6.02 inch body. Additional protection comes in the form of Corning Gorilla Glass in the front for its Full HD +, Super IPS LCD display panel.

The ZenFone 5Z has a 2246 x 1080 resolution.

In keeping with the trend nowadays, it sports a notch that encapsulates the front camera, earpiece and other sensors, thus offering a 19:9 aspect ratio.

Besides Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 for its processor, it also has the Adreno 630 for graphics.

The ZenFone 5Z will be available in three variants: 6 GB RAM, 64 GB ROM; 6 GB RAM, 128 GB ROM; and 8 GB RAM, 256 GB ROM respectively, with expandable memory slots.

Asus pays special attention to its camera as it's built with Artificial Intelligence.

The main camera on the rear is a dual camera setup at 12 MP, f/1.8 and 8 MP f/2.0.

The 12 MP dual pixel cameras with 4-axis, 4 stops optical image stabilisation and Electronic Image Stabilisation is supported with 16 types of AI scene detection options to optimise its settings according to the photo-taking environment, AI Photo Learning, real-time portrait and real-time beautification.

The secondary 8 MP camera has 120 degree wide angle and f/2.0 aperture.

The phone also supports 4k video at 60 fps, 1080 at 30/60 fps and slow motion 1080p at 240 fps and 720p at 240 fps.

It supports live emojis like Zenimoji, which is also found on the iPhone x.

Sadly, these AI features are missing in OnePlus 6, even though it has the same processor.

To up the game against the OnePlus 6 in the sound department, the ZenFone 5Z comes with dual speakers.

The phone supports Hi-Res audio with a Digital Theater System and Headphone:X 7.1 virtual surround sound through a HD headphone.

And, in good news for radio buffs, it comes with an inbuilt FM radio; add to it the fact that the Zenfone Z5 supports the 3.5mm audio jack and it will certainly bring a smile on your face.

For security purposes, the Zenfone Z5 comes with face recognition and the fingerprint scanner at the rear.

The phone powers itself via 3300 mAh battery with fast charging support and AI controlled charging; if you keep the phone for charging overnight, it will slowly charge up to 80 per cent and finish 100 per cent when you wake up.

This nifty AI feature protects your phone from overcharging, thereby increasing battery longevity.

The phone come with Android Oreo 8.0 out of the box layered with ZenUI 5 enhancements.

All this is packaged at the price of ₹29,999 for 6 GB/64 GB, ₹32,999 for 6 GB/128 GB and ₹36,999 for 8 GB RAM, 256 GB ROM.

As far as first impressions are concerned, the feature-packed Asus ZenFone 5Z certainly seems more bang for the buck as compared to the OnePlus 6.