Asus Zenfone 4 vs Moto E – The game changers

Before we start, this article is also an indirect review of both the Asus Zenfone 4 and Moto E.

Who would have thought that the Moto E or G could be beaten provided the budget friendly price but it happened. Xiaomi took the limelight off from Moto G and put it on the Mi3 and now another contender, Asus has joined the battle. The company well known for it’s computer peripheral’s and components and has landed into the mobile world with their Asus Zenfone series and today we are gonna review Asus’s Moto E contender, the Asus Zenfone 4.

To start with, here’s a quick spec comparison between Moto E and Zenfone 4 :-

Moto E :-
4.3 Inch IPS LCD display with 960 x 540 pixels
1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Dual Core Processor
Adreno 302
5 MP Camera without flash and fixed focus
Li-Ion 1980 mAh Battery, Non-Removable
4GB Internal Storage with Memory Card Slot

Zenfone 4 :-
4 Inch TFT display with 480 x 800 Pixels
1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2520 Processor with Intel Hyper Threading Technology, Dual Core
PowerVR SGX 544 MP2
5MP without flash and auto-focus
Li-Po 1600 mAh battery , Removable
8GB Internal Storage with Memory Card Slot
Design

The Asus Zenfone 4’s design is, as one would say pretty good for a phone with a price tag of Rs. 6000 (Rs. 5700 with student discount). It really looks stylish and feels very well built and sturdy. I would have loved it if it had something like Nokia’s ClearBlack technology but still it is pretty bearable according to the price. It’s back is matte finish so no dropping your phone in a puddle of muddy rain water (Indian’s can relate) and it also has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which makes it pretty non-susceptible for the screen to break. The power and volume rocker buttons are correctly positioned given the size and is easy to press unlike the Moto E (you would know if you have a Moto G). But one major problem here, the back-cover is too damn hard to remove. One can easily break the phone or the back-cover while attempting to remove it, it’s just too damn hard! One more plus point for the Zenfone 4, unlike the Moto E, it comes in various colours like Gold, Yellow, Blue, Red etcetera without any hike in the price whereas the Moto E comes in just White and Black. One can buy coloured Motorola Shells but if you ask anyone, it is too expensive considering that it’s just a back-cover. But still it’s pretty much awesome for the price (yes i’m gonnna repeat it every time cause it’s true 😛 )

Gaming and Over-All UI (Software) performance

This is where the Zenfone 4 truly beats the hell out of Moto E. Gaming on Asus Zenfone 4 is butter smooth even on high-graphic demanding games on high settings. NOT A SINGLE LAG. But in UI performance its equal or to some extent less smooth and fast than the Moto E (I’m guessing the Android 4.3 Jellybean is to blame here). Though Asus has guaranteed the KitKat update, no time frame is given so one might get it in a day or in a month, we really cant say as Asus is new in the game. But the ZenUI IS beautiful (atleast for me) but not quite as smooth as Moto E (as discussed). If I had the choice between stock or ZenUI, I would go nuts deciding between such Awesome UI’s. Also, I don’t know why but whenever I call a person the phone just doesn’t place the call and gives no response till eternity unless you redial the person which becomes really annoying after pro-longed usage, I hope Asus looks into this problem soon. Last but not the least, the phone tends to heat up (not like burning) very easily even when you are swiping through home-screens so now you can imagine for yourself how much will it heat when gaming on it.

Display, Sound and Touch

The Moto E is the flat winner here in all of the citeria’s stated above , more brighter and vivid screen, higher PPI and IPS grade screen, loud and better sound (through the loud speaker) and even when we compare the Zenfone 4 with any other mainstream phone, the sound from the loud-speaker sounds too feeble and low on it so beware, you’re gonna have many missed calls. The call quality, touch and music playback with headphones seems equal on both the contenders.

Camera

The camera quality, as expected is not upto the mark but again you can’t expect much from a 5.7k phone but in every way it is better than the Moto E. It also has a front-facing camera which the Moto E does not possess and it is definitely a boon for those who have relatives or friends in international countries and selfie lovers. The Zenfone 4 also has an auto-focus camera unlike the fixed-focus on the Moto E.

Battery life and After Sale Support

Last but not least, the battery life. Nothing much to say here, both the phone’s are kinda similiar in this criteria which is, if you are more than an average user there is a good chance you might have to charge your phone more than once in a day. As both the companies are new, they don’t have many service centers in the country but there are more than one in big cities like Mumbai and Delhi.

Wrappin’-it-up

So this is all I could gather for you guys. I know it is hard to select but the choice and taste differs from person to person and you have to select the one that fits for you and your pocket so… Good Luck!

Buy the Moto E and the Asus Zenfone 4 here