The first phone in the world to have 4 GB of RAM was the Asus Zenfone 2. Now, of course, many others have caught up. The latest is the OnePlus 2 that was launched for Rs 24,999 for the 64 GB model.
But the question remains whether it is better than the Asus Zenfone 2?. Note that we have here compared the 64 GB model of Asus Zenfone 2 that costs Rs 22,999 with the OnePlus 2.
Read on to find out the answer.
Design
The OnePlus 2 looks exactly like its predecessor, the OnePlus One. It has the same classic sandstone back cover featured in OnePlus One, which was loved by many while its haters will rejoice the fact that there are multiple cover options including actual wood built Bamboo, Black Apricot, Rosewood and Kevlar to choose from. Its outer frame is made of aluminium and magnesium that, the company claims, ensures ideal Antenna reception and temperature regulation, and increases performance.
There are no logos in the front and the navigation keys also dim and disappear when not in use for a distraction free experience. The OnePlus 2 has an Alert Slider that allows users to switch between three profiles: All Notifications, Priority Interruptions, and No Interruptions – without having to unlock the phone. It measures 151.8 x 74.9 x 9.85 mm and weighs 175 grams.
The Asus ZenFone 2 too is a gorgeous smartphone with brushed metal. The phone has 3.9 mm ultra slim edges that gives a good grip. It has iconic Asus concentric-circle design based front and rear keys. The rear keys ofcourse are the highlights of its design and differentiate it from the crowd. The Zenfone 2 measures 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm and weighs 170 grams.
Display
Both the smartphones have 5.5 inch LCD display and that too with the same resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, thus offering Pixel density of 403 ppi.
Processor & Memory
The OnePlus 2 is armed with the Snapdragon 810 Chipset that has a 64-bit 1.8 GHz octa-core processor, which runs with 4 GB of RAM. The Internal Memory stands at 64 GB while a 16 GB model will be released later. It doesn’t have expandable storage option though.
The Asus ZenFone 2 on the other hand also has a 64-bit processor, the Intel Atom Z3580, which is a quad-core processor clocked at 2.3 GHz and this too has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. On top of that the Zenfone 2 offers a 64 micro SD card slot as well.
At first sight, you may think that the quad core Atom Z3580 doesn’t stand a chance against the octa core CPU but reports tell otherwise. The Snapdragon 810 was said to be ditched by Samsung for overheating issues and the Korean company instead opted Exynos 7420 processor for its Galaxy S6 Duo.
Infact, Wccftech’s comparison of Snapdragon 810 with other processors including Atom Z3580 showed that the Qualcomm processor failing miserably in all tests and was behind the Intel processor. You can read the report here.
Software
The Asus ZenFone 2 runs on Android Lollipop, with Asus’s Zen UI on top of it. The Zen UI is a very responsive and easy to use OS, not dissimilar to regular Android. The OnePlus 2 comes with the first version of OnePlus’s own UI, Oxygen OS, which is based on Android Lollipop too.
Since both the custom UI’s are based on Android Lollipop, we cannot call a winner in this round.
Battery
The OnePlus 2 is armed with a 3300 mAh battery, while the Asus Zenfone 2 has a 3000 mAh battery. The Zenfone 2 has Fast charging facility that as per the company helps charge it up to 60 per cent in just 39 minutes.
Unfortunately, neither OnePlus nor Asus have revealed how long the battery lasts. But its a close contest and don’t expect a big difference.
Camera
The OnePlus 2 has a 13 megapixel rear camera that comes with 1.3µm light-collecting pixels which the company claims is the largest for any 13 megapixel sensor featured in a smartphone. The camera is armed with f/2.0 Aperture and six-element lens to prevent distortion.
Most importantly, it comes with laser Autofocus (LG’s high end smartphones like G3 and G4 too has this) that, the company claims, helps this 13 megapixel camera to focus in just 0.2 seconds. It has also Optical Image Stabilisation feature that would ensure a shake-free image. It has also 4K video, slow-motion video, and time lapses features. For selfies, the OnePlus 2 offers a wide angle 5 megapixel camera in the front.
The Asus ZenFone 2 is armed with a 13 megapixel shooter with an aperture of F/2.0, 5-element lens, auto-focus, dual-colour real tone flash, panorama, PixelMaster: low light mode, HDR, enhanced beautification mode, manual mode, zero shutter lag, and video recording at 1080p at 30 fps. In the front of the Asus ZenFone 2 there is a 5 megapixel selfie taker with an aperture of F/2.0 and 85 degree wide angle lens (with panorama selfie).
Connectivity
A highlight of the OnePlus 2 is its finger print sensor. The fingerprint scanner of OnePlus 2 can be used to wake and unlock the device with one of five stored fingerprints in less than half a second, claims the company.
It has Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity and Ambient Light Sensors too. It has two nano SIM card slots both of which are capable of offering 4G connectivity.
The OnePlus 2 has a USB Type-C port – the latest version that allows reversible plug orientation so you don’t need to worry about plugging it in upside down. It also offers higher data transfer speeds.
Besides the phone has Bluetooth 4.1, dual Band WiFi, GPS with GLONASS, digital compass, bottom facing speakers, dual mic for noise cancellation, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.
The Asus ZenFone 2 too offers two SIM card slots as well as 4G connectivity. Besides, it has WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS, and NFC.
Wrapping up
The OnePlus 2 looks promising in the camera segment and will be loved for its design as well. However, in terms of processing power and storage, the Zenfone 2 is clearly ahead. Also the Zenfone 2 is cheaper and looks almost equally good whether it is design, display, connectivity and even in other segments.