The ASUS ZenFone 7 Pro Review: The Triple Flip-Camera
by Andrei Frumusanu on September 1, 2020 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Asus
- Smartphones
- ZenFone 7
- ZenFone 7 Pro
Display Measurement
The display panel of the ZenFone 7’s is made by Samsung and comes in at a resolution of 2400 x 1080 and a 90Hz refresh rate. There’s nothing too much out of the ordinary for the specs, and represents the middle-ground of what we should expect out of a 2020 smartphone.
Calibration-wise, we see the same display profiles page as on the ROG Phone III, giving us a few different display profiles to choose from. I noted that out of the box the ZenFone 7 was quite blue on its default profile, however switching over to the “Standard” profile will give you the most accurate sRGB colour profile with colour temperature near a 6500K target.
We move on to the display calibration and fundamental display measurements of the ZenFone 7 Pro screen. As always, we thank X-Rite and SpecraCal, as our measurements are performed with an X-Rite i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer, with the exception of black levels which are measured with an i1Display Pro colorimeter. Data is collected and examined using Portrait Display's CalMAN software.
In terms of brightness, the phone reaches 450nits in maximum manual mode, while boosting up to 652nits at full-screen white (100% average picture level). It’s very respectable and gives good legibility in sunlight, albeit a bit behind some of the newer generation displays from the competition.
In the standard profile, colour temperature on my ZenFone 7 Pro sample was a little warm as whites came in at 6340K and average colour temperature over the levels range ended up at 6251K. I actually noted this out of the box, and I preferred to use the colour temperature slider to slightly give cooler tones. We’re still measuring and publishing the default settings for the article though.
In terms of gamma, the ZenFone 7 Pro exhibits the same characteristic as the ROG Phone III in that the device is targeting a 2.4 target rather than the standard 2.2 target for typical web content and the sRGB profile. This results in slightly darker tones in colours.
The saturations accuracy in the sRGB gamut weren’t as good as on the ROG Phone III. Beyond the colour temperature and gamma offset, the ZenFone 7 Pro also showcased some off-hue colours in the magenta range, with some undersaturated reds and blue mid-levels.
The Gretag MacBeth test fared a little better, although unlike the ROG3 where the errors mostly lay in the luminosity of the colour patches, the ZenFone also has a stronger off-target saturations, mostly being undersaturated.
ASUS’s marketing claims of some unspecified deltaE of below 1 however are quite far-fetched as beyond the non-standard gamma you also have quite a bit of off-target colour temperature as well as saturation mishaps. I wish vendors would stop proclaiming specifications which just don’t hold up in practice.
Overall, the display of the ZenFone 7 Pro is pretty adequate and well in line with competing devices at this price range.
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GC2:CS - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
I find the battery lifespan saving max charge limit comparison somewhat dishonest.For the same usage you need 500 cycles at 80 and just 400 if you charge to 100. So it is more like 7 and 12% degradation.
I think limiting charge might be usefull for things like headphones. They just sit for days in their case charged to 100%.
Also I am quite woried where we are going with battery capacities. Looks like even 4000+ mAh is not a guarantee of great battery life these days.
CampGareth - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
That's assuming you drop to 0% charge every single time, under that usage you're going to burn through batteries regardless. The state of charge limit is intended more for folks that stay at a high charge percentage. I can't remember the last time my phone dropped below 60%, it's on charge at home and at work so spends a lot of time sitting at 100% charge which degrades the battery faster even when it's idle.imoc - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Not true. Their graph states SoC(State of charge) and charge cycle doesn't mean Any%-80%, a full 100% battery top up counts as one(such as 30-80 two times).close - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
There are a few trends to dislike, small batteries for the consumers attached to the phone (mega SoCs, gazillion Hz screens, all of the Gs, all the time), glass backs especially when not actually needing it, removing the headphone jack even on phones that are clearly big enough to fit one, etc. This phone ticks most of them.SirDragonClaw - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
You need to learn how modern batteries work...huyhung411991 - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
First paragraph in Battery Life section is repeated.Ryan Smith - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Thanks!linuxgeex - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Before I even look at image quality with video recording, I pay attention to the background noise. You should be able to tap the screen, adjust volume up and down, power the screen on and off, and walk in light wind without hearing distracting sounds. This camera failed this basic requirement with flying colours lol.Kangal - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Dunno, it's hard to judge the quality without a reference.The photo, video, microphone comparisons should have something like a Sony A7 + Lav, as that's basically professional quality, and it would be much easier to spot where phone's deficiencies lay.
Bonus points should be made to compare all devices on a quick Auto Mode, but Manual-Professional Adjustment on the Mirrorless. That's the most important comparison. And do it in Good Lighting, Overcast, and Low-light conditions. And do it in Macro, Regular, and Zoom modes.
Manual Modes are interesting on the new Sony Xperia 1 ii Pro, and LG V60... but are somewhat gimmicky. Phones are meant for quick "point and shoot", for professional quality you can't subsidise a phone with manual mode for a proper DSLR or Mirrorless. It would be like trying to use a hot-hatch to move heavy loads, then complaining, instead of using a pickup truck.
linuxgeex - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
@Andrei - several of the camera comparison photos are missing and some are backwards.