Asus shows off smartphone smarts at Berlin electronics show
At IFA 2015, Asus reminded conference-goers that the brand isn't only about laptops and tablets. It's big into mobile phones, too.
The ZenFone Selfie has impressive front-facing camera hardware.
Asus may be planning to launch up to seven smartphones in 2016, but the hardware maker is clearly saving the good stuff for later. Although the company isn't announcing a new ZenFone at the IFA electronics show in Berlin this year, it is taking the opportunity to put its current wares in front of the roughly 240,000 attendees who flock to the show.
Among these is the Asus ZenFone Selfie , which CNET first saw at a different show in late May. The Selfie puts a pretty large sensor on its 13-megapixel front-facing camera -- along with a dual LED flash, yes, on the front, and panorama mode for wide group shots you take yourself. Selfie stick not included.
Asus' interest in the camera is evident in a few other models as well, including its ZenFone Laser, whose 13-megapixel camera leans on an f/2.0 wide-aperture lens and laser autofocus that promises to focus in 0.3 seconds. Likewise, its ZenFone Zoom phone from January built a 3x optical zoom into that 13-megapixel camera.
Veering away from cameras, the ZenFone 2 Deluxe tops up this year's ZenFone 2 with a huge built-in storage capacity of 256GB. Meanwhile, it's battery life that comprises the ZenFone Max's chief selling point. At 5,000mAh this 5.5-inch phone is one of only a few phones to house a battery this large.
We'll keep an eye on Asus' next-generation handsets. In the meantime, be sure to catch all the hot mobile news from IFA 2015.