Asus ZenFone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 vs LG G2: specs comparison

Asus hasn't had a serious smartphone offering for quite a while now (that's if we don't count the Padfone, and we don't), but it seems like the time has finally come for the manufacturer to unleash a brand new handset line. Enter the ZenFone! Asus' latest family of smartphones includes three models - the ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6, none of which being particularly high-end, but the 5" and 6" models shaping up as quite decent upper mid-range packages with their 720p displays and Intel CPUs.

Anyways, let's take a look at how Asus' new ZenFone 5 — which can be considered the most mainstream product of the trio — fares against some formidable opponents such as the Galaxy S4 and the G2. Naturally, since we're comparing it to two flagship devices, the ZenFone 5 will understandably lag behind its opponents in the specs race, but if you think about it, that's still going to be quite an interesting comparison, as it's going to give us a hint of just how close to last year's premium experience one can get with this new crop of affordable Android smartphones. After all, the ZenFone 5 is expected to be priced at $149 off contract, making it quite an alluring proposition.

Design
OS	Android (5.0, 4.4, 4.3)	Android (5.0, 4.4.2, 4.3, 4.2.2)	Android (5.0, 4.4.2, 4.2.2)
Dimensions	5.83 x 2.87 x 0.41 inches (148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3 mm)	5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm)	5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 inches (138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm)
Weight	5.11 oz (145 g) the average is 5.3 oz (151 g)	4.59 oz (130 g) the average is 5.3 oz (151 g)	5.04 oz (143 g) the average is 5.3 oz (151 g)
Materials		Main body: plastic

Display
Physical size	5.0 inches	5.0 inches	5.2 inches
Resolution	720 x 1280 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel density Pixel density - The pixel density of a display represents the number of pixels over an area of one inch. It’s measured in “pixels per inch”, or ppi. The higher the number, the more detailed and good-looking the display is.	294 ppi	441 ppi	423 ppi
Technology Technology - There are two main screen technologies currently used in phones and tablets: LCD and AMOLED. The former usually features a light source and liquid crystals, while the latter is based on organic light-emitting diodes. Newer LCD variations like IPS-LCD and Super-LCD allow for very accurate color reproduction and very wide viewing angles, where no significant image quality loss is observed. Current AMOLED screens differ in such a way that they can exhibit much more saturated colors (sometimes too much) and incredibly high contrast levels, which is due to black color being completely black in AMOLED displays.	IPS LCD	Super AMOLED	IPS LCD
Screen-to-body ratio	63.84 %	71.91 %	76.28 %
Colors		16 777 216	16 777 216
Peak brightness			450 cd/m2 (nit)

Camera
Camera	8 megapixels	13 megapixels	13 megapixels
Flash	LED	LED	LED
Aperture size Aperture size - The aperture of a camera is the opening through which light travels before it reaches the camera sensor. The smaller the number is, the bigger this opening is, allowing for more light to pass.	F2.0	F2.2	F2.4
Focal length (35mm equivalent)		31 mm	29 mm
Camera sensor size		1/3.06"	1/3.06"
Pixel size		1.14 μm	1.12 μm
Hardware Features	Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)	Autofocus, CMOS image sensor, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)	Sapphire crystal lens cover, Optical image stabilization, Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)
Software Features	Digital zoom, Digital image stabilization, Geo tagging	Digital image stabilization, Touch to focus, Face detection, Smile detection, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Self-timer, Voice activation	Face detection, Digital zoom, Voice activation, Self-timer, Touch to focus, Geo tagging
Camcorder	1920x1080 (1080p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps)	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (60 fps)
Features		Digital image stabilization	Optical image stabilization
Front-facing camera	2 megapixels	2 megapixels	2.1 megapixels
Video capture		1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps)	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps)

Hardware
System chip System chip - Most modern handsets use an advanced chip that includes many of the device’s hardware modules like the processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and sometimes even the wireless radio. This field shows what particular system chip (or System-on-a-Chip) is used in the phone.	Intel Atom Z2580	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 8974	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974
Processor Processor - The processor is the main computing component of a phone and is a major factor when it comes to the overall speed of the device. Some more powerful smartphones use dual-core and quad-core processors designed to deliver greater performance.	Dual-core, 2000 MHz, Saltwell	Quad-core, 1900 MHz, Krait 300	Quad-core, 2260 MHz, Krait 400
Graphics processor	PowerVR SGX 544MP2	Adreno 320	Adreno 330
System memory System memory - System memory, or RAM memory is the type of memory that the device uses to temporarily store data from the OS or currently-running apps. The more RAM available to the device, the better the performance will be when multiple or heavier programs are running.	2 GB RAM (Dual-channel, 533 MHz) / LPDDR2	2 GB RAM (Dual-channel) / LPDDR3	2 GB RAM (Dual-channel, 800 MHz) / LPDDR3
Built-in storage	8 GB	64 GB	32 GB
Storage expansion	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC

Battery
Capacity	2110 mAh	2600 mAh	3000 mAh
Wireless charging		Optional
Talk time			34.30 hours the average is 14 h (857 min)
Stand-by time			34.2 days (821 hours) the average is 15 days (370 h)
Talk time (3G)		17.00 hours the average is 17 h (997 min)	21.30 hours the average is 17 h (997 min)
Stand-by time (3G)		15.4 days (370 hours) the average is 20 days (485 h)	34.4 days (826 hours) the average is 20 days (485 h)
Stand-by time (4G)		13.3 days (320 hours) the average is 21 days (493 h)
Music playback		62.00 hours
Video playback		11.00 hours

Multimedia
Mirroring		DLNA, Miracast, MHL	DLNA, Miracast, MirrorLink, SlimPort

Cellular
GSM	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
UMTS	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE (FDD)		Bands 18, 5, 8, 3, 1, 7	Bands 20, 8, 3, 1, 7
Data	HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE Cat 3 (100/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s