The Asus Zenfone Selfie comes with a 5.5-inch display with 1080p resolution, and that translates to a density of 403ppi. It uses an IPS LCD panel, which our microscope shot revealed to have a standard RGB subpixel arrangement, unsurprisingly.
The Asus Zenfone Selfie has very accurate color rendition with the average DeltaE being the impressive number of 4.2 (for the primaries plus black and white). The max DeltaE is 7.7 and that's mainly the rendition of white, which is slightly on the bluish side.
The offered display tuning sliders allow you to improve that even further and by adding just a slight warmness to the display output we were able to achieve exceptional color accuracy - average deltaE of 3.3 and a max DeltaE of only 4.4.
Asus Splendid display tweaking app
The maximum brightness of the LCD panel (333nits) is not a good as it could be, but the relatively deep blacks (not as good as on the Lenovo K3 Note, but certainly in the top-tier among LCDs) allow the Zenfone Selfie to offer good contrast ratio of about 928:1.
At the middle of the brightness slider, the brightness level is less than a third of the maximum brightness level, but that is also true for many other phones.
The minimum brightness level is 22nits, which a lot more than the best we've seen so bear that in mind if you intend to use it frequently in pitch dark environment - this sort of light level might be unpleasant for the eyes in such conditions.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
0.13
107
796
0.44
390
879
Asus Zenfone Selfie
0.09
87
926
0.36
333
928
HTC Desire Eye
0.24
329
1345
0.62
806
1311
Motorola Moto X Play
0.23
343
1498
0.41
620
1520
Samsung Galaxy J7
0.00
150
∞
0
358
∞
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
-
-
∞
0
500
∞
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
0.30
347
1174
0.53
635
1192
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
0.18
219
1203
0.37
422
1144
Meizu m2 note
0.16
183
1096
0.42
473
1108
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
0.17
162
953
0.49
467
953
OnePlus Two
0.16
180
1139
0.30
399
1334
The Zenfone Selfie performed poorly in our sunlight legibility test perhaps due to the low maximum brightness. It's certainly far from good AMOLED screens in this respect (even the budget-minded Galaxy J7, for that matter), but the score is quite low even for an LCD panel, especially in 2015. Even the Zenfone 2 does somewhat better, and we're not quite sure why that is. The panels look very much the same, though the Selfie is indeed a bit dimmer, just not as much as to make that much of a difference in the sun.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Nokia 808 PureView 4.698
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Samsung Galaxy E7 4.485
HTC One A9 4.274
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Samsung Galaxy S6 4.124
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4.033
Apple iPhone 5 3.997
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3.997
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Apple iPhone 6 3.838
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 3.799
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Oppo R5 3.678
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 3.675
Nokia Lumia 930 3.567
Apple iPhone 5s 3.565
Samsung Galaxy S5 3.549
Nokia Lumia 735 3.547
Motorola Nexus 6 3.543
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Alcatel Idol X+ 3.527
Apple iPhone 5c 3.512
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 3.509
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 3.487
vivo X5Max 3.472
LG G Flex2 3.465
YotaPhone 2 3.453
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Motorola RAZR MAXX 3.42
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 3.419
Meizu MX5 3.416
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 3.406
Nokia Lumia 925 3.402
Gionee Elife S5.5 3.386
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 3.352
Oppo R7 3.32
Samsung Omnia W 3.301
Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 3.174
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S 3.155
Samsung Ativ S 3.129
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 3.127
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 3.118
Nokia N9 3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 3.023
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Samsung Galaxy Premier 2.958
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
HTC One S 2.901
Lenovo S90 Sisley 2.892
Sony Xperia Z5 2.876
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express 2.861
BlackBerry Q10 2.856
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 2.832
Sony Xperia Z3+ 2.824
HTC Desire Eye 2.815
Gionee Elife S5.1 2.812
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus 2.801
BlackBerry Z30 2.79
Sony Xperia Z5 compact 2.784
Meizu MX4 Pro 2.765
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Sony Xperia ZR 2.672
Huawei Ascend P1 2.655
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Sony Xperia Z3 2.618
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 2.616
Sony Xperia T3 2.609
BlackBerry Passport 2.595
Xiaomi Mi 4c 2.574
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Nokia Lumia 900 2.562
Motorola Moto G 4G 2.546
HTC One Max 2.537
Nokia Lumia 720 2.512
HTC One 2.504
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Motorola Moto G 2.477
vivo Xshot 2.465
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 2.422
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 2.416
LG G Flex 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo 2.382
HTC Desire 820 2.372
HTC One (M8) 2.371
Motorola RAZR i 2.366
Meizu MX4 2.366
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Sony Xperia ZL 2.352
HTC One M9 2.334
LG G4 2.317
Samsung Galaxy Note II 2.307
HTC One E9+ 2.305
HTC One (M8) for Windows 2.291
Oppo R1x 2.281
Oppo Find 7a 2.279
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 2.262
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra 2.253
Nokia Asha 311 2.25
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Huawei P8 2.196
Nokia Lumia 820 2.193
HTC One (E8) 2.185
Oppo N3 2.181
Nokia Lumia 920 2.17
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.149
LG Aka 2.145
Nokia N8 2.144
Nokia Lumia 620 2.142
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Nokia 515 2.134
HTC Desire 500 2.129
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 2.12
Sony Xperia acro S 2.119
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Nokia Lumia 1020 2.103
Oppo Find 5 2.088
Huawei P8lite 2.078
Sony Xperia SL 2.078
Nokia Lumia 630 2.056
BlackBerry Z10 2.051
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Huawei Ascend Mate7 2.024
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 2.022
Apple iPhone 4 2.016
HTC One mini 2.003
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Huawei Ascend P7 1.992
LG G2 1.976
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Oppo R819 1.957
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray 1.955
Lenovo Vibe X2 1.952
Sony Xperia Z2 1.944
Sony Xperia E3 1.943
Nokia Lumia 1320 1.941
HTC One mini 2 1.94
Samsung Galaxy Camera 1.938
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 1.935
Sony Xperia J 1.932
Acer CloudMobile S500 1.931
ZTE Blade S6 1.927
LG Nexus 4 1.926
LG G Pro 2 1.922
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 1.913
Nokia Asha 308 1.911
HTC Butterfly 2 1.905
Sony Xperia T 1.894
Meizu m2 note 1.892
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
Nokia Lumia 830 1.887
HTC Desire X 1.878
HTC Windows Phone 8X 1.873
HTC Butterfly 1.873
HTC Butterfly S 1.867
Huawei Ascend P6 1.865
Huawei Ascend Mate 1.845
LG G2 mini 1.838
LG G3 1.82
Nokia Lumia 1520 1.813
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 1.797
Sony Xperia V 1.792
HTC Desire 816 1.783
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 1.769
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Meizu MX3 1.754
LG Optimus G 1.753
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 1.74
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact 1.735
Acer Liquid Jade S 1.734
Sony Xperia SP 1.733
Oppo Find 7 1.691
LG Optimus 4X HD 1.691
HTC One V 1.685
BlackBerry Q5 1.682
Asus Zenfone Selfie 1.68
LG Optimus Vu 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 1.672
LG Optimus GJ 1.666
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
LG Optimus 3D Max 1.658
HTC Desire V 1.646
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 1.632
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 1.622
Microsoft Lumia 532 1.615
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Microsoft Lumia 435 1.598
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 1.578
Sony Xperia go 1.577
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 1.566
Samsung Galaxy Core 1.563
LG Optimus G Pro 1.552
Motorola Moto E 1.545
LG Optimus 3D 1.542
Nokia Asha 302 1.537
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime 1.507
BlackBerry Curve 9320 1.488
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Oppo N1 1.47
Sony Xperia E4 1.467
Meizu MX 4-core 1.462
Nokia Lumia 610 1.432
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 1.393
Microsoft Lumia 535 1.393
Sony Xperia M2 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 1.38
Sony Xperia E1 1.372
Nokia Lumia 625 1.371
Gigabyte GSmart G1355 1.361
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 1.35
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 1.35
HTC Desire 510 1.34
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 1.331
Sony Xperia miro 1.324
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 1.321
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 1.315
Xiaomi Redmi 2 1.311
HTC Desire C 1.3
Nokia X 1.291
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Nokia Asha 503 1.281
Nokia Asha 501 1.27
LG Optimus L7 1.269
Nokia Lumia 510 1.268
Samsung Galaxy Fame 1.245
LG Optimus L9 1.227
Meizu MX 1.221
Samsung Galaxy Young 1.22
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Nokia XL 1.204
Sony Xperia E dual 1.203
Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C 1.198
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 1.18
Nokia Asha 305 1.178
Nokia Asha 306 1.175
Sony Xperia neo L 1.169
Sony Xperia tipo 1.166
Nokia Lumia 520 1.161
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos 1.148
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 1.114
Connectivity
The Zenfone Selfie is well stocked on connectivity options. First off, there's quad-band 2G/GPRS/EDGE on both SIM cards and that's where the second card is capped. SIM 1 also gets quad-band 3G and a multitude of LTE bands, which are region dependent.
Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac radios are on board as well, with Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot support.
Bluetooth is in its 4.0 version, there's a GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, but no NFC.
The microUSB port comes with USB host support for attaching your choice of peripherals and MHL support. The headphone jack is the standard 3.5mm affair, allowing you to plug in just about any set of headphones out there.
There's also a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion, which takes cards up to 128GB.
An FM radio receiver is provided for listening to music on the go without generating data traffic.
Asus Zenfone Selfie battery life
The Asus Zenfone Selfie comes with a 3,000mAh battery - a user-replaceable lithium polymer unit. The powerpack might very well be the same exact one as in the Zenfone 2, so we expected comparably unimpressive results. We weren't entirely right, it turned out.
It all starts with the twenty and a half hours of 3G call times - a good 4 and a half hours longer than the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML and a solid result on its own. It gets even better in the video playback test, where the Zenfone Selfie is good for 11 and a half hours of movie watching.
The good impression so far is marred by the web browsing longevity. When using the built-in browser, the Zenfone Selfie manages a lowly 6 and a half hours. Switch to Chrome, and the situation isn't as grim, but 7:43 hours is still only an average result. It's virtually the same number as the Zenfone 2 posted.
All in all, the Zenfone Selfie does okay in the battery department, noticeably better than the Zenfone 2. Its overall rating of 63 hours in our proprietary test is far from record-breaking but it's not disappointing either.
The Samsung Galaxy J7, for example, would last you a full 5 hours longer in video watching and a little over an hour longer in web browsing, but loses to the Selfie in call times. Another selfie specialist, the HTC Desire Eye, does about ten hours in both screen-on activities, but comes shorter in call endurance, too. Meanwhile, the Sony Xperia C5 Ultra trails the Selfie in all test disciplines.
Make note that our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Tip us
1.9m 150k
RSS
EV
Merch
Log in I forgot my password Sign up