Let’s Unbox this Budget Device from Asus!

It’s truly been a stellar year for Taiwanese company, Asus, and a return to form with their smartphone releases that fall more in line with their “Empowered Luxury for All” mantra. While they have hits in the all-important mid-range segment, plus a light flagship under Php 30k, they haven’t forgotten to update their phones for those looking for something a little lighter on the budget.

They launched the Asus Zenfone Live L1 a few weeks ago; the successor to last year’s model. Let’s show you guys what comes inside the box and give the phone a quick go around before we take it though its paces.

What’s Inside the Box?

In terms of packaging, it’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect from Asus. You’ve got a dominantly blue box with several other color accents that set it apart from the usual pristine white cardboard used by other companies. Inside, you’ll find the Zenfone Live L1 itself and the usual suspects; this includes: a SIM ejector tool, documentation, a charger, microUSB cable, and a pair of headphones.

We were really hoping that the device would come with a case but, unfortunately, it does not.

What Is It?

As we mentioned earlier, the Zenfone Live L1 fills a specific role in the Taiwanese company’s lineup. Yes, it is a budget device with an entry-level processing package but what they hope that people who like to share memories with friends and family via Facebook Live would be enticed to purchase this phone for its real-time beautification features; more on that later though.

The phone itself is primarily made out of poly-carbonate plastic and has a unibody build and, while the company has given other phones a metallic finish, you won’t find it here. Still it feels well built with very little play on the back cover plus the buttons have a nice tactile feel to them as well.

How’s the Display?

In a nutshell, decent. It is a budget device after all. You’ve got a 5.5-inch HD+ IPS display at an 18:9 aspect ratio so you’ve got a little more screen real estate for watching videos or going through your social media feeds. It has decent viewing angles and looks to be bright enough to be used outdoors when it isn’t raining cats and dogs.

To round out the AV experience, you’ve got the speaker on the bottom of the device and even though there are two grilles — only the right one houses an actual speaker. It sounds a little tinny and you’re getting distortion at around 80 percent volume so we definitely using the headphones that come with the phone or your favorite pair.

What Hardware is it Packing?

Under the hood of the Asus Zenfone Live L1 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 that’s paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. We know most of you are probably going to tune out after reading that but, again, this is an entry-level device that’s made to cater to a specific bracket and market.

That being said though, you can still run your usual social media apps without a hitch and maybe even a few bouts of light gaming as well. If you’re looking for something that you can pretty much use as a handheld console, we would direct you to the Zenfone Max Pro M1 instead.

The phone runs on Android Oreo 8.0 with ZenUI on top of it and is juiced up by a 3000mAh battery. If you’ve also noticed, there’s no fingerprint scanner on this device but you can unlock the phone via facial recognition.

And the Cameras?

For taking photos, you’ve got a 13-megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and is equipped with PDAF. You’ve still got a portrait mode function to get that software-assisted bokeh too. Initial results are pretty good given what you’re expected to pay for this phone but quality will likely take a dip in low-light situations.

For taking selfies, you have a 5-megapixel front camera at an aperture of f/2.4. You’re also getting things like portrait mode but, of course, the main highlight here is real-time beautification for those when you have to stream on social media and need a bit of help. We’ll try and stream with this phone soon to show you guys the results.

How Much Is It?

The Asus Zenfone Live L1 retails for Php 5,995 and should be available at authorized Asus Resellers around the country. Honestly, their in for some very tough competition in this price bracket so we’ll see how it holds up when we take it though its paces. We’ll be publishing a more comprehensive review for this device soon, so make sure you check it out if this device has piqued your interest.

ASUS ZenFone Live L1 specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 5.5-inch HD+ 18:9 IPS display
• 13-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera with PDAF, LED Flash
• 5-megapixel f/2.2 front camera with real-time beautification
• 16GB of expandable storage
• Dual SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Face unlock
• 3000mAh
• Android 8.1 Oreo with ZenUI