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4GB RAM version of the Asus Zenfone 2 on sale from only $273 in China

AndiMarch 24, 2015

Mainland China has received its share of Asus Zenfone 2 lovin today with the release of 3 versions of the flagship phone ranging from 1299 to 1999 Yuan.

The Asus Zenfone 2 is really shaping up to be a true global device. So far the phone has been officially released for sale in Taiwan and now see’s an official launch and pricing for mainland China.

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Asus have launch 3 versions of the Asus Zenfone 2 in China, an entry-level model costs 1299 Yuan ($209) with 5.5-inch FHD display, 1.8Ghz Z3560 Intel CPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB memory. Next in the range is the mid-range Asus Zenfone 2 with the same 1.8Ghz chipset but 4GB RAM and 32GB memory costing 1699 Yuan ($273) and finally there is a 1999 Yuan 64GB model too.

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Asus don’t appear to be offering the 5-inch version of the phone, which makes sense as most Chinese phone users do prefer a large device, plus these retail prices but the 5.5-inch Zenfone 2 on a level playing field with Xiaomi and Meizu models.

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About the author
Andi

sai bhagavan
March 24, 2015
Amazing phone with amazing specs and price….brilliance at its best asus with these modles will give a great competition to xiaomi amd meizu and others…
Muhammad Yasir
March 24, 2015
Asus <3 !
great JOB!

George
March 24, 2015
Now you talking Jose, you got good specs, good price and it’s ugly as fck with that triple lower chin, but what the heck, I’m glad for people who like it
- jimberkas
  March 24, 2015
  agreed. i’m interested as it should work well in the US. specs are plenty good for me. but its damned ugly

realjjj
March 24, 2015
The 1699CNY model is priced ok against the MX4, Coolpad X7 but maybe not so much against the Nubia Z7 mini and some others.
The 1299CNY model is too much since it goes against the m1 Note , Lenovo K3 Note and so on. If they had the faster SoC in this model the price would be a lot easier to swallow but with much lower clocks it’s perf drops too much for the price.
Guaire
March 24, 2015
Zenfone 2 has a big fat advantage over Chinese phones which is international availability.
You can’t buy a 2000 yuan flagship outside China with same or close price.
- realjjj
  March 24, 2015
  That’s not all that true and this is not a flagship (it’s bellow the flagship level in per and specs).
  Huawei expanded the Honor brand to India, EU, Brazil, Many others are selling in India and a few other Asian markets, Meizu does sell in a few European markets, OnePlus is available in lots of locations.
  - Guaire
    March 24, 2015
    You are right this isn’t a high end device for 2015, but comparing to 2014 flagships it’s head to head.
    Also current 2000 yuan devices not high end devices anymore. Hopefully their successors will be.
    Huawei’s international availability is much better than most Chinese competitors, but their flagships also not so high end.
    OnePlus One was a real flagship at the launch and they sold it in a lot countries but availability was a serious issue.
    Meizu reached to my country too, but they are working with a small distributor and imported in small numbers. Their prices are inflated most probably thanks to petty distribitor.
    - realjjj
      March 24, 2015
      It’s debatable how comparable it is to the SD801 and even MT6595 and that’s for the 4GB RAM version that has the SoC at 2.3GHz. i consider it slightly bellow those in perf but for me CPU perf is more important than GPU since if i game i’ll do it on PC not mobile. Ofc value wise this ha sthe extra RAM so i see it as placed ok.
      The 2GB version has the SoC at just 1.8GHz so CPU perf takes a considerable hit- this is something buyers really need to remember when deciding what to purchase, it competes with the 145-160$ new midrange.
      For screen quality, cams and other ,we’ll have to wait and see, hopefully everything is at least ok.
      Edit: Guess we both forgot the obvious, the Zenfone 2 itself will have a somewhat limited availability, as Asus is still expanding the markets they are active in. It’s rolling out slowly in key markets over the next 2-3 months and it will be available in more markets than their previous phones but still not truly global.
      - Guaire
        March 24, 2015
        I agree with you about 1.8GHz version.
      - Ekeluo Chukwuogor
        March 24, 2015
        Actually it’s as fast, if not faster than those SoCs at 1.8ghz, at least in tablets. Go to notebookcheck.net, they has several asus tablet reviewed featuring these chips. Performance may differ in phone for tho.
        realjjj
        March 24, 2015
        No it’s not, you are the one that needs to do his homework.
        View From The Top
        March 24, 2015
        It IS, actually. Search for real world benchmarks on Anandtech. 🙂
        realjjj
        March 24, 2015
        Go ahead and do that, the guy claims that at 1.83GHz it is faster than SD801 and that’s very very untrue.
        The Intel core is similar in perf to A53 clock for clock (except weaker in encryption).
        And btw Anandtech doesn’t do any real world tests at all. They are focused on synthetic benchmarks and even those are mostly browser perf and GPU perf.
- balcobomber25
  March 24, 2015
  To people outside China not have access to the internet?
  I bought my Mi4 for $325 online with free shipping to the US. Even looking now they are selling on Aliexpress for as low as $335, the Honor 6 is selling for as low as $300. Amazon has the Mx4 listed for $355. That is not even to mention the One Plus One, if you live in one of their countries.
  - n
    April 18, 2015
    - balcobomber25
      April 19, 2015
      I am the wrong person to ask that question to for two reasons: I have the original 3G version and I don’t live in the US full time. I have used my 3G model in the US and got very good speeds on ATT. Ask Max Power he has a Mi4 and lives in the US.
Manos
March 24, 2015
Resellers will make a lot oF money with this one I have saw it 560$ Easy money! they can’t wait to get it to stock!

Karly Johnston
March 24, 2015
US launch is when?
toioioio
March 24, 2015
Hey andi,can you provide info of on-screen time per charge?
im wondering if im to switch from honor6 to zenfone2(ze551ml)
Kazi Noman
March 24, 2015
In which online shop its available now ?
Jack
March 25, 2015
Wondering when will this phone launch in Singapore?

Guaire
March 25, 2015
Honor 6 wasn’t real high end from the beginning even for 2014. Nice phone though.
Yours is an exceptionial price for Mi4. Most of people buying it more expensive via resellers and have to pay custom duties.
MX4’s Amazon price is $70 more expensive.
For to buying Zenfone 2, people could go local store and get it instantly at same or close price. You have not to struggle to get an invite like OnePlus One.
- balcobomber25
  March 26, 2015
  Honor 6 wasn’t high end?? It was a near match of the Mi4/One Plus One specs, the only difference was the SoC, Huwaeii used a Kirin 920 instead of the 801 in the others. The Honor 6 had near equal performance to both of those.
  I got my Mi4 on sale, but its very easy to find them for around $335 on sites such as Aliexpress with free shipping. Custom duties vary from country to country. I have never paid them in the US and only once in Thailand.
  Mx4 is more expensive but it is also a better phone.
  It all depends what country you live in. I have never seen Zenphones in any store in the US, and in Thailand they are marked up.

Steven Fox
March 25, 2015
It will end up around 350 USD after resellers. Not a bad price, but still I`d rather buy Xiaomi or Meizu at that price.
- TheEvilPenguinGamer .
  March 25, 2015
  Resellers usually charge about $30 extra for phones in this price range, once they are readily available.
  - jimmy
    March 30, 2015
    if this 30usd is including dhl shipping fee and paypal fee ,i suppose i can accept ,my last xiaomi 4 order from http://flosmall.com/phones/xiaomi-mi4-white-detail,the price including dhl shipping fee and just 5 days after payment ,the phone reach my hand .
- k
  April 18, 2015
  I would like xiaomi or meizu, but are there actually ones that get LTE in the US?

3165dwayne
March 25, 2015
If we are talking about the 2GB version with 720p then I could say that it is comparable to certain phones with a snapdragon 801. When it benchmarks it gets scores similar to that of the HTC One m8 which is around 4300. I have a G3 which is running a custom ROM, kernel, and governor. These customization are the only way that the G3 got a similar score to the One m8 and zenfone 2 . My customized G3 scored a 43463 . Before I rooted and whatever else the G3 used to get a score of 37000. The zenfone gets such a high score without being rooted or anything else. That’s pretty good. I just ordered the 4GB version. If everything goes well and I receive it I will be sure to tell how well it performs. Although you can look it up now. I believe that one get s a score of around 50,000 which is much higher than the HTC One m8. The note 4 scores lower (around 3000 points lower) but that phone has a QHD screen. So I guess it is close to the snapdragon 805.
Owsley_66
March 25, 2015
For anyone in the U.S., it’s hard to find an unlocked gsm 4G capable phone with comparable specs in this price range. The ZE551ML shows to have all the necessary frequencies to get 4G in the U.S. for At&T and TMobile and that’s all you need.
On Ebay right now this particular model is selling for anywhere from U.S. $299 to U.S. $319. From what I can tell, this is the 2GB model and this is one of the models that was released in Taiwan. No idea what this model will cost once ASUS releases it for sale in the U.S. but I’m guessing that it’s going to be priced in the U.S. $300 dollar range, +/- a bit.
For those of us in the U.S., mayiandjay has done a nice review of the phone on youtube.
https://youtu.be/HVYMtgmOUO4
If the link doesn’t work, just do a search for mayiandjay on Youtube.
- balcobomber25
  March 26, 2015
  Have you seen any traditional stores actually selling Asus phones? I have never seen them in any store in New England.
  - Owsley_66
    March 26, 2015