The Asus Zenfone 5z comes with a lot of jargon, but that’s fine

At its launch today, Asus made a big deal about the artificial intelligence operations on its newest phone, the Zenfone 5z. But here's the thing, a lot of it really is jargon. And that's okay because, at its core, the Zenfone 5z is the best smartphone Asus has made in the last two years.

The AI jargon

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a buzzword and Asus knows that. In fact, the real reason why most of the features on this phone are being categorised as AI is that they're all handled by Qualcomm's AI engine on the Snapdragon 845. The chipset's Hexagon DSP comes with added AI capabilities.

Some of these features, like learning what apps you use and keeping them open "when you need them" does involve learning. However, tuning the screen's colour temperature to ambient light is a rule-based program that has been built into the software.

There's also an Intelligent Fast charging feature, which takes about a week to understand when your phone is charging the longest, and it optimises charging during this period. So, if the phone recognises that you charge it between midnight and 8 am, it will charge up to 80% and trickle charge after that, to ensure that the battery is charged as close to your wake up time as possible.

With Quick Charge 3.0 support, charging is pretty fast, so Asus says AI charging will help save battery cycles and hence enhance the battery's overall life. But the feature can't modulate current so that your phone charges fast when it's put on charge for shorter periods, for that, Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 is the sole differentiator.

In the long run, the AI features in the phone's camera app is perhaps the only true implementation of artificial intelligence on the phone. And while many may question the company's tactics there, that's completely fine.

Why?

Artificial Intelligence is indeed a buzzword today, but its definition is also somewhat loose. Many companies call rules-based programs AI, and Asus is doing the same. And while that may be wrong, it doesn't change the fact that the Zenfone 5z is an excellent smartphone with an even better price.

Starting at Rs. 29,999, Asus is giving you the features of a flagship phone. Having used the Zenfone 5z for about a week, I can attest to the fact that it offers smooth regular usage, charges as fast as any Quick Charge-enabled phone, and has a distinct and pretty design.

It combined that with a decent camera, that still needs some work, but does the job for most regular use cases. That's pretty much the definition of value for money.

The truth is, the Zenfone 5z is a dependable smartphone, and while Asus might be blurring the lines a little bit, it's not actually misleading customers. The features the company talks about aren't immediately noticeable on the phone, but they're meant to enhance the user experience, just like OnePlus' Shelf feature, which many never really use.

At the end of the day, the Zenfone's additional features are marketing gimmicks, but the Zenfone 5z is a good phone.