ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie vs ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Comparison + Review

At a glance, one would assume that just because something has the word “Pro” slapped into its name would automatically make it a better version of its cheaper and more “basic” counterpart.

Related:

• ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Review
  
• ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Review: Is It Better Than The Selfie Pro?

But is that really the case for two of ASUS’s latest midrange devices? Is getting the cheaper phone more economically sound for you? Or does the upgraded but more expensive variant of the Z4 Selfie series sound more practical between the two? Let’s find out.

Display

One thing that the Z4 Selfie and Z4 Selfie Pro have in common is the 5.5-inch Corning Gorilla Glass displays.

The more basic Z4 Selfie, however, comes with a 1080×720 resolution IPS HD LCD display, while the Z4 Selfie Pro has more HD on its system (pun intended) thanks to its 1920×1080 Super AMOLED resolution display.

Even if you put them side-by-side, the lack of HD in the Z4 Selfie’s display is pretty noticeable compared to its upgraded counterpart, which means there’s no competition in this round, so I’d have to give this round to the Selfie Pro.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

Design

For starters, the Z4 Selfie and Z4 Selfie Pro look extremely similar to each other, save for the placement of the dual cameras to help you distinguish the difference between the two.

Found on the upper half of the Z4 Selfie are the two dual cameras on the left corner of the panel while the sensor is on the right. On the Z4 Selfie Pro, however, the positions are reversed, with the dual cameras found on the right side and the sensor on the left. Their LED flashes, however, are both found on the upper right side of the phone.

At the bottom half of both phones are the three non-capacitive buttons, namely the Back button on the left side and the Overview button on the right, with the large Home button on the center, which also acts as the fingerprint scanner. The Back and Overview buttons on either side of the Selfie Pro’s Home button are backlit and only appear when you boot the phone, while the Z4 Selfie’s keys at the bottom panel are already etched on the phone.

At the back casing of both the Z4 Selfie and the Z4 Selfie Pro sits the 16MP rear camera with the flash on the left side. The only other identifying trait that distinguishes both Selfie phones from each other is the ASUS logo engraved at the back of both phones; the Z4 Selfie’s logo is carved while the logo on the Z4 Selfie Pro is painted as part of the design.

In terms of specs, the Z4 Selfie is just a gram lighter than the 145-gram Z4 Selfie Pro. However, the lighter Z4 Selfie is thicker at 7.9mm, which balances out the 7mm Z4 Selfie Pro.

Although both have really good designs for midrange phones, the Selfie Pro looks and feels more gorgeous between the two when you hold them side-by-side; the thinness of the Selfie Pro, coupled with the higher-quality display, makes it feel more like a premium phone between the two, so, again, I’d give this round to the Selfie Pro.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

Camera

Both of ASUS’s phones target a specific niche in the market, namely users who love capturing moments through selfies and “wefies”, and it’s easy to see that both Z4 Selfie phones manage to deliver in this department.

Both Z4 Selfie devices have 16MP rear cameras with dual-LED flash, except the Z4 Selfie’s rear camera has an f/2.0 aperture while the Z4 Selfie Pro’s rear camera is equipped with an f/2.2 aperture, making the pro version a more ideal camera for low-light photography between the two.

Their front cameras, however, differ in terms of specs. With a 20MP dual-lens front camera and an f/2.0 aperture, the Z4 Selfie compensates for the lower aperture o  n its rear camera with a higher front camera aperture rate than the Z4 Selfie Pro’s 24MP dual-lens front facing camera with an f/1.8 aperture rate. As a result, this gives the Z4 Selfie an advantage when it comes to taking low-lit selfie photos.

Like the rest of ASUS’s Zenfone 4 series, both Selfie phones are also capable of taking wide photos with their dual lens front cameras and rear cameras. As a gimmicky feature, they even have adjustable Beauty filters, which can also be applied when taking live videos on Youtube or  Instagram using ASUS’s preinstalled BeautyLive app. It makes both Selfie phones ideal for folks who like taking photos, which is what ASUS has been targeting in the first place.

With great camera specs on paper, both Z4 Selfie phones give you the option to take great photos in their own right.

But despite the lower rear camera specs, I noticed that the colors found in the photos taken using the Z4 Selfie pop up slightly more than the Pro version.

Although the Z4 Selfie Pro takes better rear camera photos in low-lit conditions, I find that any phone that has enough aperture to help you with your low-lit selfies and wefies would merit you this round – after all, this is a battle between selfie phones, right? In this aspect, I’d have to give this to the more “basic” Selfie phone.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie

Performance

We received the following results after testing both phones through benchmarking tests:

Based on benchmarking results, both the Z4 Selfie and Selfie Pro scored exactly the same in Antutu. Surprisingly, the Selfie’s Geekbench single-core and PCMark results are higher than the Selfie Pro’s numbers by a few digits, which indicates that the Zenfone 4 Selfie can perform better and handle multitasking more than its more “pro” sibling.

Both Selfie phones work well in the sense that they respond well to the simplest swipes and taps without lags, but in terms of benchmarking performance overall, the Z4 Selfie takes the cake.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie

Battery

Both the Z4 Selfie and Z4 Selfie Pro are powered by non-removable 3000-mAh batteries – a pretty small but decent amount for midrange phones.

Based on our Manila Shaker Battery Rating, both phones could last up to this amount of time:

Based on the results, we can conclude that despite sharing the same type of battery, the Z4 Selfie can last two hours more than its “pro” counterpart.

With this, the Zenfone 4 Selfie also takes this round.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie

Sound

Both the Z4 Selfie and Z4 Selfie Pro have speakers at the bottom half of their bodies. They have the same level of audio, and the speakers at maximum volume are not exactly spectacular, though I noticed that the Z4 Selfie Pro slightly sounds louder compared to its cheaper counterpart.

The placement of the audio speakers means accepting calls from noisy environments might be a bit difficult for some. But although the Z4 Selfie Pro has the slightly upper hand, it still remains as sub-par as its more basic sibling, so nobody really wins this round.

Winner: none

Capacity

Both the Z4 Selfie and Z4 Selfie Pro come in 64GB storage memory with 4GB of RAM. The Z4 Selfie, however, can have its memory expanded up to 2TB through a microSD card, which is higher than what the Z4 Selfie Pro has to offer at 256GB of expandable memory using a microSD card.

No doubt, the Z4 Selfie wins this round.

Winner: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie

Verdict

Both of ASUS’s midrange devices shine in their own right and bring out what they intended to do with each phone.

There’s no doubt that the Z4 Selfie Pro has the better design and higher specs on paper, and in terms of rear camera photography, it shines better than its cheaper counterpart. It’s ultimately up to what you’re looking for, though; the Selfie Pro can take better cameras with its rear lens, but if we’re talking about selfies (since, after all, that’s what they marketed the Z4 Selfie series for), then the Selfie’s a better choice between the two. And from what we’ve experienced so far, there’s no doubt that getting the cheaper Selfie phone would also deliver just as much as its Pro version.

So overall, with a 4-2 score, the ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie wins this battle between the two selfie phones!

The ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie and ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro are now available in official ASUS stores, along with other local and online kiosks. The Z4 Selfie costs P13,995 while the Z4 Selfie Pro costs P18,995.

ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie vs ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro, Full Specs, Philippines Pricing