ASUS ZenPad 8.0 review: Performance at par, loses out on resolution quality
ASUS has been an early proponent of tablets and phone-tabs in the smartphone market, making some powerful and impressive products. Recently, the Taiwanese company brought its sub-brand ‘Zen’ to the tablet segment. This October, ASUS launched its top model in the Zen series, the ZenPad 8.0. Though the tablet comes with a dual-SIM feature, it essentially is a tablet with a ZenFone experience, and there we chose to refrain from categorizing it into the phablet segment, considering its 8-inch screen size. We had a chance for a hands-on with the ZenPad 8.0, and here is what we drew out of the tablet’s experience.
The ASUS ZenPad 8.0, unlike all the Zenfones, does not sport off-screen soft keys. It has an 8-inch large display (800x1280 pixels), with an oleophobic coating protecting it. The display covers almost the entire face of the ZenPad, with just the logo sitting at the chin of the tablet. The front panel sports the primary speaker at the top, which also doubles as the earpiece for calls. Right beside the earpiece sits a 2MP front camera.
On the right edge, the ZenPad features the power button and the volume rocker, whereas the USB charging port and the audio jack sits on the top edge of the tablet.
Although the metal piping along the edges of the front panel gives it a fancy metallic look, the sides and the rear of the ZenPad 8.0 is made out of plastic. The rear has a removable plastic panel, which is made out of a textured plastic, meant to give a leathery impression. Under the panel sit two slots for micro-SIM cards, an 8MP camera on the top left corner, and a connector, which is dedicated for an additional audio cover accessory (which we will talk about later in the review). The tablet is 8.5mm thick and weighs about 350g.
Under the hood, the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 runs on the Android v5.0 Lollipop operating system, which layered with the ZenUI on top, exactly the same as that of the ZenFones. It is powered by a 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 128GB using a microSD card.
On the connectivity front, it includes Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, microUSB v2.0, 4G LTE connectivity, and GPS. It is fuelled with a 4,000mAh battery.
Evaluation
Starting with the ergonomics and build of the tablet, although the ASUS has worked on some façade design patterns, when you hold the tablet it still feels plasticky, especially the rear panel, which feels slightly flimsy. Every time you pull out the rear panel, you are afraid to break it.
Moving on to the tab’s display, we thought the screen resolution isn’t up to the mark; a Full HD display would have been a better choice. The colors and brightness levels of the display seem dull too. The viewing angles are good, with decent display legibility in bright sunlight.
On the performance front, the ZenPad 8.0 is at par with most Snapdragon 615 devices. The ZenUI fits well with the tab, and we never experience any lag or jerky transition. The UI is smooth and fluid. However, after a while of watching movies on the tab, we did notice a little heating at the back of the device.
Both the front and back camera of the ZenPad 8.0 does not feature flash, and therefore its picture quality is just about fine. A tablet is not exactly a very photography-friendly device, and therefore we choose to go easy on the camera quality of the tablet.
The ZenPad is fuelled by a 4,000mAh battery, which gives a satisfactory performance. One full charge of the tablet lasted us about 10-12 hours with constant use of messaging apps, playing videos and some games.
Moving back to the additional cover panel of the ZenPad we talked about earlier, we thought it really adds to the experience of the tablet. The accessory is an additional purchase with the tablet and does not come along with it. It costs Rs 3,000 for the cover besides the cost of the tablet. The cover panel is not just a protective cover for the tablet, it is an audio cover, which fits on to the back of the tab, replacing the regular back panel. The speaker on the audio cover is DTS-tuned, and simulates 5.1 surround sound. It connects with the tab via the connector given at the tab’s rear end (as mentioned earlier). The audio output is heavily boosted, and the cover makes the tab an excellent media device for both audio and video. It can be used for watching movies and TV shows, and it also works well as a portable speaker.
Verdict
Recapitulate our experience, we saw the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 as a decent device. However, it lost most points for the poor display resolution. We would recommend the tablet as a secondary device, which can be enjoyed for watching movies and listening to music. Priced at Rs 14,999, the ZenPad 8.0 faces competition from Xiaomi’s Mi Pad, which is similarly priced, with at par performance and good resolution quality.
