In Pics: Here’s a closer look at Asus’ 6Z and its one-of-its-kind flip-up dual cameras

Asus has launched the 6Z in India – which is a rebranded ZenFone 6 because Asus has been banned from selling Zen branded smartphones in the country. The key highlight of the Asus 6Z is its near all-screen display, only Asus has come up with a unique workaround to achieve its goal – flip-up dual cameras. Even though mechanized pop-up cameras aren’t uncommon these days, Asus has done something out of the ordinary here – conjuring a whole new level of ‘flipping’ genius that sets the Asus 6Z apart from competition in more ways than one. 

The Asus 6Z has no notch or display cutout whatsoever. It does not have a pop-up or elevating selfie camera either. Which is where things start to get interesting. Read on to find out.  

-- The Asus 6Z does not have a selfie camera in the literal sense – instead, the rear cameras double as the front cameras. 

-- The phone has a dual camera module on the back (48MP plus 13MP) which is part of a mechanical lifting or flipping mechanism – and when it does lift or flip, the whole module rotates on its axis by a full 180-degree to function as the front camera(s). 

-- We’ve seen Samsung do something similar with its Galaxy A80, but Asus is taking things to an all new level. The Asus 6Z’s motorized flip-up camera module can be used at any position in between (the two end stops), giving users “the unprecedented ability to take professional-grade shots from any position.” You can control the angle using the physical volume rocker.  

-- Mechanical moving parts always carry a durability risk – wear and tear may take the better of them sooner or later. Asus says the flip-up module in the Asus 6Z is made of liquid metal which is 4x stronger than steel - it is designed for 100,000 flips at least, according to Asus. Also, the module auto-retracts as and when it detects free fall, which is handy. 

-- Speaking of cameras, the Asus 6Z has a 48MP primary camera with Sony’s IMX586 sensor with f/1.79 aperture. There’s also a secondary 13MP ultra-wide camera with a 125-degree field-of-view. 

-- The flip-up dual cameras allow Asus to offer a notch-less ‘NanoEdge’ all-screen display on the Asus 6Z. More specifically, the phone has a 6.4-inch display with 1080p+ resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection. 

-- The Asus 6Z, being a 2019 flagship, unsurprisingly packs Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 855 processor paired with up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage which is further expandable via a dedicated micro-SD card slot. 

-- The dual-SIM phone runs Android 9 Pie-based Zen UI 6 software – it’s very close to stock Android which is nice. 

-- The Asus 6Z is also the first mainstream flagship phone in the world to house a massive 5,000mAh battery inside. Asus is claiming up to 2-day battery life on this one. The phone supports 18W fast charging – but there’s (still) no wireless charging here. 

-- In terms of design, the Asus 6Z has a glass and metal sandwich design – with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on the front as well as on the back. 

-- Asus is retaining the 3.5mm audio jack in the Asus 6Z – something that is fast becoming a rarity in flagship phones. There are also dual stereo speakers here. 

-- Asus has launched the Asus 6Z in India at a starting price of Rs 31,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage going all the way to Rs 39,999 for the top-end variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The Asus 6Z will be also available with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage for Rs 34,999. The Asus 6Z will be available for buying in India from Flipkart from June 26. 

Photos by Saurabh Singh