Introduction

Do we have a good one for you today – the powerhouse Samsung Galaxy S6 goes up against the new ASUS ZenFone 2 (model ZE551ML).  Can the new high spec, low cost device from ASUS compete against the flagship and price of Samsung?  Is the Galaxy S6 worthy of the many accolades and its higher price?  Is the ZenFone really the bargain it seems to be?  We will take a quick look at their similarities and specifications to see which device is worthy to be called the winner of this comparison.

The displays are only 0.4-inch different in size, with the ZenFone 2 being the larger at 5.5-inches and the Galaxy S6 at 5.1-inches…of course after that we have different display technologies and different resolutions.  Both the devices have the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.0 in the ZenFone and 4.1 in the Galaxy S6), GPS, NFC capability, a microUSB port for charging and data transfer and both have access to rapid battery charging for their non-removable batteries.  Both the ZenFone 2 and Galaxy S6 have a single speaker – the ZenFone 2 on the back and the Galaxy S6 has its speaker position at the bottom of the device and neither one will win an award, although the Galaxy S6’s is definitely louder.

Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details.  After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons.  From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.

Specifications

Smartphones | SpecOut
Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung was in trouble with a stale design on last year’s Galaxy S5, so Samsung really changed their approach in their design of the new Galaxy S6 – no more plastic and Gorilla Glass, instead we have an aluminum unibody with Gorilla Glass 2.5D on the front and Gorilla Glass on the back.  It comes in a variety of colors, such as White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and an exclusive Galaxy S6 color, Blue Topaz.  The Galaxy S6 is beautiful from every angle with a premium feel and solid build.

The Galaxy S6 sports a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 577 pixels-per-inch (PPI) compared to FHD display and 403 PPI on the ZenFone 2.  Samsung made several bold decisions in their new Galaxy S6, and the first was to go with their in-house 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor.  It has four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four cores clocked at 2.1GHz.  The ZenFone 2 is sporting a new Intel Atom Z3580 64-bit quad-core processor.  The Galaxy S6 is packing 3GB of the much faster DDR4 RAM, compared to 4GB of DDR3 RAM used in the ZenFone 2.  The Galaxy S6 comes with Samsung’s new and faster UFS 2.0 flash memory offering up 32GB, 64GB or 128GB models with no room for expansion, whereas the ZenFone 2 comes with 64GB and a microSD card for expansion.  This was the second bold move, as Galaxy S owners were used to expandable memory.

The excellent main camera has a 16MP sensor with autofocus, LED Flash, a wide f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and OIS.  Samsung increased the front-facing camera (FFC) to 5MP and they wisely added the f/1.9 aperture, 120-degree wide-angle and Live HDR for excellent low-light group selfies and video chatting.  The ZenFone 2 camera area is a 13MP affair, but it just does not have enough to come close to topping the Galaxy S6’s cameras.

The non-removable 2550mAh battery is smaller than the non-removable 3000mAh in the ZenFone 2, but it should easily get you through an entire day with moderate usage.  However, if you run into trouble, the new Samsung battery can charge up to 4 hours of usage in only 10 minutes and they included built-in wireless charging.  This was the third bold move by by Samsung…up until now they were known for a removable battery.  It is a shame that they did not include waterproofing on this sealed unit.

The Galaxy S6 has a few features not found on the ZenFone 2 – it has a QHD display, it is Samsung Pay ready, it has a fingerprint sensor is PayPal certified, includes a heart rate monitor, an oxygen saturation sensor and wireless charging for both Qi and PMA standards.  It is running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop and will cost you about $200 on a two-year contract and $600 off-contract for the 32GB model.

ASUS ZenFone 2 (ZE551ML)

The ASUS ZenFone 2 looks deceptively high-end with its brushed metal look.  However, ASUS has pulled an LG on us and used a plastic body with a brushed metallic-like finish.  We are not saying that it feels cheap – it does not – but it is nowhere near the feel of the Galaxy S6’s all-metal frame and Gorilla Glass front and back.  Also stolen from LG is the placement of rocker switch for the volume on the back of the device, but the on/off button is on the top of the device.  The nicely rounded sides make the ZenFone 2 easy to hold and helps explain its 10.9mm thickness.

The ASUS ZenFone 2 features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 403 PPI.  This just cannot touch the 577 PPI on the QHD display of the Galaxy S6.  The top-of-the-line model we are looking at uses a 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz and coupled to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory, although, it does offer expansion by way of a microSD card.  This compares to the Galaxy S6’s 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage…but there is no way for expansion.

The main camera on the ZenFone 2 is packing a 13MP sensor, autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash, but no OIS.  This will certainly supply some decent photos, however it just cannot stand up to the 16MP camera and features on the Galaxy S6.  The ZenFone 2 comes with a large 5MP FFC, as does the Galaxy S6, for social selfies and video chatting. Power for both devices is in the form of a non-removable battery even though the back easily comes off the ZenFone 2.  It has the larger 3000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S6 uses a smaller 2550mAh battery.

This Dual-SIM device is running Android 5.0 Lollipop along with its ZenUI Skin overlay that has followed the Google Material Design look and sports a FM radio.  It should eventually be available in Osmium Black, Sheer Gold, Glacier Gray, Glamor Red and Ceramic White.  You can also find the ASUS ZenFone 2 (ZE551ML) with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of memory on Amazon for only $299 and comes in black, silver, gold, or red.

..And The Winner Is…

Summary

The off-contract price of the Galaxy S6 is double what the ZenFone 2 will cost you, but if you are willing to sign a two-year contract, you can enjoy the Galaxy S6 for only $200.  The ZenFone 2 is a great device at a terrific price and is money is tight and you are willing to use a 1080p display and give up other features that the Galaxy S6 provides, then pick yourself up a ZenFone 2 and I am sure that you will be very happy.

The beautiful design, solid build and features of the Galaxy S6 are more than enough to offset the 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable memory of the ZenFone 2.  Let us start with the QHD Super AMOLED display that simply blows away the FHD LCD display of the ZenFone 2.  Next, we have the S6’s Octa-core Exynos processor over the Intel Atom quad-core clocked at 2.3MHz.  The Galaxy S6 may only have 3GB of RAM, but it is the faster DDR4 RAM and it is packing the newest UFS 2.0 flash memory as well.  The camera area is much more sophisticated than the ZenFone 2.

The Galaxy S6 also sports a fingerprint sensor that is PayPal certified, the device is setup for Samsung Pay, it has a heart rate sensor, oxygen saturation sensor and a built-in wireless charging for both Qi and PMA standards. Yes, it does cost more than the ASUS Zenfone 2, but I believe the extra quality and features of the Samsung Galaxy S6 are enough to call it the winner of this comparison.

[socialpoll id=”[socialpoll id=”2277008″]