Having tasted significant success and racked up impressive sales numbers last year with its ZenFone 2 flagship smartphone and its lower-priced derivatives like the ZenFone 2 Laser, Asus is expected to launch its ZenFone 3 flagship smartphone later this year. That, however, doesn’t mean the company plans to ignore the mid-range, which is where the lion’s share of the company’s revenues come from. As part of its push to release more options for users in the segment, the company had recently launched the ZenFone Max, which comes with a massive 5,000 mAh battery as its USP. Now, Asus has officially launched a new mid-ranger in China, called the Pegasus 5000. Late last month, there were reports of Chinese regulator TENAA certifying a Pegasus X005 for sale in China, and reports indicate that Pegasus 5000 happens to be the commercial name of that very device.
Coming to the hardware specs of the phone, the device features a 5.5-inch display panel that comes with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The smartphone is powered by a Mediatek MT6753 SoC that comes with an integrated octa-core processor clocked at 1.3 GHz. The handset comes in two different memory variants. The cheaper version comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, and costs 1,299 Yuan ($197), whereas the more premium version carries 3 GB of RAM but comes with a price-tag that’s significantly higher, at 1,799 Yuan ($273). Alongside Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n support, the phone also comes with LTE connectivity, which is basically becoming de rigueur even in entry-level phones these days.
Coming to the cameras, the Pegasus 5000 sports a 13-megapixel primary camera with LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera meant for selfies and video calls. The device carries a 4,850 mAh battery, and while there’s no mention of the version of Android that’s pre-installed, the aforementioned Pegasus X005 comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The phone will be made available in two color options – white and gold. While the Pegasus 5000 is a China-exclusive device as of now, it remains to be seen if that will continue to be the case for long. Stay tuned, as we’ll keep you informed if and when the handset is launched in more markets around the globe.