ASUS Zenfone 5Z gets a sweet serving of Android Pie

The ASUS Zenfone 5Z was one of the most affordable Snapdragon 845 smartphones of 2018, even though it’s since been overshadowed by the Pocophone F1. Nevertheless, Asus fans will be pleased to hear that the device is now getting updated to Android Pie.

The update, announced by the company in an emailed press release, will be pushed out in batches. So don’t be alarmed if the update notification isn’t on your phone just yet.

ASUS didn’t reveal much about the new update, merely saying it brings an “all-new contextual pop-up volume bar” and magnifier option for easier copying of text. In any event, the stock version of Android Pie also offers gesture navigation, adaptive brightness, adaptive battery, and App Actions. So we’d expect a few of these features to appear on the affordable flagship.

Our own Abhishek Baxi praised the device in his ASUS Zenfone 5Z review, singling out its speedy performance and audio quality. He also noted the company’s AI-branded features, finding some to be pointless and others to be practical.

More specifically, Abhishek praised the phone’s AI Ringtone and AI Charging features. The former feature adjusts ringtone volume to suit your environment, while the latter is a bid to preserve battery health by only charging to 100 percent by the time you wake up.

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