Asus’ ZenUI bares little resemblance to stock Android, and it’s not for the better. #The zenpad z580c has brighter screen than the z580ca softwareThat’s how most people tend to use tablets, after all.īut the company’s overall grade on software remains very mixed. But its endurance matched the 8 hours that Asus is promising, and it’ll go way longer with intermittent or casual use. The ZenPad doesn’t offer quick charge, nor can you top it off wirelessly. But it never really felt overly warm when these warnings popped up, so I’m hoping Asus will address this with a software update. The ZenPad seems too cautious about overheating, and as a result it’ll sometimes hijack control of screen brightness to keep things in check. It’ll load games quickly, but I’ve seen some concerning issues during extended sessions. (The less expensive, $199 ZenPad has a slower chip and 2GB of memory.) The tablet zips around and hops between apps with no noticeable stutters or lag. Powering the ZenPad 8.0 S is a quad-core, 64-bit processor from Intel and, in our review unit, 4GB of RAM. But I’m more forgiving of tablets here you don’t charge them nearly as often (and rarely away from home), and you’ll be all set when your next smartphone (or the one after it) inevitably uses the same port. For charging, Asus opted to go with USB Type-C, a choice that’s more hassle than convenience for the first smartphones that’ve made the same leap. Depending on which model you get, the ZenPad includes 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of built-in storage with support for microSD cards up to 128GB. The tablet’s cameras (8-megapixel on back, 5-megapixel up front) are adequate only when your phone is far out of reach, though, which isn’t exactly a huge surprise. Seriously, every tablet should have front-facing speakers by now. They're not revelatory, but Netflix and YouTube videos sound a touch better than what you'd get from Amazon's Kindle Fire 8.9. The ZenPad S 8.0 features dual front-facing speakers. It comes enabled by default, but thankfully you can turn it off with a quick trip to settings.Īnother improvement over the fabled Nexus 7 is sound. A thing that Asus calls "Tru2Life+" is easily the worst offender Asus claims this video processing feature leads to smoother motion, but all it really does is bring the soap opera effect I hate seeing on TVs to tablets. Unfortunately, there are also some pretty bad software gimmicks that tie into the display. Most of the time you probably won’t notice, but the screen is clearly one area where Asus cut costs. Neither of those things will ruin your Netflix or gaming experience. It's sharp, but also shares some unwanted traits with the ZenFone 2: it won't get terribly bright and the colors skew on the cooler side. That screen is a QXGA (2048 x 1536 pixel) IPS LCD. For what you're paying, this is pretty good hardware But it’s 4:3, so the choice is all yours, and the bezels are easy enough to ignore when you’re staring at the display. This feels just as good as those old Nexus tablets, though the way everything’s laid out tells me Asus wants you to hold the device in landscape. That sounds more gaudy than it really is, and the materials make the ZenPad plenty comfortable to hold. The back features a combination of etched aluminum and faux leather. It's very thin and noticeably light at 0.66 pounds (Samsung’s 8.4-inch Tab S weighs 1.2 pounds). From a design perspective, the ZenPad 8 S earns big points - again, especially for the starting price.
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