It’s the battle of premium mid-range contenders in our latest phone off.
This is the Vivo V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 5.5 Ultimate Comparison.
Table of Contents
Design
Starting with the Zenfone 3 5.5, the chamfered metal frame is sandwiched by 2.5D curved glass panels.
Placed at the reflective glass backing will be a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor reminiscent of the volume rocker of the older Zenfone 2.
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Right above it will be a protruding camera flanked by the dual-tone LED flash, phase detection and laser autofocus.
The top portion is a standard affair with the earpiece, LED notification light, ambient light and proximity sensor and the selfie camera.
The chin will be housing the non-backlit navigation keys.
Up top sits the headphone jack and a noise canceling mic. While the bottom houses the USB Type-C port and a speaker grille.
On the other hand, literally, is the iPhon-esque design of the V5 Plus clad in metal with the same antenna line location.
The main camera with LED flash is situated at the top-left portion with the Vivo logo squarely at the middle.
The top and bottom antenna lines run along the edge and curves to the side to meet the front panel.
The chin will be housing the home button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor flanked by two non-interchangeable back-lit navigation keys.
Nothing will be seen at the top portion of the frame.
The headphone jack resides at the bottom along with the microUSB port, and the speaker grille.
The V5 Plus has a smaller footprint thanks to its compact and rounded form making it easier to hold.
Zenfone 3 5.5 might appeal more to others with the dual 2.5D curved glass panels compared to the tired Apple look – making it the winner for this round.
Display
Both contenders will be battling out in the 5.5-inch 1080p category with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 as its first line of defense.
It’s IPS LCD for the V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 with a Super IPS panel.
As per standard LCD flair, viewing angles are great with natural color reproduction but the V5 Plus had a bit of an oomph in the brightness factor, comparing.
Response time will be the only difference for the two panels but this is hardly noticeable during usage.
Both met with no problems when being used under direct sunlight.
We’re giving this one a tie.
Camera
Both contenders will be sporting a 16MP PDAF f/2.0 main camera with laser autofocus for the Zenfone 3 5.5.
During daylight, the V5 Plus shot the most accurate rendition of the image while the Zenfone 3 5.5 had some white balance issues seen here.
Indoor shots were sharper and cooler for the Zenfone 3 5.5 but the difference is hardly noticeable for the untrained eye.
The same can be said even on low-light scenarios when taking photos of objects in close proximity.
Even with LED flash, the details and colors are on par with one another but V5 Plus provided a brighter image.
Shooting at night will only capture lights and a few objects for both while the Zenfone 3 5.5. had better handling on color reproduction.
Video recording maxes out at 4K for both our contenders but the Zenfone 3 pulls ahead with Optical Image Stabilization in tow.
Selfie games are upped on the V5 Plus with a whopping 20MP main camera together with an 8MP right beside it.
The Zenfone 3 5.5 tries to battle it with a single 8MP selfie sensor.
Selfies are sharper and brighter with an added depth of field, making the subject, me, stand out even more.
Selfies at night are not taken in vain as the Vivo V5 Plus also include a front-facing LED flash.
You decide in the comments section which one does it for you but the Vivo V5 Plus definitely pulls ahead in the selfie game.
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Performance
Both our contenders will be coming into the fight with a Snapdragon 625 clocked at 2.0Ghz paired with 4GB RAM.
The experiences stem away from that, however, as either smartphone will be coming with different flavors of android. It’s the FunTouch OS for the V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 with ZenUI.
Antutu benchmark scores reveal that the V5 Plus pulls slightly ahead with 62,524 points compared to the 58,182 of the Zenfone 3 5.5.
As a capable mid-range chip, daily task and casual games will be a piece of cake for our contenders.
Even with a few apps running in the background, performance is still smooth overall.
Either device performed decently well with smooth gameplay when playing Real Racing 3 and Gangstar Vegas 4.
As for the fingerprint sensor, the V5 Plus unlocks a tad faster but met with the same accuracy for both of our contenders.
We are giving this one a tie.
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Battery
It will be 3160mAh for the V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 at 3000mAh of juice.
Endurance testing revealed the Zenfone 3 5.5 provided longer usage time with 4hours of screen on time compared to the 3.5hours of the V5 Plus.
When charging both devices, Zenfone 3 5.5 took 2 hours while the V5 Plus finished 10mins earlier.
Zenfone 3 5.5 wins this one.
Audio
When watching videos and listening to music via loudspeaker, the V5 Plus produces a crisper tone that was more enjoyable to listen to.
Support for hi-res audio playback via audio accessories are available for both for a better immersive experience.
V5 Plus wins this one.
Pricing and Verdict
Vivo V5 Plus currently retails for Php19,990 or $402 USD.
While ASUS Zenfone 3 5.5 starts at Php18,995 or 380 USD.
Both are capable of being your next daily driver but the V5 Plus makes it more an attracting buy for its dual-selfie camera for a thousand peso more.
What do you think of the Vivo V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 5.5? Let us know in the comment section below.
Full Specifications
| SPECS, PH Price | Vivo V5 Plus | ASUS ZenFone 3 5.5 |
| Display | 5.5-inch 1080p FHD IPS LCD, 401ppi | 5.5-inch Super IPS+ 1080p FHD, 401ppi |
| Size | 7.26mm thick, 159g weight | 7.7mm thick, 155g weight |
| Design | All metal unibody, antenna lines, 2.5 curved Gorilla Glass 5 | metal frame, 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass, back/front glass panel |
| Colors | Gold | Sapphire Black, Moonlight White, Shimmer Gold |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset | Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset |
| Processor | 8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 | 8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| Graphics | Adreno 506 | Adreno 506 |
| Memory | 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, microSD card up to 256GB | 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB internal, microSD card up to 256GB |
| Main Camera | 16 MP f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, LED flash | 16 MP f/2.0, laser/phase detection autofocus, OIS (4-axis), dual-LED(dual-tone) flash |
| Multimedia | 4K video, 1080p @ 30fps | 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30fps |
| Front camera | Dual 20 MP + 8 MP f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, Sony IMX376, 1080p | 8MP f2.0, 1080p |
| Connectivity | GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | WCDMA: 850/900/2100MHz | 4G LTE, WiFi , Bt, GPS, hybrid dual-nano sim |
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz 4G LTE (Cat. 6), WiFi ac, Bt 4.2, GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, hybrid dual-nano sim tray |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (upgradable to 7.0 Nougat) |
| Software | FunTouch OS 3.0 | ZenUI 3.0 |
| Battery | 3160mah | 3000mah |
| Ports | microUSB, 3.55mm headphone jack | USB Type-C, 3.55mm headphone jack |
| Official Price | Php19,990 Philippine peso or $402 | Php18,995 Philippine peso or 380 USD |
| Availability date | February-2017 | May-2016 |
| Where to buy | Vivo Stores | ASUS Stores |
