ASUS Zenfone 2 launched in South East Asia. Coming to Malaysia in May

Announced earlier this year at CES and ASUS has officially launched the successor to their popular Zenfone, the ASUS Zenfone 2 for the South East Asian region. Two models were launched, the higher end ZE551ML and its slightly lower end sibling the ZE550ML which both are having a 5.5″ display.

The higher end 2015 refresh of the Zenfone is equipped with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display and a newer quad-core 64-bit 2.3GHz Z3580 Atom processor. The ZenFone 2 (ZE551ML) is also home to a massive 4GB RAM, 32GB storage as well as a 13 megapixel f/2.0 rear and 5 megapixel front camera combo and a large 3,000 mAh battery to boot. A larger 64GB storage version is also announced as well in today’s event.

Out of the box, it will run on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop with ZenUI 2.0 on top. The smartphone is incredibly thin at 3.9mm (at the thinnest point), making it quite literally one of the thinnest on the market.

The Zenfone 2’s slightly cheaper sibling (ZE550ML) is a notch below with a 5.5″ 720p IPS display, 1.8GHz Z3560 quad-core processor and 2GB RAM under the hood. Both smartphones get an extra 5GB ASUS web storage.

In terms of price, the high-spec ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with 4GB RAM is priced at 4,499,000 Rupiah (about RM1,266) for the 64GB storage version and 3,999,000 Rupiah (RM1,125) for the smaller 32GB unit. For a lower spec alternative with a Full HD display, the ZE551ML is also available with a 1.8GHz Z3560 Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB storage at 2,999,000 Rupiah (RM849). Meanwhile its lower spec ZE550ML with a 5.5″ HD 720p display and 16GB storage is going for 2,699,000 Rupiah (about RM757). These are the prices for the Indonesian market and we reckon the Malaysian pricing could be cheaper.

Other accessories have been announced as well including the View Flip Cover at 159,000 Rupiah (RM45), ZenEar S Headphones at 699,000 Rupiah (RM196) and ZenEar Headphones at 79,000 Rupiah (RM22). Their ZenPower with 10,000mAh capacity is going for 269,000 Rupiah (RM75). Also introduced is a couple of flash photography accessory such as the LolliFlash that plugs into the Zenfone 2’s audio jack at 119,000 Rupiah (RM33) and the ZenFlash at 239,000 Rupiah (RM67).

For those who cannot wait, you can pick up the most powerful model from grey importers at RM 1,299 (before GST). ASUS Malaysia will be launching the Zenfone 2 officially in Malaysia next month on 9th May.