Mid-range Androids
Asus Zenfone 8 or Moto G100?
Can you transform £500-ish into a capable and desirable phone? Asus and Motorola have a couple of mid-priced marauders that say you can…
Asus Zenfone 8 What’s the story?
If you’re cursed with stumpy fingers, then modern smartphones probably plunge you into a bottomless pit of woe. Most blowers these days are super-sized monstrosities, so the rise of mini mobiles like the Google Pixel 5 and Apple iphone 12 Mini is genuine cause for celebration.
Asus has also noticed this trend and come to our rescue with the 5.9in Zenfone 8.
This handset packs some seriously beefy specs, including a Snapdragon 888 chipset and 120Hz AMOLED screen, yet squashes it all down to a form that even wee Jimmy Krankie could comfortably wield.
Is it any good?
We love the Zenfone 8’s compact build, which makes one-handed use an absolute joy, though the bland back means it’s not exactly a visually thrilling phone.
The display is stunning and ZENUI 8 doesn’t mess with Android 11 too much. Performance is flawless owing to that
888 chip and the dual-lens camera setup is perfectly adequate at this price.
If not for the battery life – around four hours of screen-on time is sub-par even for a device this size – we’d have no hesitation in recommending the Zenfone 8 to anyone looking for a compact smartphone.
Price
from £539 / stuff.tv/zenfone8
● 5.9in 2400x1080 120Hz AMOLED
● Snapdragon 888 ● 8GB ● 128/256GB ● Android 11 ● 64+12MP rear, 12MP front ● 4000mah ● 148x69x8.9mm, 169g
Stuff says ★★★★✩
A solid mid-priced Android with powerful performance but disappointing battery life
Moto G100 What’s the story?
The G100 isn’t your typical Moto G: rather than being dirt-cheap, it stretches the G series into proper mid-range territory… and does so with a productivity twist called Ready For. You could buy the G100 on its own, but Moto would prefer you to pick it up with a dock and cable for hooking up to a TV or computer monitor.
Think Samsung DEX and you’re most of the way there… only without paying flagship money for the privilege. Now throw in five cameras (plus a TOF sensor), a Snapdragon 870 and a 90Hz screen, and it threatens to be a compelling option at this price.
Is it any good?
In contrast to the Zenfone 8, the G100 is a powerful mid-ranger with decent battery life to go alongside a screen that will appeal to gamers. A near-stock Android experience leaves little to grumble about.
Only two of the rear camera sensors are worth writing home about, though, and the second selfie-cam is a needless indulgence. The Ready For dock and software work well as a laptop alternative, and with DEX limited to high-end Galaxy phones this is a much cheaper path to desktop domination. But if you’ve no use for it, there’s little on offer here that you won’t find elsewhere for less.
Price
£450 / stuff.tv/g100
● 6.7in 2520x1080 90Hz LCD
● Snapdragon 870 ● 8GB ● 128GB
● Android 11 ● 64+16+2MP rear, 16+8MP front ● 5000mah ● 168x74x9.7mm, 207g
Stuff says ★★★★✩
Breaks new ground for the Moto G lineup, but only to limited effect