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ZenUI is the Android custom skin from Asus for its majority of its phones. Asus has been developing this custom skin for its phones since the inception of Zenfone. It is a neat UI with nifty features but is less known among people. The latest iteration in the ZenUI is the ZenUI 6 which was announced along side with Zenfone 6/Asus 6z and to everyone’s surprise, it is a clean and close to stock Android like UI. From times when this UI was heavy and bloated with various apps, this UI is certainly a change considering removing of unnecessary apps and features. Also, what if the upcoming Zenfone Max Pro M3 also comes with ZenUI 6 if Asus is done with stock Android on its mid-range phone. That only time will tell when its announced. I recently received the ZenUI 6 on my Zenfone 5z along with Android 10. Let’s take a look at the features and UI aspects of ZenUI 6-

1. Emphasis on one-handed operation

This has to do with the UI elements in which the tabs of various stock apps have been shifted to the bottom like in clock and phone app. Even in Google apps like YouTube, Google News, Google Drive etc this has been implemented and is also infact with Android’s material design guidelines. This results in easier reach ability and that’s not all, even pop-up menus have been shifted to the bottom which were previously appearing at the centre infact most UIs’ have menus on the centre it self. Even while opening folders on the homescreen, it is easier to reach. This isn’t a feature by any means but just that simplifying the UI at the same time improving reachability.

2. Notification Panel similar to stock Android

The notification panel is completely overhauled and looks so much similar to stock Android along with Asus’ own tweaks. This is an important factor for ZenUI because in ZenUI 5 it wasn’t that great and a bit outdated as well. Though all the nifty features like screenshot toggle, FM Radio and calculator are still present along with a brand new screen recorder tool. As you can see from the screenshots below, brightness slider is a bit revamped in ZenUI 6 as opposed to stock Android 10.

3. Weather temperature on lock screen

This feature also has been directly taken from stock Android 10 generally found on Google Pixel phones. It is very handy when you can get to know the current weather temperature from the lock screen itself. Also not many phones have this feature. On ZenUI 5 it was just a weather animation which worked like once in 3-5 minutes but now its gone and replaced by exact temperature on lock screen. Speaking of lockscreen, it has been completly overhauled as you can see in the images.

4. Most number of navigation options on any Andriod skin (atleast on Android 10)

Asus has provided literally 4 different types of navigation options (buttons to navigate throughout the UI like home, back & recents) meaning giving the user immense amount of options to choose and which he/she is comfortable with. It still retained the Pie pill home button which other brands like OnePlus have removed it. When a user gets used to a specific navigation type, it is hard to go back. The Android 10 specific navigational gestures are smooth as butter on Zenfone 5z atleast.

5. Miscellaneous

• App drawer changed – In ZenUI 5 the app drawer was horizontal while that has been changed in ZenUI 6 and now is vertical based app drawer. This makes it more modern and on par with other custom skins
• Swipe to delete alarms, timers – In ZenUI 6 now have the ability to swipe the alarms and timers in the stock clock app to delete it rather then long pressing.
• Game Genie improvements – Improvements have been made to the game genie (gaming tool on ZenUI) like addition of locking brightness so that auto-brightness doesn’t interfere while gaming as well as option to lock the display when not in use.
• Tons of bloat like Page Marker, ZeniMoji, Selfie Master, Beauty Live, Kids Mode, Easy Mode, weather animation setting, AI charging, WebStorage, Go2Pay, Report Location in Safeguard, and Yandex cloud option in File Manager. Though for some Kids mode might be useful. I used Page Marker once and indeed it was useful. But majority of people didn’t consider using them also ZenUI 6’s aim was to go towards a stock and clean software experience. AI Charging honestly never worked for me.
• The status bar also has been completely revamped. Notice the placement of the clock on ZenUI 5 and then on ZenUI 6.
• Other improvement and UI changes are coming soon to like ability to change different power menus which is already rolling out to Zenfone 6 which also received Android 10 a month before the Zenfone 5z.

ZenUI 6 is certainly a step in the right direction. Also recently Asus has been very aggressive then ever in terms of software updates infact the Zenfone 5z has received more security updates then it’s rival OnePlus 6. Gone are the days when Asus was criticised for bloaty and cartoon like UI with rare software updates. It has certainly stepped up it game. This is a win win situation for its fans and future customers.

You can check out all the comparisons in our Instagram post here

To checkout the Zenfone 5z Android 10 with ZenUI 6 changelog click here