Asus ZenFone 5Z Gets Lift to Face Unlock, EIS/OIS Auto Switch, Gesture Controls, Camera Improvements, and More via OTA Update

Asus has started rolling out a new software update to ZenFone 5Z to enable several new functionalities and enhance the overall experience of the smartphone. Asus has announced that it has started rolling out the update as a firmware over-the-air (FOTA) package with a list of camera enhancements and system-level performance improvements. Notably, this is not the first new software version for the ZenFone 5Z. The smartphone received a major update earlier this month, following an update in June as well.

According to the official changelog provided by Asus to the press, the latest software update to the ZenFone 5Z brings 12 new functionalities including 10 for the camera, alongside four camera improvements. One of the new features included in the list is 'Lift to Face Unlock', a feature that will make it easier for users to unlock the handset. It removes the need to press the Power button to enable the face unlock feature every time.

Meanwhile, Asus has also incorporated gesture navigation on the ZenFone 5Z. To recall, with Android 9 Pie, Google had taken the first step towards gesture-based navigation similar to the one in Apple iPhone X. While the traditional three buttons are available for navigation, you can switch to having a single bar visible and use gestures for navigation. Swipe up on the bar once and it opens up recent apps, swipe up again to open up the app drawer.

In terms of camera, the latest OTA update in ZenFone 5Z includes some cool new features. It will now support an Auto anti-flicker feature that will let the phone to automatically detect electricity frequency based on lighting condition and switch the frequency setting between 50Hz and 60Hz to prevent flickering. Also, users will be able to turn on EIS for 1080p at 60fps or 18:9 at 30fps video capture or they can let the camera switch to either OIS or EIS depending upon the conditions. The camera also supports 3D Noise Reduction feature in PRO mode. Additionally, the camera now supports overheat detection in video recording mode.

The latest ZenFone 5Z update brings several camera improvements as well. They include HDR functionality, Manual White Balance function in PRO mode, selfie camera. Asus has also boost audio quality in videos to 192kbps bitrate.

Since the update is available in the form of a FOTA package, it should be seeded to your ZenFone 5Z automatically. However, you can manually check its presence by visiting Settings > System > System updates.