Fake IPS screens on ASUS devices?

[Rodrigo Yoshida]

I recently bought an ASUS zenfone 5 because I needed a dual SIM smartphone without spending too much money, but still getting a good device.

The zenfone has good specs, 5 inch 720p IPS screen, Intel dual core processor that performs pretty similar to some quad core ARM processors, 2gb RAM, 16gb storage and runs Android 4.4 and ASUS also promised to update it to Android 5.0 Lollipop. It is definitely not a high end smartphone, but it does the job.

I was happy with it, but the screen quality really disappointed me. Since ASUS says it has an IPS screen I guessed it would have good viewing angles and color accuracy like I see in many devices, even cheap ones like Moto G, but it was not the case. I usually show a lot of photos and videos to many people and some of them cannot see it clearly if they look from a different angle.

It should not happen with an IPS display, actually it behaves like a cheap LCD display found in those really simple smartphones. I made a video to demonstrate what happens. It is in Portuguese but I think you can get the point by just watching it.

So, what happened? Are they using cheaper screens, fake IPS displays? Is there a simpler IPS model that behaves like that?

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AnFopPuoPQ

 

[MRU]

I think the error is the false assumption that all IPS panels are made equally or use exactly the same technology. There is quite a lot of variations. But yeah, I certainly wouldn't be happy with a display like that myself either.

 

[mattopotamus]

wow, that is pretty shocking. I agree that not all panels are the same, but IPS screens are usually praised for viewing angles.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Both are bad but that was absolutely horrid. Have you checked to see if it's just an anomaly? Are other zenfone 5 users experiencing similar quality?

 

[Rodrigo Yoshida]

I think the error is the false assumption that all IPS panels are made equally or use exactly the same technology. There is quite a lot of variations. But yeah, I certainly wouldn't be happy with a display like that myself either.

I imagine there must be different types of IPS, but they all are advertised as having good viewing angles and it is not the case with my zenfone, it looks like a really cheap display.

wow, that is pretty shocking. I agree that not all panels are the same, but IPS screens are usually praised for viewing angles.

That was what I thought, if I knew it was like that I would definitely not buy it.

Both are bad but that was absolutely horrid. Have you checked to see if it's just an anomaly? Are other zenfone 5 users experiencing similar quality?

My brother bought one too and it behaves like mine. But other zenfone owners are saying theirs are not like that, so I assume it does not happen to all zenfones.

This smartphone is getting very popular here in Brazil, but it is almost always out of stock, I guess they might be using a cheaper screen to meet the demand. I have seen other manufacturers do the same thing.