ASUS has finally made the Zenfone 3 Zoom official.
The first Zenfone Zoom wasn’t really a pretty face. Yes, the front is simple enough and reminiscent of the Zenfone 2 line, but the back was plagued with a leather that has a large circular disk that enables it to have 3x optical zoom lens embossed out. With the Zenfone 3 Zoom, ASUS took a completely different approach.
Its failed attempt to duplicate the success of the look-alike Nokia Lumia 1020 prompted the change. The Taiwanese electronics giant mixed two of its most popular smartphones and hammered them into one solid device. The Zenfone 3 Zoom is what you get when you fuse the Zenfone 3 Max and regular ZF 3 together, plus the added value of a two rear camera configuration.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom Specs
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Zen UI 3.0
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby (Hybrid)
- 5.5-inch Super AMOLED Gorilla Glass 5 Display, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~401ppi
- 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor
- Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 128GB
- Dual 12-megapixel rear camera with PDAF, 2.3x optical zoom, EIS, OIS, dual-LED flash
- 13-megapixel front camera
- Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Wi-Fi hotspot
- Fingerprint scanner
- USB Type-C
- 4G, LTE
- Bluetooth 4.2
- GPS with A-GPS
- Dimensions: 154.3 x 77 x 7.99 mm
- Weight: 170 g
- 5,000mAh battery
We got the chance to check out an engineering unit of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom so we’re sharing some of our initial impressions during our hands-on.
Instead of improving upon its predecessor, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom looks more refined and elegant without the need of having an extravagant design. Its simplistic nature reminds me a lot of the Zenfone 3 Max, which also has a metal body. From the bulky 12mm thickness, it’s now down to 7.99mm.
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At the back, the new dual camera setup sits nicely with the built-in fingerprint sensor. The dual 12-megapixel sensor features the company’s new TriTech+ technology together with a host of new other software enhancements. There’s dual-pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF), laser focus system, and an improved subject tracking autofocus.
It’s also the first feature the ASUS SuperPixel technology, a system which can lessen noise reduction and intelligently adjust ISO levels on the fly in post production. According to the company, it has two and half times greater light sensitivity compared to iPhone 7 Plus.
The selfie camera has 13-megapixels and the company’s proprietary software features are here as well. The likes of HDR Pro, Beautification, GIF Animation, Selfie Panorama, and Time Lapse mode can help improve shots taken using this phone.
Looking around the interface, it’s evident that it has been worked on over the past couple of months because it’s smoother than ever. While not much has changed, its speed and fluidity are really commendable. What we have here is an engineering unit, so there will definitely be more optimizations on the final release. ASUS tells us that even the design is not yet strictly in its end form, noting that they may have slight variations on the consumer release.
We’ve also checked out the Always-on panel option which is quite similar to Samsung’s implementation. When the screen is turned off and on standby, the user can still check the date and time of the day. There’s also multiple designs available ranging from simple, flashy, cute, and more.
Zenfone 3 Zoom Price and Release Date
On the inside, it’s very much like the ASUS Zenfone 3 (read our review). It’s also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor partnered with 4GB of RAM and Adreno 506 GPU. But what I like most about the Zenfone 3 Zoom is its drastic increase to 5,000mAh battery. That’s a 66 percent improvement from 3,000mAh.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom will be launched globally starting February. Pricing and availability information of the device are not yet available, but sources say that it will not go beyond ~Php27,000 ($540).