Asus has made an impressive entry in the premium smartphone market with ZenFone 3. The ZenFone 3 houses mid-range specs in a beautiful body thats surprisingly affordable. It feels especially premium compared to other phones that stick with metal or even plastic builds. And its USB Type-C port brings the handset into the growing ranks of phones that switched to the new standard...Geek Winky presents you a review for this premium smartphone
Asus Zenfone 3 Review
Before entering into the further details, let’s tell you the detailed specifications of this smartphone.Configuration
Display - 5.5-inch Super IPS + capacitive touchscreen
Screen Resolution - 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density)
Body Dimension - 6.01 in x 3.05 in x 0.30 in
Operating System - Android OS, v6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Processor - Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625
GPU - Aderno 506
Storage - 32GB or 64GB
External Storage - microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
RAM - 3GB or 4GB
Camera - Rear 16MP, Front 2MP
Battery - 3000 mAh Li-Ion (Non-removable battery)
Connectivity - 4G Dual SIM (Nano-SIM/ Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Technology - GSM/HSPA/LTE
In The Box
Apart from the main phone unit, the Asus Zenfone 3 package comes with a USB Type-C cable and charger. It supports fast charging that adds 2 hours of talk time by 5 minutes charging. There were a couple of manuals, which were in Chinese, and a headset with some extr a earbuds.
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| Image Source - Foss Bytes |
Design & Build
I have to hand it to Asus, this is indeed the first Zenfone that actually feels truly premium and it gathers plenty of attention from onlookers as well. While I am not a fan of gold coloured smartphones it is the build quality and finish that would easily fool anyone into believing that this is a premium, flagship smartphone.
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Hold it in your hand and there are no bumps or breaks in the construction. Asus seems to have found its sweet spot with the combination of metal and glass in what feels like a seamless design. And seamless it is!
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| Image Source - Foss Bytes |
There appear to be no antenna bands running across the back of this smartphone; all you will find is some well rounded 2.5D glass on the front and the back that’s made by Corning. As for the antenna bands, they run at the top and bottom parts of the metal frame, which is again well-rounded, with a 40-degree bevel-cut edge that adds to the seamless feel.
Camera Performance
I was thoroughly impressed by the Zenfone 3’s daylight imaging capabilities considering that it is a ‘Zenfone’. Having used mid-range and p remium Zenfones in the past, I always had my reservations about Zenfones having unimpressive sensors. This time around things have changed and we do have a winner. Well sort of.
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| Image Source - Google |
This is because Asus’s new Zenfone 3 packs in a Sony IMX 298. The sensor is quite a capable one and also makes an appearance on the OnePlus 3 and the Xiaomi Mi 5, two smartphones that this Zenfone 3 will be pitted against when it comes to pricing.
While the sensor is the same, it all comes down to processing and this time around, Asus seems to have done a better job. But it’s not without its flaws.
Sound
The audio aspect of the phone was a disappointing experience for me. While the phone’s five-magnet mono speaker is loud and clear, it lacks bass and depth. I tried to adjust the audio settings using the preloaded AudioWizard app, but it didn’t help me much. Compared to the inbuilt speakers, the audio experience using headphones was better. Asus supplies earphone that offers clear sound and good bass as compared to phone’s mono speaker.
Battery Life
With 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, battery life was not expected to be a problem with the Zenfone 3 thanks to the chip’s 14nm manufacturing process. With that said the software too seems to play a big role here and helps optimise the performance levels to deliver the required battery life.
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| Image Source - Google |
T o be fair, almost 12 hours on our battery life test is an achievement. We had it set in Performance mode which keeps operations super smooth and the smartphone certainly seems to have delivered. You can expect much better battery life with other, less power hungry modes.
Conclusion
Asus ZenFone 3 is a beautiful and lightweight smartphone. Its metal and 2.5D Gorilla Glass finishing on both sides make it very attractive. Its Full HD display delivers natural colors and crisp images. The camera of ZenFone 3 is fast and captures great shots. Swift performance and great battery are other plus points. However, a big chunk of bloatware and unintuitive ZenUI are something that could’ve been avoided. Overall, this direct competitor of OnePlus 3 is a great buy for those who are a great fan of good design, power, and performance.
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| Image Source - Google |
PRICE
Asus Zenfone 3 (32GB) - Rs. 21,000 @AMAZON
Asus Zenfone 3 (64GB) - Rs. 26,500 @AMAZON
Hope this article provides you the required information for the premium class smartphone Asus Zenfone 3.
For any queries use the comment section provided below.
Article By : Atul Agrawal, Technical Writer @GeekWinky
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