Asus announced Zenfone series for the first time in the year 2014 at CES, Las Vegas. Over the period of two years, this smartphone series evolved as one the most formidable brand smartphone. In 2016, targeting high-end customers the Taiwanese gadget maker first announced Zenfone 3 at Computex 2016. The series was launched in India in a spectacular event in Delhi in August. The series currently has a total of 6 variants (Zenfone 3, Deluxe, Ultra, Max, Selfie, Laser) and it seems Asus is rolling them into the market one by one.
Zenfone 3 Review:
The Design and Display:
Asus made itself as a name synonymous with beautiful and elegant design, and the Zenfone 3 is no exception to it. Zenfone 3 sports an all 6.16mm all metallic body with a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass both on the front and rear. The trademark “Zen Design” i.e., Asus’s signature concentric-circle pattern at the rear makes the gadget look classy. And the cookie point is it just weighs 155 grams. The device has a 7.7mm overall side profile and features a fingerprint sensor at the rear.
Zenfone 3 features a 5.5-inch display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass protection. The upgraded ZenUI is another takeaway from the series. The 600 nit brightness makes the view soo good that one can read on the bright screen in almost all conditions. And thanks to 2.5D display glass and a Bluelight Filter mode options, the experience is even more enhanced. With a 77.3% body to screen ratio, the device is one of the best in Design and Display.
Camera:
The gadget features a 16MP camera on the rear side and an 8MP front camera. The cameras are powered by PixelMaster, a technology developed by ASUS that combines hardware, software and optical design to deliver better quality images in any light environment. The Asus Pixel Master technology combines to 4 pixels into one to catch 4 times more light under low light conditions. The TriTech autofocus which combines the laser autofocus, OIS and EIS together results in some stunning images. The Super Resolution Mode option helps the users to create a super-high resolution 64MP photos. Other exciting camera features include Miniature Mode, Time Rewind Mode, Gif Animation Mode, All Smiles Mode. All these amazing features make it one of the best camera-centric smartphone available in the market.
Find Few Pics taken from this gadget here
Battery: The gadget comes with a 3,000mAh inbuilt battery and offers 517 hours of standby time while it offers a decent 32.8 hours of 3G talk time and 17.8 hours of 4G browsing.
The device is powered by Snapdragon 625, a powerful mobile processor featuring eight ARM Cortex A53 cores and a speed of 2.0GHz. The processor comes with an integrated X9 LTE, and Qualcomm Adreno 506 PC-class graphics and uses about 35% less power per day compared to the older Snapdragon 617 processor.
Zen UI:
The refreshed Zen UI comes with several apps like ASUS Game Center, Calculator, Camera, AudioWizard (Equalizer), Clock, Contacts, Do It Later (Todo List), File Manager, Flashlight, FM Radio, Gallery, Laser Ruler, MiniMovie, Mobile Manager, MyASUS, Phone, Quick Memo, PhotoCollage, Share Link (WiFi file transfer), Sound Recorder, Splendid (Screen calibration), Weather, ZenChat, ZenCircle, and ZenFone Care.
The device runs on the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS and the brand new OS comes with a set of exciting features. The ZenMotion settings help users to turn on several interesting features like:
Motion Gesture settings:
- These have flip gesture setup gesture when you are receiving a call, flipping the device down will turn it into silent mode.
- Hands up gesture is where you lift the device to your ear to answer calls automatically without tapping the screen.
- One hand mode is where you see the interface getting smaller to help you reach the corners with the same hand.
- The size of the entire interface can be changed once you enter the mode, so this is a very helpful feature for those who have always used smaller devices and are finding it hard to adjust to the large screen when it comes to usage.
Touch Gesture settings
- Drawing alphabets on turned off screen would turn on certain functions
- Swipe up to wake up screen Gestures on the dark screen.
- Double Tap to Wake
- Double Tap to Turn off screen
Easy Mode: The ZenUI comes with a good Easy Mode option that helps users with easy to navigate UI when the mode is on. Kids Mode is another important feature that comes inbuilt in this device.
Final Conclusion:
The ASUS ZenFone 3 3GB of RAM variant comes with a 32GB internal memory and is priced at Rs. 21,999, while the 4GB RAM variant comes with 64GB RAM variant and is priced at Rs. 27,999. The 3GB RAM variant is the best go if you are looking for a gadget under Rs. 25,000. The smartphone undoubtedly competes with the likes of OnePlus 3 and Le Eco Le 2.