Yesterday, at CES 2017, Asus unveiled the highly anticipated ZenFone 3 Zoom, the first dual camera offering from the Taiwanese electronics giant. This is the company's take against the dual camera offerings from Apple, LG, and Huawei by trying to combine their most of their different implementations altogether.
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| Dual camera goodness? |
How? The Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom is equipped with a 12 MP f/1.7 Sony IMX362 w/ 25 mm wide angle lens and 12 MP Sony f/2.8 w/ 56 mm lens for 2.3x optical zoom w/ Tri-tech AF, 4 Axis OIS, 3 Axis EIS, 4K video recording and dual tone LED flash. It can shoot in wide angle, create impressive bokeh w/o the need of software tricks, and zoom subjects up to 2.3x!
On top of that, this Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom is paired with good specs for the expected price and sleek metal unibody frame. What's even more impressive is Asus was able to squeeze the large 5,000 mAh of battery on that 7.99 mm frame.
Sounds fun right? Here's what we initially think about this device!
Disclaimer: This is Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom is an engineering unit
Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL) Specs
Display: 5.5 Inch FHD AMOLED 1920 x 1080 resolution w/ Bluelight filter, 2.5D curved glass, and Gorilla Glass 5 protection at 401 ppi
CPU: 2.0 GHz 64 Bit Snapdragon 625 octa core processor
GPU: Adreno 506
RAM: 3 GB / 4 GB
ROM: 32 GB / 64 GB expandable via micro SD card slot up to 128 GB
Back Camera: 12 MP f/1.7 Sony IMX362 w/ 25 mm wide angle lens and 12 MP Sony f/2.8 w/ 56 mm lens for 2.3x optical zoom w/ Tri-tech AF, 4 Axis OIS, 3 Axis EIS, 4K video recording and dual tone LED flash
Selfie Camera: 13 MP f/2.0 Sony IMX214 w/ wide angle lens and screen flash
Battery: 5,000 mAh w/ Quick Charge 3.0
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, LTE w/ VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, A GPS, dual SIM (hybrid)
Sensors: Accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, proximity, light, RGB, IR
Others: Fingerprint sensor, USB Type C, High-res audio certified (24 bit / 192 kHz), Colors: navy black, glacier silver, rose gold
Dimensions: 154.3 x 77 x 7.99 mm
Weight: 170 g
Price: TBC
Build Quality / Design
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| Curvy back beautiful finish! |
The Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom, boast a slim and sleek type of metal unibody frame. It has a curved design at the back and semi rounded corners w/ semi-chamfered edges and 2.5D curved glass. What's special in its construction, is the use of the new and improved Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 protection to prevent display from getting scratches and other type of damages easily.
The screen is protected with Corning's Gorilla Glass 5!
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| Top view showing the microphone |
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| 3.5 mm jack, another mic, USB Type C port, and single speaker below |
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| Hybrid dual SIM slot! |
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| Textured power button and volume rocker |
Overall, the design of this phone reminds us of a slightly more refined ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL. It is minimalist looking device with good type of curves and paint finish. Then even if there's a slight protrusion at the back of its camera, it is still a good looking handset as a whole.
Initial findings
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| 5.5 inch FHD AMOLED screen! |
1. The 5.5 Inch FHD screen is one of the few AMOLED screen of Asus. The colors pop and has a very warm tone.
2. We noticed that its battery life is very impressive due to its 5,000 mAh of battery w/ up to 3 days battery life. We also found out that it is using Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 technology that can charge from 0 to 85% in 1 hour.
3. Both the back and front cameras are very impressive. Even if it is an engineering unit, this can compete with other flagships easily. In particular we enjoyed that it can create bokeh without software manipulation. Colors are just slightly saturated, but it can be fixed via software.
5. USB Type C OTG via works, there's LED notification, there's just no lighting in its Android keys.
Camera teaser
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| Mural daylight shot |
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| It can create bokeh without the use of software tricks |
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| Normal, 2.3x zoom, and 12x digital zoom |