It’s been exactly two years since the original ZenFone was launched, many of us were so eagerly waiting to buy it. Once we have bought the device, we were pretty disappointed because the first generation had many issues like the battery didn’t even last for half a day even with moderate usage. The things have changed quite a lot, and then Asus came up with the Zenfone 2 which was a huge hit among the consumers. Now, it is again back with its new flagship device the Asus Zenfone 3. Now let us dive in and see is the Asus Zenfone 3 worth your bucks?
Asus Zenfone 3 Specifications
- 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super IPS display with up to 500cd/m2 brightness, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor with Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB RAM with 64GB storage (ZE552KL), expandable memory with microSD
- Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Zen UI 3.0
- Hybrid Dual SIM (micro+nano/microSD)
- 16MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, PDAF, Laser AF, f/2.0 aperture, 6P Largan lens, 4 Stop OIS
- 8MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, 88-degree wide-angle lens
- Fingerprint sensor
- Dimensions: 152.59 x 77.38 x 7.69mm; Weight:155g
- 4G LTE with VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac (2.4 and 5GHz) MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C
- 3000mAh battery
Design
Let us begin by talking about the Design, while both the first two generations were plastic bodies; the Zenfone 3 is a complete beast. The complete metal body and the glass on the device look completely gorgeous. This device comes with a 5.5inch full HD display which runs a brush metal front around it.
The screen is protected by a 2.5D curved glass, and it gives you a feel of two color designs. You’ve got an 8MP camera right up in the front to capture some amazing selfies with your loved ones. This time instead of placing it on the back, the volume rockers are placed on the ride side along with the power button, both of them are made up of solid metal.
Thanks to the latest USB Type C which offers fast charging. Though the back of the device is a fingerprint magnet, it looks gorgeous. You get the camera in between, and the led flash is towards the left and whereas the laser autofocus on the right, and of course the fingerprint scanner is right below the camera.
Software
Out of the box, the device comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow which runs along with the ZenUI 3.0. Right from the pre-installed apps to the lock screen, we can see customizations everywhere. As usual, the lock screen will be showing you the time, date, weather and all your notifications.
Thanks to the ZenUI, now you can customize your home screen with the help of tons and tons of themes which are available for free. The beast comes with 26 inbuilt apps which come very handy. You get permission manager, security manager, and even a data usage tracker all at one single place.
Performance
In simple terms, this device is a power packed beast. It is powered by 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 processor and is coupled with Adreno 506 GPU which is the best in its class. The reason behind not using the latest Snapdragon 820 processor, is because they want to avoid all the heating and battery related issues.
Multitasking on this device should never be a problem because this processor is paired up with 6GB of RAM. Even if you are a heavy user you won’t be finding any issues, and if you are moderate users, then congrats buddy your mobile will be running smooth as silk, you will be experiencing ultimate smooth operations.
Camera
Zenfone’s were always good when it comes to the camera aspect, but now the Zenfone 3 is much better. The rear camera is a 16MP shooter along with the dual tone LED flash. The camera comes with Laser focusing system, which means your object will now be focused within milliseconds.
The camera quality of the Zenfone 3 is way better when compared to the Zenfone 2. All the images are crystal clear with natural colors. In most of the situations, you can get descent shots just by using the auto mode. The one good thing which we like is the superfast laser auto focusing system, by fast we mean blazingly fast. Even the low light shots are too good with lower noise levels.
Display
The display is one of the most important aspects of the device because that’s where you are going to stare all day long. Zenfone knows the importance of display, so the Zenfone 3 comes with full HD 1080P display with 400 PPI, so it is just going to be a delight for your eyes. The display looks very bright, and the colors are vibrant as well. The viewing angles are perfect, and you won’t find any issues with the display. You won’t be having any issuing viewing the display even in bright sunlight, the text on display looks pretty sharp too.
Connectivity & Battery Life
When it comes to the connectivity, it comes with each and everything which you would expect. Right from the NFC to USB type C, it comes with everything. This device supports 4G LTE VoLTE and comes with Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS as well.
Talking about the SIM slots, we get hybrid SIM so now you can also expand your internal storage if you ran out of memory. Talking about the battery, Zenfone 3 comes with a built-in battery which is 3000 mAh. I’m pretty sure that this will be lasting you a complete day if you are a moderate user. Anyways, as the Zenfone 3 comes with fast charging, you don’t even need to worry about the battery life.
Conclusion
The Good Things
- Battery life – Compared to the previous generations, the battery life, has been improved a lot. It would take around 90 minutes for you to charge your device from 4% to 97%. So it would last you all day long without any issues.
- ZenUI – To be honest, I hate skins, and I love pure Android, but trust me ZenUI is awesome and clean UI.
- Camera – The pictures taken from this mobile are amazing, there is no compromise when it comes to the clarity. Even with the auto mode low light shots comes amazing, all in all, camera is pretty good on this device.
- Screen – The screen is bright, it is pretty bright that you won’t any difficulty in reading even in the harsh sunlight conditions.
- Price – The price of this device is a plus point, It is priced at just Rs.27,999 which is quite cheap when we compare it to the features which are provided.
The Not So Good Things
- Capacitive Keys – The capacitive keys are not backlight, so it makes impossible for the user to see and use them in the dark.
- Glass Back – The back looks gorgeous, no doubt in that. But the back gets smudged to hell; it is like a double fingerprint magnet it attracts a lot of fingerprints. Putting up a case is highly recommended.
- Audio – The speaker on the device is pretty loud, but the base isn’t that great. So if you are a base lover, then you need to tweak with the inbuilt equalizer.
- Bloatware – Though the apps are useful, this bloatware would annoy any user. The device comes with 26 pre-installed apps out of which a couple of them could be uninstalled, and the other can be disabled.
So if you want to buy a smartphone around this budget, then I would recommend the Asus Zenfone 3 to you. The performance of the device is pretty smooth, and you don’t even need to worry about the RAM management. So what do you think about the device? Do let me know in the comments section down below.