Build and Design
Software and UI
So let’s talk about what we loved about ZenUI 3.0:
- New wallpaper motion effects, and an all-new Theme Store from which users can download free as well as paid themes, wallpapers, icons, and ringtones.
- Multi-purposing of various buttons. Such as: Double tap home to enter one-hand mode, Long press the app switch button to take a screenshot, Double tap the fingerprint sensor to open the camera, Single tap to capture, Double tap the home screen to sleep / wake and Double-click either volume key to jump into the camera from sleep.
- ZenMotion Motion Gestures: For instance to silence a cellular call just town the device face down.
- Mobile Manager: Offers some useful services like a permissions manager, data usage tracker and a security manager all in one single place. It also has a “speed boost” app that supposedly clears your RAM.
- Game Genie: allows you to simultaneously record the screen, and also live stream to YouTube or Twitch.
Specs
5.5-inch FHD IPS+ LCD display | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor | Adreno 506 GPU | 4GB RAM | 64GB storage | 16MP rear camera + 8MP front | Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery | Android Marshmallow OS | Hybrid Dual SIM | USB Type-C
Performance
ASUS has made some huge strides since the original ZenFone and this time tough the ZenFone 3 (ZE552KL) packs a non-removable 3000mAh battery, which might not appear to be humongous. But, the Battery life is great. I’ll have no problem going all day, and I use my phone a lot. It took about 90 minutes to go from 5% to 94% charge.
Optics
The Zenfone 3 packs a 16MP rear camera which is paired up with a dual-tone LED Flash. The camera module features PDAF as well as Laser AF, f/2.0 aperture, 6P lens and 4 stop OIS. Clearly, the specs look good on paper and one might expect it delivers better performance than its competitor devices. The Zenfone 3 continues the camera quality benchmark set by the first and second generation Zenfones.
The pictures taken indoors with were excellent, with a great amount of detail and accuracy, thanks to the second-generation laser autofocus technology which comes into play. Low light shots aren’t too bad from the Zenfone 3’s camera but you’ll really want to stand still for that. But honestly, ZenFone 3 isn’t the best choice for low-light shots. Most of the shots that we took under low light conditions were grainy and had ample noise. But when it comes to pictures taken in bright daylight, the images turned out to pretty crisp with good amount of detail. The default camera app is fast and is rich in different camera modes. The only mode that we find useful is the manual mode. Manual focus, exposure, and shutter speed definitely allow for some better looking pics than the auto mode, although auto is OK for a quick point and shoot. In our testing though, we’ve stuck to the auto mode as that’s what most casual users will depend on.
What’s Good?
- Camera: The camera is the highlight of this device and captures some great looking shots.
- Battery: The battery life on the Zenfone 3 is great. With 3000mah battery it might not seem humongous, but that’s not the case. We easily got more than 3 hours of Screen-on-Time with heavy usage.
- Build Quality: The all-metal design design looks premium.
What’s Bad?
- The Bloatware: There are a lot of unnecessary apps installed on the device which tends to occupy most of the storage and also over time makes the device slow. The only good thing is that these can be uninstalled/disabled but these shouldn’t be there in first place.
- Price: Com’on at INR 27999, Asus already lost the game to Oneplus 3.
- The Glass Back: I agree glass backing looks good but it makes the device slippery. It is a fingerprint magnet. It can shatter, just like the front, and would be just as difficult to replace.
Our Verdict
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