Announced in Taipei a month ago, Asus Zenfone 3 will be officially released in the Philippine market in the coming weeks. We unbox and get our hands on the two Zenfone 3 models, the top-end ZE552KL with 4GB RAM and the lone ZE520KL model.
Table of Contents
Unboxing
Both boxes came in black with the unit in Sapphire Black color. Usual suspects can be found in the box including the starter guides, 2.0A wall charger, stereo earphones, and the Type-C USB data cable.
Design and build hands-on
Going on the hardware, both models share similarities and only separated by the screen size, the RAM, and the battery. The bigger model features 5.5-inch IPS+ LCD panel while the smaller Zenfone 3 houses a 5.2-inch with both having 1080p resolution and Gorilla Glass 3 proofing.
One of the big improvements in design on the new Zenfone is the curved or beveled glass on both front and back while this is backed by a plastic frame. The microUSB is now replaced by a reversible USB type-C port with the 3.5mm audio jack positioned on top.
Staying for another season is the non-backlit capacitive keys on the bottom. Across the screen are the LED notification light, earpiece, and 8MP selfie camera.
All models have a hybrid card slot, which you get to choose between a microSD or 2nd SIM for the slot.
On the back, you can find the fingerprint sensor, which is impressive in terms of speed and accuracy. It’s positioned along the 16MP f2.0 main camera, laser focus assistance, and dual LED flash.
Camera
Our first sample shots show improvements over the older Zenfone 2 shooter with great color reproduction and really good detail handling both in daylight and low light shooting. For in-depth camera test, please check our full review of Zenfone 3 camera.
Performance and benchmark
In terms of performance, the two Zenfone 3 models are powered by the same octa-core Snapdragon 625 chipset with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB for the 5.5-inch.
Antutu benchmark scored averagely while actual gaming test is promising. We played NBA 2K16 in high graphic settings without getting hiccups or lag issues.
Battery and charging
Battery juice is 3000mAh non-removable for the 5.5-inch, so far the battery life looks promising too but we will reserve our final judgment on our review.
For the audio, an FM Radio and high-res bit rate support are present. Meanwhile, the single mono speaker is located at the bottom.
Pricing
Official prices for both are yet to become official. But our estimate is about P12k to P13k for the smaller model and P15k to P18k for the bigger Zenfone 3.
Asus Zenfone 3 Full specs, Official price, Release date in the Philippines
- Display: 5.5-inch Full HD 1080p LCD IPS+ (ZE552KL model), 5.2-inch 1080p (520KL model), Gorilla Glass 3
- Design: Metal frame, curved Gorilla Glass 3
- CPU: Snapdragon 625 octa-core
- CPU: Octa-core 2.0GHz processor
- GPU: Adreno 506 graphics
- RAM: 3GB or 4GB (ZE552KL)
- Memory: 32GB or 64GB internal storage, microSD up to 200GB
- Camera: 16MP PixelMaster, f2.0 aperture, 4K video, dual-LED flash, laser focus, phase detection, OIS, HDR
- Selfie: 8MP f2.0, wide-angle, 1080p video
- Connectivity: 4G LTE dual-SIM, GPS, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC
- Ports: USB type-C
- Security: Fingerprint scanner
- Battery: 3000mAh for ZE552KL, 2600 for ZE520KL
- OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Zen UI 3.0
- Colors: Shimmer Gold, Aqua Blue, Moonlight White, Sapphire Black, Special: Nebula, Crystal Frost, Glaze
- Price:Â estimated at $300 / P12k-13k for ZE520KL, $380 / P16k-18k for ZE552KL with 4GB RAM, 64GB model
- Release date:Â August 2016 availability in the Philippines
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