Asus unveiled an incredible lineup in Taiwan at this year's Computex for their Zenfone 3 family with the Zenfone 3 Deluxe which takes mobile photography to the next level; the Zenfone 3, a smartphone that brings premium design and empowering performance to users; and the Zenfone 3 Ultra which has a 6.8-inch Full HD display that focuses on entertainment.
Here's a closer look at the new Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Zenfone 3 and Zenfone 3 Ultra's details, specifications, and photos:
Zenfone 3 Deluxe
The flagship smartphone is quite similar to that of the Zenfone 3 only that it has a metal case that's subtly curved on the back to provide better grip unlike most of the metallic phones in the market. Asus boasts that it's the first full metal body smartphone with invisible antenna design.
The Deluxe has a 5.7-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display and is equipped with Gorilla Glass 4. What stands out is the 23-megapixal camera which has the latest SONY IMX318 image sensor and an ASUS TriTech autofocus system that allows the camera to retain its focus on moving objects.
It also has a 3-axis EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) to provide a steady 4K video every time you shoot. In addition, there's a front facing 8-megapixel camera that's perfect for low-light selfies.
Moreover, the Deluxe has a fingerprint sensor that's perfectly positioned for the way you hold the phone and you can unlock the device in just seconds. Users can swipe it up to open the front camera and tap it to shoot. Another notable feature of the sensor is that you can double tap it to answer calls. It also allows five unique fingerprints in which you can assign it to different apps to launch it.
It runs on a Snapdragon 820 processor with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. Another noteworthy feature would be its USB-C connection that allows quick charging of the 3000mAh battery. On to the design, the Deluxe is only 4.22mm thin with a 1.3mm slim bezel giving the smartphone a 79% screen to body ratio. It comes in three colors — Titanium Grey, Glacier Silver, and Sand Gold.
Zenfone 3
The screen has a 5.5-inch FHD Super IPS+ display with 500 nits of brightness for better viewing outdoors. Its fingerprint sensor has the same location and capabilities that are found in the Deluxe version.
Zenfone 3's rear camera has the same OIS and EIS capabilities as the Deluxe and the power to record 4K videos but is only 16-megapixel. Furthermore, its front camera is exactly the same as the one on the Deluxe which is 8-megapixel.
It's running on the less powerful octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor but has up to 4GB RAM and up to 64GB of storage. While both the Zenfone 3 and Zenfone Deluxe have a 3,000mAh battery, the Zenfone 3 doesn't have the quick charge capability.
The Zenfone 3 is 7.69mm thin with a 2.1mm slim bezel giving the unit a 77.3% screen to body ratio. It comes in four colors — Shimmer Gold, Aqua Blue, Sapphire Black and Moonlight White. They will also be releasing an Artisan Series with interesting designs like Nebula, a view of the sparkly night sky and a few of their interpretation of the movement of water.
Zenfone 3 Ultra
The Ultra seems extremely large and looks more of a tablet than a phone when I first saw it. With its 6.8-inch Full HD display and Tru2Life+ Technology which features the world's first 4K TV processor for amazing contrast, sharpness, and blur-free motion, it is best for those who loves entertainment on the go.
The Ultra comes with a dual five-magnet speaker for louder sound volume and less distortion for the ultimate multimedia experience. Being the biggest Zenfone, it is 6.8mm thick with 2.44mm slim bezel giving the smartphone a 79% screen to body ratio.
While the other Zenfone 3 smartphones have the fingerprint sensor at the back, the Ultra's fingerprint reader is located on the front part which actually makes sense since you won't be holding up the phablet as much.
It is also heavier at 233g compared to the Deluxe at 170g and it's totally understandable given that it houses a 4,600mAh battery which the user clearly needs for watching videos on the device. No worries, though, the Ultra has a Quick Charge 3.0 feature and you can charge it using the power bank mode and it will charge three times faster reverse charging.
Similar to the Deluxe version, the Ultra offers the same camera specifications with 23-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front. Furthermore, it also runs on an octa-core Snapdragon 652 although the GPU is bigger than the Zenfone 3 possibly because of the 4K capability of the smartphone. The Zenfone 3 Ultra comes in three colors — Titanium Gray, Glacier Silver and Rose Pink.
Pricing for the ASUS Zenfone Deluxe starts at $499 (≈ P22,900) for the 6GB/64GB model, the Zenfone 3 with 3GB/32GB starts at $249 (≈ P11,400) and the Zenfone Ultra starts at $479 (≈ P22,000).
