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[Rafy]

Today at Computex, as part of their annual Zen press conference, ASUS lifted the lid on the Zenfone 3 series. In previous Zenfone generations, the Zenfone has been one of the premier devices featuring Intel’s Atom smartphone chipset, however due to the announcement that Intel has cancelled their Atom smartphone ‘Broxton’ program ASUS is going all in with a series of Qualcomm chipsets, including the custom Kryo based Snapdragon 820 and also the first 14nm Snapdragon 625 device.

The Zenfone 2 line is known for having numerous, region specific models over its lifespan. To start, the Zenfone 3 will come in three formats and sizes: the base Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL), the premium Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL) and the media-consumption focused Zenfone 3 Ultra (ZU680KL).

Device Details:

• Zenfone 3
  
  

  The Asus ZenFone 3 is the most basic model of the three. It has an aluminum frame body with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass on the front and back. On the front is a 5.5-inch 1080p Super IPS+ display with up to 500 nits brightness and 77.3% screen to body ratio.
  
  The Zenfone 3 also has a 16 megapixel camera on the back with ASUS TriTech autofocus that combines second generation laser autofocus, phase detection autofocus and contrast detection autofocus to achieve focus in 0.03 seconds.
  
  The handset runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 and has up to 4GB of RAM. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the back.

• Zenfone 3 Deluxe
  

  The ZenFone 3 Deluxe is the flagship model. It has a full metal body with no visible antenna lines and 4.2mm edges. It is built around a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with over 100% NTSC color gamut and 79% screen to body ratio.
  
  The phone runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with up to 6GB of RAM. On the back is a 23 megapixel Sony IMX318 camera with f2.0 aperture, 4-axis optical image stabilization, and 4K video with the same TriTech autofocus system as on the ZenFone 3.
  
  The ZenFone 3 Deluxe uses a USB Type-C connector with USB 3.0 and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor on the back. Lastly, there is also a single five-magnet speaker and Hi-Res Audio support.
  
  The Zenfone 3 Deluxe can also charge other devices with a 1.5A output. Lastly, there is a fingerprint sensor on the front of the device. All packed in a full metal body with no visible antenna lines.

• Zenfone 3 Ultra
  

  It has a massive 6.8-inch 1080p display with 95% NTSC color gamut support, 79% screen to body ratio, and what ASUS calls Tru2Life+ Video technology that uses a high-end 4K UHD TV-grade image processor. The ZenFone 3 also has two five-magnet speakers, Hi-Res Audio support, and also the first phone to have virtual 7.1 channel surround sound with DTS Headphone: X.
  
  On the back is the same 23 megapixel camera as on the ZenFone 3 Deluxe. The phablet is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 with up to 4GB of RAM, and a 4600mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support.

Specs:

Hands On Videos:
Anandtech Hands-on Video

Pricing and Availability

Prices start at $249 for the ZenFone 3, $499 for the ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and $479 for the ZenFone 3 Ultra.

Sources

• Anandtech
• Asus Press Release
• GSMArena

 

[Bboy AJ]

Can't wait for them to never update anything, ever. My Zenpad is still sitting on Lollipop.

Buy Asus only if you're happy with never receiving updates.

 

[What A Time To Be Alive]

Can't wait for them to never update anything, ever. My Zenpad is still sitting on Lollipop.

Buy Asus only if you're happy with never receiving updates.

I have a Zenfone 2 and can agree to this.

Don't care about updates that much so I may still get the Zenfone 3 😐

 

[Rafy]

Can't wait for them to never update anything, ever. My Zenpad is still sitting on Lollipop.

Buy Asus only if you're happy with never receiving updates.

I have a Zenfone 2 and can agree to this.

Don't care about updates that much so I may still get the Zenfone 3 😐

Considering that they are using Qualcomm chips instead of Intel, I am sure that people at XDA will come up with custom ROMs soon enough.

 

[LeleSocho]

I was really interested until i read the screen sizes, the smaller being 5.5 inches is a big no-no.

 

[NH Apache]

The ultra is nearly a 7 inch tablet. Beast.

 

[whitehawk]

Considering that they are using Qualcomm chips instead of Intel, I am sure that people at XDA will come up with custom ROMs soon enough.

Possibly. zenfone 2 laser got cm13 a while ago. i need to flash it asap.

 

[HUELEN10]

If only they made a 4incher...

I can NEVER go back to a big phone if given the choice. It still looks great though.

 

[Jazzy Network]

Every Asus product I've bought has had issues. My Transformer Prime's performance shat the bed in 6 months, my Nexus 7 had weird discoloring of the screen within weeks of getting it, and my Zenpad S 8.0 just flat out died 2 months into its life. Never buying Asus again.

Fortunately I have an Asus sound card that seems fine currently but if that ever dies or when I build a new rig I will specifically not get Asus.

 

[TangerineCloud]

If the price is still reasonable, I may grab the Deluxe. Despite still being stuck with Lollipop, my experience with the Zenfone 2 has been pretty smooth.

EDIT: Oh. Five hundred for the Deluxe. Eh, I may just stick with what I've got.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

I really like my Zenfone. Even though it's still on Lollipop it's not like Asus have dropped support. It still receives system updates. And as much as people have a thing for stock Android, ZenUI is pretty awesome. Nice looking, responsive, and has many features that enhance Android over stock. The only bad things I have to say about it is it had a lot of bloatware and it charges slow as hell. I will definitely consider a Zenfone 3 as my next phone.

 

[TI82]

Huh, wish the 3 ultra actually was ultra in all ways not just the screen...

And did it say anything about removable battery?

 

[Ryne]

Loved my zenfone 2 until I dropped it and it stopped working.

Oh well, that will not stop me from buying the zenfone 3 deluxe if it's released here in Canada.