Last year,
Asus introduces the Zenfone 2 - it's arguably one of the breakthrough
devices released in the country. This sought-after handset has placed the
company into the third spot of the smartphone pile in the Philippines. This
year, Asus made another splash releasing the highly anticipated Zenfone 3 with
new design philosophy and better feature set.
There's a bucket-full of points
we would like to share after the handset hit our HQ but we'll deal with that in
our full review. In the meantime, let's feast our eyes on the Asus Zenfone 3
ZE552KL unboxing.
Here’s the Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
There's
only one word that describes the new Asus Zenfone 3 - stunning. Thanks to the
2.5D Gorilla Glass treatment on both sides and the exquisite metallic frame
that wraps around the lateral sides of the handset. I said it before, and I’ll
say it again, the standard Zenfone 3 is the best looking device among the
Zenfone 3 family. In case you missed our first impressions and hands-on
article, you can visit it again by following the link below.
Going back
to the meat of this conversation, letting the Zenfone 3 out in the open is such
a worthwhile experience. The flip-top box is graced by a faux-metallic appeal
with a smooth sandpaper finish. The box is something you can’t find in any
other smartphones in this category.
Once
opened, the Zenfone 3 greets you underneath its crisp plastic wrap. Detaching
the adhesives will give you the smartphone in its full glory. Stunning. Yes,
I’ll say that again.
The spun
metal design is all over the back of the handset. It uses the fingerprint scanner as its center
which flashes the concentric circles every time it’s illuminated by light. The
back also houses one of the very important features of the Zenfone 3 ZE552KL –
the 16MP Sony IMX298 camera. The laser auto-focus module and the LED flash also
come alongside the rear shooter. Towards the bottom, there’s the Asus branding
that was previously seen on the Zenfone 2’s
front panel.
Unlike the
Zenfone 3 Deluxe and Ultra, it has antenna bands placed on top and bottom of
the device. It’s visible but you’ll let it pass. Plus, one thing you’ll love
about it is the 3.5-millimeter audio jack mounted on the top, and I am looking
at you iPhone 7!
The right
side is the home of the power button and the volume rocker, while the left side
has the SIM tray. It has a dual SIM capability, by the way. One holds a nano
SIM while the other offers a slot for either a SIM or a microSD card.
The bottom
side gets the spotlight with the USB Type C accompanied by the speaker grill
and the microphone slot. There’s also a pair of antenna bands at the bottom, if
I may add.
So what’s in the Box?
Since the
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL dons a USB Type C port, the package comes with a Type C cable
and fast-charging wall adapter. Stereo headphones also compliment the Hi-Fi
audio feature of the handset. Speaking of audio, the smartphone touts a
five-magnet speaker construction driven by NXP smart amplifier. Extra set of
cloggers is also included in the box together with the user manual and SIM
tray pin.
To give a
good grip on the feature set, check the specs below. I would like to highlight
the 5.5-inch IPS full HD display, which may not be the most pixel-packed screen
in the market yet it’s more than enough for most of your smartphone activities.
The Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL also comes with a whopping 4GB of RAM which offers a
very fluid performance in our initial interface test. Other noteworthy features
include the LTE Cat 6 connectivity, 3000 mAh battery and Zen UI 3.0 on top of
Android Marshmallow.
Should the
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL be your next smartphone purchase? That’s the big
question we’ll answer in our intensive review of the handset. Stay tuned metro
geeks!
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL Specs
152.6 x
77.4 x 7.7mm at 155 grams
5.5-inch Super
IPS LCD Display, 1080 x 1920 pixels at 401 ppi
Corning
Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm
Snapdragon 625
Octa-core
2.0GHz Cortex-A53 CPU
Adreno 506
GPU
4GB of RAM
64GB
Internal Memory up to 256GB expandable
16MP rear
camera, f/2.0 with Laser AF, Phase Detection AF, LED Flash, 4-axis OIS
1080p video
at 30fps
8MP front
camera with f/2.0 aperture lens, 1080p
4G LTE, 3G,
2G
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth
4.2
GPS, A-GPS,
GLONASS, BD
FM Radio
USB Type C
MicroUSB
2.0
USB OTG
3.5mm Audio
Jack
Fingerprint
Sensor
Gyroscope,
Proximity, Compass, Accelerometer Sensors
Android 6.0
Marshmallow OS with ZenUI 3.0
3000mAh
Li-Ion Non-Removable Battery
QuickCharge
Fast Charging
Sapphire
Black, Moonlight White, Shimmer Gold
Php 18,995
