A few days after I made this one as a daily driver, I finally have my own opinion if the Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom (ZF3 Zoom) is worth for your almost 24k. I had a feeling that is quite an upgraded version of Asus Zenfone 3 for the additional camera, camera features and battery capacity.
On build quality and display, I really like both the color that they chose on the darker shade and the AMOLED display. I am already impressed on the regular Zenfone 3's display and for it's AMOLED display, it gave me an additional eyecandy effect. That type of display also helped me in a photoshoot which I will tell more of it later. It gave a wow factor that with 5,000 mAh battery, feels like I am only holding a phablet with 3,000 mAh capacity in terms of weight. Great jon for Asus
In terms of connectivity with Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC in helm, no doubt that I did not have any problems in calls, texts, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and mobile data. I even getting a 4G+ signal at our house which is a welcome development
In software, compared to Zenfone 3 Max 5.5 (I am not counting my Zenfone 3 first impressions). the Zen UI in ZF3 Zoom is definitely a bit lighter than on ZF2 Laser. The presence of number of bloatwares and almost daily Zen-related updates were there inside. Out of 4 GB RAM, I can only see the system with 2 GB RAM remaining on my first boot. After that even that I am using their built-in RAM management cleaner, it will always gave me only for btw. 1.5 to 1.75 GB of RAM which is a bit sad for me as a smartphone multi-tasker.
On audio on 3.5 mm. audio jack, it is definitely on the above average side with the variety of earphones that I had. Rich and full sound as always in the number of genres that I had. With the said SoC, it also enabled the Qualcomm AptX technology which they gave what they promised; pure and wireless sound for my number of Bluetooth audio.
On battery with 5000 mAh packed inside, it was definitely one of the best in my video battery rundown test. Compared to the previous phablet that I reviewed with the same battery power, ZF3 Zoom aced it at 22 hours 28 minutes. On my day-to-day heavy usage, I can manage it for 2 days. They did not provide a fast charger with 5V 2A configuration but it the charging time is a-ok at 3 1/2 hours.
On camera, definitely it is the most extensive that I seen in a midrange phablet. I took the opportunity that Asus PH invited me to their photowalk recently in Pasig RAVE park and shooting in various modes especially on manual. Panorama was also one of the best in terms of stitching. Doing the 2.3x optical zoom really helped me in far subjects. The 12x digital zoom is a hit or miss as long as you are shooting in a small detail and have those steady hands ready. On video, it can shoot up to 4K in 32 fps but I prefer the Full HD 60 fps. The 13 MP selfie camera was also a welcome addition
Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom rear camera samples
1x, 2.3 optical zoom. 5x and 12x camera samples of Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom
Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom 13 MP front camera sample
Asus Zenfone 3 5.5 inch version now has Php 7,000 gap with the Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom. The build quality, the whole camera experience, audio, great battery life, fingerprint reader and connecitivity plus the processor really gave me a smile except only for UI and the RAM management. The possible Android Nougat update is still a question which might be an additional con to for those who want an updated OS as much as possible. With the recent price moment of ZF3 5.5, I hope that the ZF3 Zoom will also have a price cut too. My rating for Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom is at 4.25 out of 5
