Unveiled alongside the Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe at Computex 2016 are two new smartphones, the aptly named ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 3 Ultra. While these devices do not share the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor of the Deluxe, they are definitely interesting mid-range offerings.
Let’s start with the ZenFone 3 Ultra: as its name suggests, it boasts a very generous 6.8-inch 1080p IPS display, which definitely challenges its status of a smartphone; one might argue it should be categorised as a tablet instead. Other than that, it is also powered by a Snapdragon 652 processor. Based on our review of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 – it’s powered by a slightly slower Snapdragon 650 processor – we reckon the Ultra will be quite a capable smartphone.
Along with the ZenFone 3 Ultra’s huge display size is an equally generous 4,600mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0. To take advantage of the huge battery capacity, Asus mentioned that the Ultra also doubles as a power bank. Other specifications of the ZenFone 3 Ultra are a 23MP rear camera paired with an 8MP front-facing shooter (this is similar to the cameras found on the ZenFone 3 Deluxe), up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, an all metal body with invisible antenna lines, a fingerprint sensor, as well as a microSD card slot.
The ZenFone 3, on the other hand, is the lowest-end device in the lineup, which should mean it is also the most affordable. The ZenFone 3 is packed with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS+ display, a Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable internal storage, and a 3,000mAh battery. Rounding out the specifications of this mid-ranger are a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilisation, an 8MP front-facing camera, and a rear fingerprint sensor.
Much like the Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe, the Ultra has a similar pricing strategy even though it’s powered by a slower processor; then again, it does share several hardware with the former. Regardless, the Ultra retails from US$479 (about RM1,970) for the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM, while the ZenFone 3 goes for only US$249 (approximately RM1,025) for the 32GB model with 3GB of RAM.
