ASUS has just announced the general availability of the ZenFone 3 Zoom. With a focus on insane battery life and an impressive dual-camera set for instant dedicated optical zoom, ASUS has wrapped a pretty fantastic phone up inside a svelte 7.99mm all-metal build. I don't usually go for mid-end phones, but this is really attractive on paper. The $329 price tag is pretty fantastic, too.We took a look at it back in January, and after a short delay, it's finally here. It is still launching with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, though, as was mentioned in their original PR release earlier this year. I had hoped the gap might have brought an update, but that is sadly not the case. Still, ASUS has promised to update it to 7.0 Nougat.Specs include a 5,000mAh battery (!), Snapdragon 625, dual sims, a 1080p 500 nit AMOLED display, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a dual 12MP camera arrangement; one 25mm wide-angle lens and one 59mm lens for 2.3X zoom shots. It also sounds like ASUS has been working hard on making sure the software for that camera is just as impressive. It has a two-phase detection autofocus system, some new low-light secret sauce, a screen flash for selfies, continuous autofocus for 4K video, and support for RAW (with the coming Nougat update) and full manual camera control (including up to 32-second exposures).The power capacity on this phone is pretty impressive. Combined with the power-sipping 625 this should last quite a while. With such a large battery, Asus is even advertising it as serving double-duty as a power bank for other devices, which is hilarious. The Moto Z Play has some serious competition to look forward to, especially given the ASUS undercuts it on price by $70 right now. I cannot wait for reviews of this phone.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MxKnePpM2U[/EMBED_YT]The ZenFone 3 Zoom is available now at the ASUS store, Amazon, ABT, B&H, BestBuy.com, Fry's Electronics, and Newegg.

PRESS RELEASE

ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom Available Now

The ZenFone 3 Zoom is available today at ASUS authorized dealers for $329 USD

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ASUS today announced general availability of the ZenFone 3 Zoom. Built for photography, the ZenFone 3 Zoom is the world’s best camera smartphone with the longest battery life. The phone comes equipped with a best-in-class dual-camera system for photographic perfection and the world’s slimmest smartphone with a high-capacity 5000mAh battery. Today, the 5.5-inch unlocked Dual SIM ZenFone 3 Zoom, with AMOLED Gorilla Glass 5 display (1920 X 1080 FHD resolution), 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage is available at the following online retailers for $329 USD: the ASUS store, Amazon, Abt, B&H, BestBuy.com, Fry’s Electronics, and Newegg.

The ZenFone 3 Zoom is available today at ASUS authorized dealers for $329 USD
Tweet this

The ZenFone 3 Zoom is ASUS’ most accomplished camera smartphone to date, with new features designed to make it unrivalled in mobile photography. The ZenFone 3 Zoom’s innovative dual-camera system comprises a 12MP, f/1.7-aperture, 25mm wide-angle main lens and a dedicated 12MP, 59mm camera for instant 2.3X optical zoom. This setup ensures sharp focus for subjects at any distance. The new smartphone also introduces all-new Portrait mode, which rivals the depth-of-field effects achieved by professional DSLR cameras. The ZenFone 3 Zoom houses its incredibly high-capacity 5000mAh battery in a super-slim 0.31 in (7.9mm) full-metal chassis that weighs a mere 0.37 lbs (170g), making it the world’s thinnest and lightest 5.5-inch smartphone with a 5000mAh battery. At the ZenFone 3 Zoom’s heart is the powerful yet power-efficient Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^™ 625 processor, enabling the new smartphone to achieve an amazing 40 days of standby power on 4G¹. The capacious battery also gives the ZenFone 3 Zoom the ability to double up as a power bank to charge other devices. Custom-Built Photographic Features:

Dual-Camera System — The ZenFone 3 Zoom features an all-new dual-12MP, f/1.7-aperture, 25mm wide-angle main lens and a dedicated 12MP, 59mm camera for instant 2.3X optical zoom, enabling photographers to instantly use the best camera different subject types and focal lengths.

SuperPixel Technology — The ZenFone 3 Zoom’s main camera is able to shoot incredibly fast and clear night or low light shots thanks to its new SuperPixel technology which increases light sensitivity dramatically.

TriTech+ Autofocus — The ZenFone 3 Zoom has an improved TriTech+ autofocus system with Dual Pixel technology as one of its three focusing technologies. Dual Pixel AF gets its name from the two-phase detection sensors located on each pixel that can detect the movement of subjects by analyzing the variations between the light rays hitting the two sensors.

RAW File Support (with Android 7.0 update) — The ZenFone 3 Zoom offers photographers the freedom to shoot and store compositions in RAW format. RAW files save the full data of the photo captured by the camera’s sensor and are ideal for enhancement with editing software, with much lower loss of image quality when compared to editing JPEG image files.

Full Manual Mode — This mode enables full control over the ZenFone 3 Zoom’s extensive camera settings. These includes white balance, exposure value (EV), focus, and International Standards Organization (ISO) settings, and an impressive shutter-speed selection of between 1/50000 sec and 32 seconds. Full Manual Mode also allows users to override the automatic camera selection and choose to use either the 25mm, f/1.7 lens of the main camera or the 59mm lens of the zoom camera.

High-resolution Selfies with Screen Flash — The ZenFone 3 Zoom features one of the highest-resolution front-facing cameras of any smartphone. The 13MP lens camera is not only able to shoot high-resolution selfies, it also features a new ‘screen flash’ mode that uses the display as a flash in low-light environments.

Continuous Autofocus 4K Video Recording — The ZenFone 3 Zoom’s Dual Pixel system allows the smartphone to continuously focus on subjects while recording video at stunning 4K resolution, making it ideal for taking videos of moving subjects.

Ultra Large Battery, Ultra Small Chassis With a charge rating of 5000mAh, the ZenFone 3 Zoom’s battery has one of the highest capacities of any smartphone — and the world’s highest capacity in its class but fits within the phone’s beautifully small, sandblasted aluminum-alloy body, which is a 0.31 in (7.9mm) thin and just 0.37 lbs (170g) in weight. This makes the ZenFone 3 Zoom the world’s slimmest 5000mAh smartphone, giving users an amazingly long 40-day standby on 4G or 6.4 hours of non-stop 4K video shooting with minimal additional weight. The high-capacity battery also complements the ZenFone 3 Zoom’s photographic capability by allowing users to shoot for longer periods of time and allows for battery intensive operations like time-lapse photography to be done without worrying about running out of charge. The ZenFone 3 Zoom’s high battery capacity also lets it double up as a power bank for charging other devices via an automated reverse-charging capability. The ZenFone 3 Zoom’s display is a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED panel that renders images with extreme clarity and contrast. It is protected by the latest Corning ^® Gorilla^® Glass 5 that is 70% more resistant to drop damage compared to the previous Gorilla Glass generation. AVAILABILITY & PRICING

The 5.5-inch unlocked Dual SIM ZenFone 3 Zoom, with AMOLED Gorilla Glass 5 display (1920 X 1080 FHD resolution), 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage is available at the following online retailers for $329 USD: the ASUS Store, Amazon,Abt, B&H, BestBuy.com, Fry’s Electronics, and Newegg. The ZenFone 3 Zoom will also be available in-store at select retail locations starting today, and at select Best Buy locations on May 28. Please contact ASUS for more details.

About ASUS ASUS is one of Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies, and is dedicated to creating products for today and tomorrow’s smart life. Our comprehensive portfolio includes Zenbo, ZenFone, ZenBook and a range of IT devices and components, along with AR, VR and IoT. ASUS employs more than 17,000 people worldwide and over 5,500 world-class R&D talents. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, the company won 4,385 awards and earned approximately US$13.3 billion of revenue in 2016. ¹ Results achieved in a test facility with LTE data on, and WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Near Field Communication (NFC) turned off.