Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom Review: Long Zoom, Longest Battery Life Ever

[rutherfordsc]

With sharp dual rear cameras, a 2.3x optical zoom and the best battery life ever, Asus' ZenFone 3 Zoom is a great pick for an affordable price.

Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom Review: Long Zoom, Longest Battery Life Ever : Read more

 

[brekfest]

Android version number is, almost, entirely irrelevant to me (and I would argue to the average consumer as well). What DOES matter is the security patch level. I would love if reviews started focusing more on that. Speaking of... How up to date - from a security standpoint - is this phone?

 

[rutherfordsc]

Android version number is, almost, entirely irrelevant to me (and I would argue to the average consumer as well). What DOES matter is the security patch level. I would love if reviews started focusing more on that. Speaking of... How up to date - from a security standpoint - is this phone?

Out of the box, the ZenFone 3 Zoom was running the February 1st Android security patch. However, there was a system update that came through this morning that updated the phone to the March 1 security patch.

 

[Glenn_36]

I wonder why they're selling a 4GB RAM/64GB storage version in other markets but they handicap it here with lesser specs. But there is a microSD slot for added storage. You also don't have to use their skin do you? You can easily add a different launcher to use instead.

 

[Dan_160]

"The software is clunky" Use Nova Launcher, my favorite for years! Add it as the default and it will start up after rebooting instead of the Asus UI.

"It has capacitive buttons" That's definitely a plus for me! I hate seeing software buttons instead and the auto-hide and seek that goes along with it. Of course Samsung's latest phone seems to be all screen because the capacitive buttons are now software and that area is STILL only limited for those button functions while adding a strange screen aspect ratio.

"The processor and ram aren't fast or enough" Not sure WHAT other people do with their phones but I love photography, videos, browsing, email and use my phone all day long, haven't noticed anything going slow.

This phone is an excellent purchase, got it a few days ago, it's all set up and I love every aspect of it with Nova Launcher and a fast Sandisk micro sd card for the 4k video.

 

[Glenn_36]

All good points. I use a Nexus 5X which I generally love except for the pathetic battery life and subpar camera. Got it about a year ago after the price was slashed to something like $275. As a T-mo user I wonder if I'd notice that band 12 is missing from this phone for whatever reason. I haven't been a mobile payments user so I doubt I'd miss NFC.

Personally I prefer the Google launcher which I have installed on my Zenpad 3s

 

[Dan_160]

I'm also a T-Mobile user. I was not aware that it was missing band 12, I'm glad I didn't notice since I've used up more data than ever (3gb) in only 2 weeks downloading my apps and updating them to this new phone and I've had no problems with speed or connection at all.

For people that would like NFC, that can still be added very easily by purchasing and NFC sticker like it's sold in Amazon for only 10 bucks. I'm not really interested either.

 

[Glenn_36]

I'm also a T-Mobile user. I was not aware that it was missing band 12, I'm glad I didn't notice since I've used up more data than ever (3gb) in only 2 weeks downloading my apps and updating them to this new phone and I've had no problems with speed or connection at all.

For people that would like NFC, that can still be added very easily by purchasing and NFC sticker like it's sold in Amazon for only 10 bucks. I'm not really interested either.

you don't download apps via wifi? Thanks for your real-world experience reply

 

[Dan_160]

I'm also a T-Mobile user. I was not aware that it was missing band 12, I'm glad I didn't notice since I've used up more data than ever (3gb) in only 2 weeks downloading my apps and updating them to this new phone and I've had no problems with speed or connection at all.

For people that would like NFC, that can still be added very easily by purchasing and NFC sticker like it's sold in Amazon for only 10 bucks. I'm not really interested either.

you don't download apps via wifi? Thanks for your real-world experience reply

 

[Dan_160]

No, I always forget about wifi and it would have been a great solution for the first time one has a phone to download apps through wifi since now I've almost gone over my 4gb tmobile limit using 4g instead.