It is a well-known manufacturer of laptops, but for many years now the company has been pleasing us with mobile gadgets that have good characteristics. For example, state employees are made simply, but they are affordable. Well, flagships or near-flagships definitely have a good camera. This time the manufacturer presented another interesting phablet - Asus Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL. Among the characteristic features: fast autofocus, a fresh platform and a good design.
Appearance
It looks like the designers have finally abandoned the radial patterns at the bottom of the front panel. This feature has accompanied all the company’s devices for many years now. Instead, we see an iPhone-like concept in an all-metal body. Noteworthy: the device does not have a frame. The back is rounded to the front panel, which is protected by 2.5D glass. I'm glad that, despite the large diagonal and relatively small frames at the edges of the screen, the device still received touch buttons: home, back and menu. Speaking of diagonals: here we have 5.5 inches, and the IP matrix has a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels.
Now about the colors: the device is available in silver and gold. Looks like Asus Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL very stylish too. The speaker grille is missing: here we see a row of neat holes on the bottom end. Important: do not underestimate the capabilities of the gadget in terms of sound; the speaker received 5 magnets at once. At the back, in addition to the camera with flash and the vaunted autofocus laser, we see a fingerprint sensor. And, judging by the fact that it is extended, the sensor perceives swipes.
Characteristics
The device platform is built on the mid-segment Snapdragon 430: not the pinnacle of performance, but fresh, and also eight-core. It is worth noting that versions are available with different amounts of RAM and ROM, and the gadgets differ significantly: 2/32 GB or 4/64 GB, respectively. Expansion slot available. But, as already noted, the strengths are not in the technical characteristics: here we see an application for a camera phone. All thanks to the Sony IMX214 sensor, as well as ultra-fast laser autofocus. How superfast? According to the manufacturer, the response time is 0.03 seconds. There is support for Pixelmaster, i.e. pictures with a volume of 54 megapixels.
Well, if the price turns out to be adequate, this device can be considered for purchase. True, the battery capacity is average by today's standards (3,000 mAh). Otherwise, photo flagships are always welcome among a large audience of gadget lovers.
Let's start with the kit, we need to talk about it. In the treasured box you will find a smartphone, a white charger, a microUSB cable, and white vacuum headphones with replaceable ear pads.
The design of the model has slipped to the standard. If you look at the smartphone from the back, you won’t think that it’s Asus (if you don’t look at the markings). The smartphone has lost its individuality. We have a nondescript appearance on the back of the smartphone, similar to countless Chinese counterparts. But if you treat this as a certain standard, then everything is fine. There are plastic inserts at the top and bottom of the case. In terms of ergonomics, the device is comfortable, since all the edges are rounded, making it comfortable to hold the ZenFone 3 Laser in your hand, if this applies to a smartphone with a 5.5-inch screen. Speaking of the screen, the entire front of the smartphone is covered with 2.5D glass. An unusual solution; it was different in the previous generation.
In general, we can’t say that the design of the smartphone is anything surprising. There will be people who love it, but Asus has not been able to stand out in this regard at all, it’s worth admitting.
Width
Height
Thickness
Weight
Shell
The new generation ZenUi 3.0 is used in new smartphones. It is based on Android 6.0. The shell allows you to change the theme, icons, in general, change your interface beyond recognition. This feature has existed before, and the list of topics is always updated with new options. Now let's talk a little about the functionality of the fingerprint scanner. Here the manufacturer stood out and made it possible to launch a certain application with a certain finger, I don’t know how convenient it is, it’s impossible to reach the scanner with your little finger and thumb. We must not forget about the ability to control gestures, unlock and lock with a double tap and a huge number of modern features, everything is here. The shell is flexible, the manufacturer put a lot of effort into it.
Specifications
CPU
64-bit Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 430, 8 x 1.4 GHz
Video processor
Memory
There are two variants of ZenFone 3 Laser with 2 GB of RAM and 4 GB. Depending on the model type, you will have 32 GB or 64 GB of internal memory, respectively. If there is not enough memory, then the combined slot will help, but then you will have to give up one of the SIM cards if you have two of them.
Connection
There's a lot to talk about here. ZenFone 3 Laser does not allow you to use 2 SIM cards if you already have a memory card installed in the device, but if you don’t have one, then two SIM cards will work in parallel. Moreover, both SIM card slots support 4G; however, the user will need to choose which SIM card is responsible for fast Internet. The GPS test showed more than good results, so it could be considered a plus, but since not many people use the navigator, we’ll leave this point as part of the review.
Look
updated as new information becomes available and published after careful review
Connectors and buttons
Above:
Headphone jack, microphone.
Bottom:
Speaker, microphone, microUSB
Left:
Combined slot
Budget smartphones have been getting better and better over the past couple of years. 2016 was a particularly successful year for them; worthy models include the Moto G4 series, OnePlus 3 and 3T, Alcatel Idol 4, Honor 8 and others.
Now more than ever, it's possible to spend $400 or less on a smartphone that's only slightly inferior to devices twice the price. This is great news for buyers who want a quality device at an affordable price, but it also means that manufacturers have to stretch themselves and create different models from each other. With such competition in the smartphone market, this is not easy to achieve.
Asus is no stranger to the budget smartphone market, having become one of its leaders in 2015 with the introduction of the ZenFone 2. Although it had a rather lackluster design, there was hope for its further development.
In 2016, Asus introduced many varieties of ZenFone 3 smartphones, one of the cheapest options was the ZenFone 3 Laser. The last word hints at the presence of laser autofocus in the camera, but there are many other advantages.
The ZenFone 3 Laser retails for under $200, making it a direct competitor to the Moto G4. Should I give preference to the Asus model?
Contents of delivery
- Smartphone Asus ZenFone 3 Laser
- microUSB cable
- SIM Removal Tool
- Warranty and Safety Information
Design
The Asus ZenFone 3 Laser is a big step up in terms of build quality over the ZenFone 2, ditching plastic in favor of aluminum. Changing the material is a great solution as aluminum gives the smartphone a premium look and feels comfortable in the hand. The back surface is smooth and pleasant to the touch, the fingerprint scanner is located under the camera bump, allowing you to quickly and conveniently unlock the device. The body thickness of this smartphone is only 7.9 mm, it weighs 150 g, that is, it is very thin and light. Rounded corners make it more comfortable to hold in your hand.
Despite the aluminum body, the appearance of the smartphone is quite standard. A great many similar devices have already been released both in the budget and premium segments, so the developers are not offering us anything new here.
Screen
The IPS LCD screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.5 inches diagonal. There's nothing remarkable about it, but there's nothing to complain about either. The text is clear, the colors are bright, and the viewing angles are quite wide. For a smartphone in this price range, you can't ask for more.
Interface and functionality
The device is pre-installed with the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system, with an Asus shell installed on top of it. Over the years, the quality has gradually improved, so that compared to the version on ZenFone 2, it has become noticeably more attractive. Despite this, her appearance remains somewhat cartoonish, although this is a matter of taste.
Apart from the appearance, Asus has made quite a few useful improvements to the system; the built-in bootloader can be flexibly configured, there is a high-quality theme engine, and the screen understands many gestures.
Processor and performance
ZenFone 3 Laser runs on a Snapdragon 430 processor, 2 GB of RAM. The processor has eight cores with a frequency of 1.4 GHz. It is intended for devices in the lower and mid-price categories, which can be seen in the performance of this model.
The smartphone copes with most basic tasks without problems. These include browsing, using social media, and even playing games like Asphalt 8: Airborne. The small amount of RAM means that when you open many applications, inactive ones are quickly removed from memory and need to be loaded again.
This is what you would expect from a smartphone priced at $199, so this device is not for those who prefer to open many programs at once.
Connection
The smartphone has two slots for SIM cards; you can use different tariffs for voice communication and mobile Internet. Instead of one SIM card, you can install a microSD memory card, which will expand the built-in flash memory capacity of 32 GB. There is support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2 networks.
The downside is the microUSB 2.0 connector for synchronization and charging instead of the more modern USB type C.
Cameras
Cameras on budget smartphones usually suffer from savings more than other components. The ZenFone 3 Laser camera is also not outstanding, but for most users its capabilities will be quite sufficient.
Asus did not use a dual camera module, instead choosing one with a resolution of 13 megapixels on the back and 8 megapixels on the front. The main camera of the smartphone, as its name suggests, has laser autofocus. You don't usually see this on cheap smartphones, so this is a pleasant surprise.
Photo quality and video recording
The photos are of high enough quality to be posted on social networks, but you need to keep in mind their shortcomings. Outdoor photos look good, but the less light there is, the lower the quality. In poor lighting, there is often a problem with focus and the detail of the images drops. Video recording at 1080p also produces decent images, but the lack of image stabilization means it will be shaky.
As mentioned above, the screen on this smartphone is bright and multi-colored, it is pleasant to watch videos and play games on it. Unfortunately, the quality of the multimedia experience is significantly degraded by the speaker.
The main drawback is the low speaker volume. Even at maximum volume, you may have trouble hearing the sound, especially in noisy environments. At the same time, at maximum volume the purity of the sound is distorted.
The good news is that there's a 3.5mm analog headphone jack, no dongles or wireless headphones required.
Call quality
Modern smartphones have no problems with incoming and outgoing calls, and neither does the Asus ZenFone 3 Laser. The sound quality at both ends of the line is good, and the rounded corners of the screen make it comfortable to hold the device in your hand.
Autonomous operation
The smartphone offers decent battery life. If you actively check email on two accounts, work with numerous social networks, watch videos on YouTube in Full HD resolution, listen to music through Bluetooth headphones, the device will last about a day and a half.
The battery capacity is 3000 mAh. The device was turned on at 8:00 am and discharged the next day at 14:45. As for tests with the screen always on, the smartphone lasted 5 hours and 13 minutes.
The downside of the battery is the long recharging time. It took 3 hours and 25 minutes to charge from zero to 100%.
Conclusion
Asus has done an impressive job of delivering a smartphone that packs a lot of value at a third of the price of its flagship model. Although its design is quite typical, the quality of the materials allows it to look no worse than more expensive devices.
The smartphone also offers a high-quality screen, a relatively fast processor, fast autofocus and good battery life. Relatively weak points are the operating system shell, low-quality speaker and long charging time, but otherwise the smartphone is very good. At $200, it would be hard to find a better option instead.
pros
- Build quality
- Thin and light
- Large, bright and multi-color screen
- Fast laser autofocus
- Good battery life
- Value for money
Minuses
- Navigation buttons without backlight
- Bad speaker
- Charging time
With the Laser console, Asus has always been a more affordable version of the company's flagships. We remember the previous generation of the series as very good devices with well-balanced characteristics. However, they were never able to compete with devices from Xiaomi, Meizu and other Chinese manufacturers that dominate the mid-price category. Will the situation change now? Read our review of Asus ZenFone 3 Laser, in which we will test the new product and analyze its strengths and weaknesses in detail.
Price and main characteristics
Official retail sales of ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) in Russia have already begun, the cost of the model is 17 thousand rubles.
Specifications:
- display: 5.5”, IPS FHD 1920*1080 px;
- processor: Snapdragon 430 (1.4 GHz) + Adreno 505 video accelerator;
- RAM: 2 GB;
- internal memory: 32 GB + memory cards up to 128 GB;
- camera: main – 13 MP (dual flash, laser autofocus, aperture 2.0), front – 8 MP;
- communication: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, LTE;
- battery: 3000 mAh.
Case dimensions – 149*76*7.9 mm, weight – 150 grams.
Equipment and appearance
The smartphone is packaged in a fairly large box made of white cardboard, on which images of the device and its main characteristics are printed.
The package includes:
- USB-C cable and charging adapter;
- paper clip for card tray;
- wired headset.
The sound quality of the headphones is quite good and undemanding users will be able to use them to listen to music.
ZenFone 3 Laser does not have an unusual appearance; it is similar to many other smartphones with an all-metal body, but the device looks neat and the build quality deserves the highest rating.
The front side of the smartphone is covered with a rounded 2.5D protective glass, under the screen there are touch control buttons, above it there is a front camera, a speaker and a sensor unit. The glass has a good oleophobic coating and is easily wiped off from fingerprints.
On the back side there are 2 inserts for antennas, stylized as a chrome rim (the same frames the front part of the case). The camera module, near which there is a two-tone flash and an autofocus laser rangefinder, protrudes significantly beyond the body.
An unusual solution is a rectangular fingerprint scanner. This form does not affect its performance; the sensor responds quickly and adequately. Problems are observed only in the case of wet hands, but this is a common problem with any fingerprint sensors. In addition to unlocking the phone, you can use the sensor to launch the camera, take pictures and receive calls. It is capable of recognizing up to 5 different fingerprints, each of which can be set to launch the desired application.
The layout of the ends of the smartphone is standard. At the top is a 3.5 mm jack.
At the bottom there is a USB-C port and a hole for the main speaker.
On the right is the volume key and the power button.
On the left is a slot for a hybrid card tray, which can hold 2 SIM cards or a SIM card and a memory card.
For a screen diagonal of 5.5 inches, the smartphone is quite compact, primarily due to the small thickness of the side frames. However, due to the rounded shape of the ends and the smooth surface of the metal, it slips in the hand and constantly tries to slip out. For comfortable use, ZenFone 3 Laser must be put in a case.
Screen
The display is the strong point of this smartphone. It uses a high-quality IPS matrix with FHD resolution, covered with protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Color rendition, contrast, color temperature, brightness range - everything is at a very decent level, especially considering the cost of the device.
The cool thing about ZenFone 3 Laser is the presence of a glove control mode, the implementation of which has no complaints. There is also a blue light filtering mode, which makes it easier to read in a dark room, and a fine-tuning function for the screen: you can independently control the white balance, color shades and screen saturation.
Performance
ZenFone 3 Laser is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor operating at a maximum frequency of 1.4 GHz and an Adreno 505 video accelerator. The smartphone has 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, and supports flash cards up to 128 GB.
No interface jitters were noticed during everyday use; the ZenUI shell is perfectly optimized. The device copes with Full HD video playback, surfing heavy websites and any standard tasks without any problems. In the Antutu Benchmark test, ZenFone 3 Laser scores 45 thousand points. The gaming performance of the smartphone is enough to run resource-intensive games, but in the same tanks, to get 50 FPS, you need to reduce the graphics settings to low.
Camera
When it comes to photography, the ZenFone 3 Laser is good; it’s not without reason that it’s positioned as an affordable smartphone for amateur photographers. When shooting during the day, there is nothing to complain about at all - excellent detail, pleasant colors, wide dynamic range.
When the lighting deteriorates, the picture begins to become slightly blurry, but the quality does not drop catastrophically, and there are no problems with focusing - thanks to laser autofocus, the smartphone correctly captures even fast-moving objects.
The standard camera application offers excellent functionality. In addition to good HDR and many automatic modes for different shooting scenarios, there is a manual settings mode that allows, for example, setting the shutter speed to 32 seconds.
Maintains the ZenFone 3 Laser brand when shooting video. It can’t shoot in 4K and doesn’t have optical stabilization, but the digital stub copes well with its tasks, and the 1080p 60fps picture itself is smooth, has good detail and correct color rendition.
Speaker, sound quality
The new product from Asus boasts good sound in headphones. On board the smartphone there is an NXP Smart AMP amplifier, due to which it can drive even high-impedance headphones. Music lovers will like the sound quality - the music plays in detail, the stage is felt, the elasticity of the bass and clear high frequencies. Not at the level of flagships from Meizu, but very worthy.
The manufacturer focused a lot of attention on the main speaker of the smartphone - it is made using 5 magnets and a special voice coil, which should provide high-quality sound. In practice, things are more modest; it is loud, but we did not notice record clarity and richness of sound. You can compare the speaker with that of Xiaomi Redmi 3S.
Battery
ZenFone 3 Laser is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery. The smartphone confidently survives until the evening even with intensive use; with continuous playback of FHD video, the charge lasts for 7.5 hours; when gaming, the battery is discharged by 18-20% per hour. There is no QuickCharge function; charging takes about 2 hours.
Communication and Internet
The smartphone works with two SIM cards, but has one radio module. The quality of network reception is consistently good, there is support for 3G and LTE. The connection time with navigation satellites on a cold start is 45 seconds; the phone confidently found 25 satellites during the test.
Wireless interfaces include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. Connection to external devices via USB Type-C is also provided.
Video review of Asus ZenFone 3 Laser
Competitors, conclusion
If you need a smartphone for gaming, then ZenFone 3 Laser will definitely be a bad choice - for 17 thousand, the market is full of more powerful solutions (Xiaomi RN3P, ZUK Z2). But in terms of photographic capabilities, the hero of our review is one of the best in its class; only one can compete with it on an equal footing, which we also recommend taking a closer look at.
As a result, ZenFone 3 Laser is a smartphone for people who are not ready to buy expensive flagships, but still want a balanced device with a high-quality camera.
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ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser It has an acceptable diagonal of 5.5 inches and a thin screen frame (2.58 mm). The resolution of the display here is 1920×1080 pixels, and the screen itself is contrasty and bright. It's great for watching videos and showing off your vacation photos.
The smartphone lies comfortably in the hand, but if you compare it with, the latter, despite the glass surface, sits more securely in the palm. But its impact resistance is lower, since the protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass covers both the front and back sides, while ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) enclosed in a solid aluminum body, and the protective glass only protects the display. At the same time, the smartphone does not lose its premium appearance.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser: equipment
We had no complaints regarding performance. Thanks to its powerful hardware, the smartphone works quickly and responds quickly to touch input. The OS installed here is Android 6.0 with the proprietary ASUS Zen UI interface and software add-ons that, with one click, allow you to clear the memory of unnecessary background tasks. However, this device still cannot compete with top models.
On board ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) installed 8-core CPU Snapdragon 430 with GPU Adreno 505, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. The memory is quite enough to store several thousand photos, and the performance of the smartphone is quite enough to play not too resource-intensive games.
ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) supports the installation of two SIM cards, and the second slot can be divided into (up to 128 GB) if 32 GB does not seem enough to you. The battery here is also impressive - 3000 mAh. This is quite enough to take photo walks all day long and not worry that your smartphone is about to run out.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser: camera
For its price range, the 13-megapixel PixelMaster camera based on the Sony IMX214 sensor with a maximum aperture of f/2.0 is more than good. So ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) will definitely delight you with good pictures. We liked that laser autofocus allows the camera to aim at a target in just a split second, and the color correction sensor makes it possible to get natural color rendition in photographs.
However, if you want a better camera, pay attention to the older model. We tested these two devices together, and we still liked the picture quality of the latter better. The test shots we have given below were taken on ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL) in cloudy and clear weather on automatic settings with HDR. For enthusiasts, there are many manual settings, including a super resolution mode (52 megapixels).
ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser: test results
We tested the performance in the synthetic AnTuTu Benchmark test, where the smartphone scored 155,958 points, as well as in the PCMark benchmark. We show detailed test results in the screenshots below.
