Zenfone 3

[srlawren]

Asus announced a new Zenfone today, the Zenfone 3 family:

http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/30/asus-zenfone-3-looks-and-feels-twice-its-price/

http://www.androidauthority.com/asus-launches-new-zenfone-3-series-starting-just-249-695579/

http://www.androidcentral.com/asus-zenfone-3?utm_medium=superfeature&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_sou...

Looks pretty sweet, epecially the base model.  I hope Staples decides to carry it [unlocked] in Canada like they have the Zenfone 2 and Zenfone 2 Laser, as it is a pretty tempting handset!  If it's approx 1.3 x $250 USD = approx $325 Canadian, that would be pretty sweet.

[Ionut]

@outdoorsaddix i was trying to buy the 669 one from staples but they didn't care and the procedure to buy it online and bring it into the store let me cold.

So i bought one from Amazon.ca and it's work amazing. The SD820 it's incredible fast, memory it's amazing and camera it's incredibile Still i had a issue which force me to Factory Reset.

For no reason when i kept in the pocket it's turn on camera and google voice. After FR it's work fine.

Also in the pocket noticed that my phone drain a lot of battery because all the time when i walk it's hit my foot and enable the screen "double tap" but i solve that issue.

Anyway after all the quality it's amazing, the design it's cool and battery way better than ZF2 as people complain. It's keep me for around 2 and half days duing regula things. Things like call , text, checking social media, browsing 2-3 hours daily. 

[outdoorsaddix]

FYI - Staples has the Zenfone 3 from between $279 to $669 depending on which one you choose. I don't think all of them are available in store.

[domenicocortez]

snap 625 is not the strongest but if you want slow battery drain and keep your phone without charge for 2~3 days, it's a good option.  I will wait for review about xiaomi redmi 4 (with snap 625) and 4000 mah battery...

If the review is not good, my next phone will be mi5s, because zenfone 3 is overpriced...

[CaNuCk07]

Alright everyone, best advice you'll ever get, best advice in this whole thread, ready?...... sell the android and buy an IPHONE!

[iamnopreacher]

Also, battery last real long, way more than 24 hours,

[iamnopreacher]

I am enjoying the phone. No, I did not have a ZenFone 2 but the ZenFone3 is really good. The camera is awesome and has a lot of options, even manual. The phone looks very highend but owing to the full glass back it can be slippery so a transparent case will solve the issue. 

[hassantq]

I hope the Camera software algorithms are improved.

I tried the Zenfone 2 and even though it had 13mp camera it was crap. Too much noise.

[domenicocortez]

yes me too, i have zen 2 now, perfectly fine with cyanogenmod13 but battery and photo are really bad... but my question was for @iamnopreacher because this little snapdragon 625 seeems to be really good for battery (14 nm) and Asus insists on photography with zen 3

[Ionut]

@domenicocortez i used to carry a ZenFone 2 before i switch to s6. It's very good as a phone but the battery it's drain to fast:) maybe ZenFone 3 it's different. Now that no longer have a intel CPU and have a snapdragon cpu it's way powerb efficient

[domenicocortez]

Please give us more feedback, did you own zenfone 2 before? And photography? And screen-on-time? And battery drain while sleeping?

[iamnopreacher]

Just to confirm that the ASUS Zenfone 3 works great with PM, even the LTE. The device itself is very cool. A bit slippery but a phone cover can resolve that. I bought one and it's doing well so far. 

[stonechucker]

Thanks for feedback!

[Novaeddie]

Yes I did consider it. I had an HTC One M8 at one point and found that I never used the speakers on that phone. It also made the phone overall larger even though the screen size is the same. If audio is your thing than the Axon 7 is definitely the way to go with the speakers and audio chipset. I guess I just prefer the cleaner lines on the oneplus. 

[stonechucker]

@Novaeddie

Did you take a look at the ZTE Axon 7 ??   I've been comparing both the ZTE and the Oneplus 3.  I love both phones, but the dual front STEREO speakers make it for me.

[srlawren]

Awesome, @Novaeddie.  I hope you enjoy it.  🙂

[Novaeddie]

I decided to go with oneplus 3. I did a bunch of research and the one thing that kept coming up is the lack of support on the previous zenfone. I do like asus hardware but for $100 more I figured I would future proof myself a bit and I am familiar with flashing roms, etc... If the zenfone deluxe was alvailable for sale I would have considered that, but I believe it will be more expensive than the oneplus 3 if/when it arrives.  

I'm coming off a long line of samsungs, S3, Alpha, S6 Edge so hopefully this oneplus lives up to all the hype. 

[domenicocortez]

Zenfone 3  for photography and style

One+ for gaming and flashing custom rom

You decide...

[srlawren]

@Novaeddie I'm guessing most people won't notice much difference for the extra $100.  The OP3 has a faster CPU and GPU, and more RAM, but in real-world performance the Snapdragon 625 on the ZF3 should be just fine for all but the most demanding users.  Try reading some reviews to see how they stack up, but if budget is a concern, I don't think you will go wrong with the ZF3.  

EDIT:  the Zenfone 3 is also available at NCIX for the same price as newegg.  

Also, full disclosure, I own and use a OnePlus 3 and do love it very much 🙂

[Novaeddie]

How do you think the Zenfone 3 compares to oneplus 3 for the $100 discount?

Trying to decide between the two phones right now.

[domenicocortez · Accepted solution]

Release Date: 11/1/2016

Asus ZenFone 3 (ZE552KL) 64GB 4G

$429

Sold and Shipped by Newegg

O.O

😮

[domenicocortez]

Not available yet, but the price seems to be 410$ US for snap625 version, really high price...

[iamnopreacher]

I am guessing from this conversation that the Asus Zenfone 3 LTE works well with Public Mobile. I like the phone too. It's dope. Please confirm.

[talkalot]

Looking forward to the new phone from Motorola, I would agree with others that the Zenphone was the best budget phone in 2015. However not without its cons in the event that something goes wrong with the phone it is quite the ordeal to get the issue resolved. With that being said I will be waiting upon Motorola's New Arrivals for 2016.

[srlawren]

@domenicocortez the Zen series is an excellent value for the money, to be sure!  I found the Zenfone 2 Laser rather tempting also.

[domenicocortez]

My zenfone 2 is clearly the best budget phone of 2015 and cyanogenmod 13 is really good on İntel cpu, i think it will be easy to implement android N with snapdragon 625 cpu like the zenfone 3, battery life will be excellent!

[McLaren]

You have chosen... Wisely... 

[srlawren]

I finally made my choice this morning...  http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/What-device-do-you-use/m-p/55903/highl...

[PBForMe]

I have to say the Zenfone Max looks interesting, 5000mah battery, wow. Here's a early review. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpK7PWVdC8I

Specs: http://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_max_zc550kl_(2016)-8111.php

[sley]

I've considered the Zenfone series but my biggest beef with them is that the support for different LTE bands is quite limited to the region it's purchased from. This makes travelling challenging especially if I'm buying sim cards abroad and want LTE data.

[srlawren]

The new Moto Z (replaces Moto X Play) and Moto Z Force (replaces Moto X Style/Pure) were announced today and man do they ever seem sweeeeeeeeet!  Unforutnately, availability of the unlocked, non-Verizon version isn't until sometime in the fall, and no idea what the pricing will be.  But man do I ever want a Z Force TODAY.  Ugh.  And here I had JUST convinced myself a day or two ago that a Sony Xperia Z3+ would probably suit my needs fine.  Now what do I do?!?!  D'oh!