Comes in simple box that slides out and you are welcomed with the metal clad Asus Zenfone 3 Laser. Looking inside the compartment, you will find manuals, warranty, ejector pin, charger, data cable, and headset with replacements buds.
In terms of design, I mostly prefer its metallic construction compared to glass-totting Zenfone 3 as when it falls you only have risk of dents than a broken glass. Frame hugs the 2.5D Curved Contoured glass for its 5.5 Full HD inch Display and space is used properly bezels are home to capacitive keys.
Top part of Zenfone 3 laser lies the 3.5mm audio jack and Microphone while on it bottom lies the MicroUSB port, another microphone, and speaker grills. Volume Rocker and Power button are on the left side while the right side is the compartment for hybrid dual sim / microSD slot. The rear camera is protruding but sensors on the sides are level.
The 5.5 Full HD Display is bright and gives off right color reproduction although need to max out brightness during direct sunlight. It is protected with Gorilla Glass 3 which also assure you it won't break or gets scratch from minor bumps or scrapes.
Powering the device is Snapdragon 430 processor with Adreno 505 GPU accompanied by 32GB Internal storage and 4GB RAM. You might think this is more on the entry level to midrange specs but it does deliver acceptable performance in gaming. We played NBA 2017 in high settings and it was somewhat smooth with less lag compared to its competitors with Kirin and Mediatek processors.
Though it does have the capaticity to run system at optimal levels, the Asus ZenUI is flawed. We have experienced lags even with navigation through the device. Even at 4gb ram, it fails to manage Multitasking between Apps. The ZenUI now has less bloatwares but needs more system optimization. Wished they introduce new features like multiview mode as well as change dpi. ZenUI does offer Mobile and Power Management Tools, Gesture controls and customization. Fingerprint is good and responsive and will sure provide you a personalize security.
Since this is part of Laser line up, we expected it to be camera-centric and indeed Zenfone 3 Laser delivered great outputs whether rear camera and front camera. With an updated tri-focusing system, it locks at an instance at your subject. Colors are accurately measured with its color correction sensor. With its Manual Mode you can do wonders even astrophotography as it has ISO sensitivity 3200 and slow shuttter speed to 32 seconds. Here are samples shots:
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser comes with regular set of connectivity - WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS as well as 4G LTE for ultra-fast data internet connection. USB-OTG is also supported so you can transfer data or connect usb peripherals via direct connection. Comes with complete set of Sensors including Gyroscope for AR and VR. There is a issue with data connection, if your network is weak or slow, you will experience ghost touch and sometimes facebook fails and system reboots. We don't know if this is with our unit. I thinks it is a firmware bug and hopefully Asus will address this. Oh nearly forgot, it is dual sim handset but if you need more storage then you need to sacrifice a sim slot to make room for that microSD slot.
It is also a good entertainment device as it packs good set of speakers delivering load and concise sound that is enhanced with NXT Smart AMP Tech and Asus SonicMaster 3.0.
Battery life is just right for its size as with moderate use you get through the day but with heavy data and games you will be charging twice a day. This lies the problem, it charges slow and it takes four hours to get to full. Wished Asus let it support fast charging or 2A charging. Guess they needed to sacrifice something to get price at reasonable budget levels.
What we liked about the Asus Zenfone 3 Laser is its great solid metal built, acceptable performance from dedicated internal hardware and of course its camera that takes amazingly detailed,sharp and rich shots. Our disappoint lies with software and charging. Software because ZenUI bugs that limits and under performs task even with decent hardware. A software update must fix these bugs otherwise it undermines the experience of the user. Charging is another thing where at this age, Asus should support fast charging with their units. Overall, I still would recommend Asus Zenfone 3 Laser for its entertainment and photography-centric qualities.
Alternatives to Asus Zenfone 3 Laser would be its siblings Asus Zenfone 3 Max, Oppo F1S and Huawei GR5 2017.
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser is now available and retails for 11,995 Pesos.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
ASUS ZenUI 2.0
5.5 Inch Full HD 1080p IPS Display
Snapdragon 430 Octa-Core Processor
Adreno 505
4GB RAM
32GB Internal Storage
Expandable via MicroSD (Hybrid Slot)
13MP Rear Camera
Sony IMX 214 Sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 5P Largan Lens, 3-axis EIS, Manual Mode
Full HD Video Recording
Dual Real-Tone LED Flash
8MP Front Camera
f/2.0 aperture
Dual Sim Dual Standby Dual LTE (Hybrid Slot)
LTE / HSPA+ / 3G / 2G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth V 4.2 +A2DP +AVRCP +HID +PAN +OPP
GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS/BDSS
MicroUSB 2.0, Supports USB-OTG
3.5mm audio jack
5-Magnet Speakers
ASUS SonicMaster 3.0
NXP Smart AMP technology
FM Radio
Sensors:
Accelerator/E-Compass/Gyroscope/Proximity sensor/
Hall sensor/Ambient light sensor/RGB sensor/Fingerprint
3000mAh Lithium Battery
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