ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser Price, Features, & Specs – Cheap ASUS Phone With Excellent Camera
ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser price, features, and specs are now officially available. THIS is the new ASUS phone that you should check out aside from ASUS Zenfone 3 that we reviewed last May 2016.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is almost like the ASUS Zenfone 3, with a better camera.
And now we are going to discuss why the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is an excellent choice if you like to take extremely detailed and beautiful shots from a very cheap and affordable phone.
Device Name: ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser (ZC551KL)
Display: 5.5 inches (1080 x 1920 pixels)
Camera: 13MP
Hardware: Snapdragon 430, Octa-core 1.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM
Battery: 3000 mAh
Price: US$ 270
Camera – ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser VS ASUS Zenfone 3
The camera features of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is its most outstanding feature according to ASUS. So, let’s compare the camera features with the ASUS Zenfone 3. 😉
When it comes to rear camera resolution, the ASUS Zenfone 3 is higher at 16 MP. ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has 13 MP. Even though it has a lower resolution, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser uses special image-processing techniques to create an image with four times (4X) clarity or a super-resolution equivalent to 52 MP!
Combined with a real-time HDR, that’s a lot of details in a photo. 😀
You may think it’s the “laser” technology that makes it unique. Well, they both have the second generation laser autofocus technology which enables 0.03 seconds instant focus when capturing photos.
So, whether it’s ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser or ASUS Zenfone 3, they are both capable of an ultra-fast autofocus in just 0.03 seconds. In order to perform the ultra-fast autofocus, the phone shoots a laser beam to measure distances at lightning speed.
They both have the same f/2.0 aperture size which is large and good for a dimensional effect on your photos. Both can also record Full HD videos with the rear camera.
When it comes to front camera features, they both have the same 8 MP camera resolution and f/2.0 aperture size. Both are capable of beautification mode which balances the facial features, removes blemishes, and softens complexion to give you your most beautiful selfies.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has an EIS (Electronic Image Stabilizer) which reduces blurs when your hands are shaking while capturing videos.
Asus Zenfone 3, on the other hand, has EIS and OIS for both shake-free videos and photos, respectively.
Design – ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser VS ASUS Zenfone 3
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a metal unibody and the sides near the rear are curved like it’s almost rounded. Similar to the ASUS Zenfone 3, the front is covered by a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
I’m actually amazed that a cheaper entry-level smartphone like ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a metal build and 2.5D Corning glass because these features are normally found in more expensive smartphones.
The rounded sides and corners along with the slight curve of the 2.5D glass will make holding this smartphone very comfortable.
It also has beautiful silver lines that run across the upper and lower sides of the rear. It reminds me of the antenna line in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, except that the silver lines in the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser look a lot nicer.
Compared to the ASUS Zenfone 3, the front side of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser looks very similar while the sides near the rear look different – ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a curvier rear. The design and location of the camera and fingerprint sensor also look the same which are very beautiful.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is only 7.9 mm thin which is very close to the 7.7 mm ASUS Zenfone 3. For me, any profile below 8 mm is already very slim.
It only weighs 150 g which is also close to the 155 g ASUS Zenfone 3. For a 5.5 inch metallic build, that is actually very light if you compare it to the iPhone 6s Plus which is also 5.5 inches and weighs 192 g.
You can also choose between two beautiful color variants such as Glacier Silver and Sand Gold.
If you are looking for a very affordable smartphone with a sturdy build and stylish design, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is an excellent choice.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser – Display Quality
The 5.5-inch display of the ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a Full-HD resolution and a very sharp pixel density of 401 pixels per inch. That’s the same sharpness in ASUS Zenfone 3 and iPhone 6s Plus.
You will certainly enjoy watching videos, reading articles and e-books, and playing games with its huge razor sharp display. I personally watch movies and TV series episodes on a 5.5-inch smartphone and it’s a lot more comfortable and enjoyable compared to smartphones with lower screen sizes.
It uses IPS LCD display technology which is an excellent one and is being used by more expensive flagship smartphones. It has excellent viewing angles and very good color saturation.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has up to 500 nits of brightness which is comparable to more expensive smartphones with very bright displays, such as Samsung Galaxy S7 which is up to 440 nits.
The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection is twice more durable than other glass designs and it has a very high resistance from scratches.
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a 77% screen-to-body ratio which is pretty high compared to other smartphones.
Processing Power, OS, Internal Storage
The ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser has a Snapdragon 430 chipset which is designed for entry-level smartphones. Although at entry-level, it is a recent 2016 chipset with an Octa-core 1.4 GHz CPU and up to 4GB RAM.
It can certainly provide a very good and decent Android experience.
The operating system is Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) which is also very recent so you can use most of the latest Android features such as Doze for an improved battery life.
The internal storage can either be 32 GB or 64 GB and can be expanded up to 128 GB using a microSD card.
Battery Life and Other Cool Features
The battery capacity is 3000 mAh which is very huge. According to ASUS, it will allow up to 20 hours of 3G talk time. It can also last up to 15 hours of Wi-Fi browsing or up to 12 hours of video playback.
That’s longer than the average life of a smartphone. It is also non-removable.
It comes with a five-magnet speaker that is 4 times louder than the usual smartphone. It also features an FM radio.
If you need to connect to the internet, it is LTE-capable with LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 6(900), 7(2600), 8(900), 18(800), 19(800), 28(700), 38(2600), and 41(2500). The LTE speed is Cat4 which is up to 150 Mbps download speed and 50 Mbps upload speed.
You may also use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. For location services, it can use GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and BDSS. It is also capable of USB On-the-go (OTG) with microUSB 2.0. There is no NFC support unlike the ASUS Zenfone 3.
It also features a fingerprint sensor like most expensive phones. Other sensors include Acceleration, E-Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Hall sensor, Ambient light sensor, and RGB sensor.
An Excellent Choice For The Budget Conscious
ASUS Zenfone 3 Laser is the sibling of ASUS Zenfone 3 that has better overall camera features. It can capture images and use its awesome technology to give four times the resolution or up to 52 MP.
It has a slim metal unibody design that is very sturdy and stylish, a fingerprint sensor, very sharp and bright Full HD display, a good processing power, huge RAM and internal storage, and the latest OS.
It also packs a very huge battery capacity which allows longer use than the average smartphone. It also has an excellent sound quality which is 4x louder than a normal smartphone speaker.
Also check out our posts about:
- ASUS Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL)
- ASUS Zenfone Max (ZC550KL)
- ASUS Zenfone 3 Ultra (ZU680KL)
- ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL)