Zenfone 3 Zoom is set for February release and here are the significant differences compared to the Zenfone 3.
Design and Display
Both flagships sport 5.5-inch display but the Zoom has better quality with its AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. Both's screens are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass and use ZenUI 3.0 custom skin on top of Android Marshmallow.
Zenfone 3 Zoom is quite a heavy device weighing 170 grams. It's also slightly larger than the Zenfone 3.
Internal Specifications
Both handsets get Snapdragon 625 under the hood. Zenfone 3 is available in two RAM variants: 3GB and 4 GB whilst the Zoom has 4 GB of RAM for its three ROM options: 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB.
Zenfone 3 Zoom packs more pixels on its front shooter carrying 13 MP sensor but the rear-camera gets a lower quality with 12 MP sensor. According to TechRadar, the latest iteration excels in the camera department due to its dual-lens module. However, the Zenfone 3 isn't far behind as it also offers impressive camera quality with PDAF and OIS 4-Axis to ensure steady shots.
The battery in Zoom receives a gain with its whopping 5000 mAh. Both sport components such as fingerprint sensor, USB type C port, gyro and BlueTooth v4.
Price
The top-tier model of Zenfone 3 Zoom sells for around $533 as per GSM Arena report. whilst Zenfone 3 64 GB is offered at around $410. There won't likely be a huge price gap but it's quite disappointing to note that Zenfone 3 Zoom still sports a rather-outdated SoC at a price of a premium smartphone. Asus could have equipped it with a faster-performing chipset.
Users who already have Zenfone 3 in hand, there are a lot of alternatives to the handset beside the Zoom series.
Check out Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom hands-on review