Asus Zenfone Zoom Review: Grab the Zoom, leave your DSLR at home

Asus has been on a roll lately; with the success of the Zenfone Laser and Zenfone Max, the company seems like it can do it all, breaking into every electronic market ranging from smartphones to laptops. 

Asus' latest entry is into the premium bracket of smartphones with the Zenfone Zoom. The smartphone's biggest feature is the 13MP rear optical camera that lets you shoot with 3x zoom. We took this sizable smartphone for a spin to determine how well it takes on a variety of everyday tasks. The smartphone package included a few odds and ends along with the device itself: a pair of headphones, USB charger, a faux leather back panel, an extra set of earbuds for the headphones, a DSLR camera-style leather lanyard (for the butteriest of fingers) and 5GB of free ASUS Webstorage.

Build

The phone's flip side shows of a faux leather back panel--which gives added grip--and the 13MP rear camera. Asus has chosen an unusual camera location; compared to most other smartphones it is off-centered leaving ample space to hold the smartphone without getting your fingers in the way of the camera. The lock button, volume control, and dedicated photo and video recording buttons are all located on the right edge of the phone.
The smartphone also felt quite large in the hand, so users with larger hands will find this especially comfortable. However, if you have tiny nimble clappers, not to worry as there is a ‘One Hand Operation' feature.

Performance

Performance-wise the smartphone never missed a beat, passing every performance test I could think to run with flying colours. From playing games on the highest setting to opening multiple apps at the same time, I tried everything to break the interface, including exhausting the entire 128GB. The phone works brilliantly every time, owing to the Intel Atom Z3580 chipset with Quad-core 2.3 GHz CPU and PowerVR G6430 GPU with 4GB of RAM. However, the smartphone still currently runs on ASUS ZenUI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, so the experience might be a little different on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The 3000 mAh battery gave me about a day of multi-functional use but that was cut short on those heavy gaming days.

On a side note, the phone only accepts micro SIMs, so those of you with nano SIMs might have your work cut out for you.

Camera (The Asus Zenfone Zoom's bread and butter)

Needless to say, the biggest feature of the smartphone is the 13MP rear camera that has 3x optical zoom, laser autofocus, OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and dual-LED (dual tone) flash. In simple words, all this translates to some of the clearest pictures you can get from a smartphone. The phone fits perfectly in the hand and, with two dedicated camera buttons (one for taking photographs and the other for taking videos) shots are steady and framed exactly how you want them. Each button can take the smartphone from the locked screen straight to the camera or video mode in little over a second, by long pressing the respective buttons. Along with the lanyard, keeping this monster imaging device close to me at all times, I always got the photo I was looking for.

There are also a ton of camera settings, aside from the expected HDR, Selfie, Beautification, and Night Mode. There's also Super Resolution, Low Light (3M), Depth of Field, Effects, GIF Animation, Panorama, Miniature, Time Rewind, Smart Remove, All Smiles, Slow Motion, PanoSphere, and Time Lapse. I particularly like the Smart Removal feature, which edited out any moving parts, getting me that perfect shot. It comes especially handy when taking those vacation photos with the family or when sightseeing.

Video and Audio

The device has a 5.5-inch full HD (1920x1080) IPS display with a pixel density of 403ppi. Colours look above average on the smartphone but it could be better. The brighter colours like  red or yellows look a little dull, and I didn't find any setting to add a little ‘life’ to those shades. The built-in speakers on the smartphone are decent but what really caught my attention was the headphones. They are one of the better pair of headphones I've used that came complimentary with a smartphone, with some great punch and clarity to the sound. The headphones played all genres well with a favourable blend of base and clear vocals.