Today we will be reviewing the top-end Deluxe smartphone. This phone has 256 GB storage and Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. Priced at Rs 62,999, the Zenfone Deluxe competes with the Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S7 series. Is the Zenfone 3 Deluxe a package that lives up to our expectations? Let’s find out.
Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL) design and build
There are many things that attract our attention when we first look at the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe but what caught our attention was its invisible antenna design. This is an achievement for a unibody metal smartphone. Because other expensive flagships like iPhone 7 and Pixel have antenna bands clearly visible on the rear. It seems that Asus has found a way to hide the antenna bands without compromising on the signal quality in the smartphone. You can still see the radio-friendly material in the chamfered bezel of the phone but it is hardly visible.
The curved edges and slightly curved rear make it easy to use the phone with one hand. The phone feels very light and the matte finish on the rear is very resistant to fingerprints. The front has Asus’ trademark ‘spun metal’ design on the top and bottom.
Asus has given this phone a 5.7 inch Super AMOLED display which has a full HD resolution display. The screen density is 386 ppi. But we feel that a Quad HD display would have been better for a phone of this capacity. However, we really liked the thin bezels of the phone and it is slightly wider than the Google Pixel XL. The colors are well saturated and the brightness level of the screen is also quite good. You have many options to change the color and you can also set the color temperature by going to the Settings app.
This phone has a USB Type-C port and a speaker grill at the bottom. While a 3.5mm headphone jack is provided on the top. Zenfone 3 Deluxe has a hybrid SIM slot with 4G support. The camera on the rear is slightly protruding outwards and there is a square fingerprint sensor cut-out. Talking about the fingerprint sensor, this sensor works quite well but if you have not placed your finger properly then it does not work due to its strange shape.
The Zenfone 3 Deluxe comes with a Quick Charge 3.0 capable power adapter, Type-C cable, ZenEar S headset, SIM ejector tool and warranty card. The packaging of the phone is premium and the quality of the accessories is also quite good. Overall, the Deluxe is a stylish phone that is extremely well built. Especially considering that it is so lightweight for a phone of this size. Our only complaint is the size of the fingerprint sensor on the phone.
Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe (Z5S570KL) specifications and features
Asus has provided 256 GB storage in the ZS570KL variant. It has Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and 6 GB RAM. On the other hand, the 64 GB variant ZS570KL has the older Snapdragon 820 chipset. But all other specifications are the same in both variants. Other connectivity features include Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC, USB OTG and FM radio. Currently, VoLTE support is not available so you will not be able to make voice calls from Jio network. However, Asus says that this problem will be resolved in the upcoming update.
The phone gave good results in benchmarking tests, although the OnePlus 3T did better in almost every test.
Talking about the software, the phone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ZenUI 3.0 skin on top. The changes to the software are the same as those seen on the ZenFone 3 Ultra and ZenFone 3 Max (Review). As we have said all along, ZenUI doesn’t seem very clear and those using an Asus phone for the first time might face some difficulties. While the UI is customisable, we found it to be redundant. The phone comes pre-installed with apps like Puffin, Truecaller, Amazon Kindle, SimCity and Need for Speed: No Limits. There are a number of Asus apps on the phone like PhotoCollage, MiniMovie, ZenCircle etc. which cannot be installed from the phone.
The Settings app has some additional features like OptiFlex, which can boost the launch performance of up to 10 apps. However, we didn’t notice much difference with this feature enabled. ZenMotion lets you set touch and motion gestures. You can also set a quick toggle for one-handed mode by double-tapping the home button. The Deluxe also comes with an ‘Always On Display’ feature that lets you lock an analog or digital clock as a screensaver. The panel lets you see information about missed calls, messages, battery status, and date. However, it’s not like the always-on panel on the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL) performance
The experience is similar to other high-end variants with Snapdragon 821 processor. The performance of the phone is very good for everyday tasks. We did not like the stock ZenUI keyboard very much due to the lag in typing. The phone gets heated up when using the camera for a long time, but not to the extent that the phone cannot be used.
The Zenfone 3 Deluxe offers a smooth multimedia experience of all kinds. All Full HD and 4K video files play without any lag. The good display makes watching movies a fun experience. Audio quality is particularly good. The phone has just one speaker but the sound output is much better than your average smartphone. Audio settings can be changed using Asus’ AudioWizard app.
The Deluxe smartphone also supports high-resolution audio through headphones, and the bundled ZenEar S headset delivers pretty good audio quality.
The Zenfone 3 Deluxe sports a 23-megapixel rear sensor with four-axis OIS and electronic stabilization. There is also laser autofocus for faster subject locking. The camera works well in daylight as well as low light and we did not face any issues. Autofocus means that if you change frames, the device switches focus between subjects. Image quality is very good in daylight and both landscape and macro shots come with a lot of detail. During our usage, the ‘Auto HDR’ feature did not work very well and we had to manually switch to HDR mode most of the time.
There are many shooting modes in the camera app. These include super resolution, manual and panorama. Photography in low light is very good and the detailing is good and noise is also controlled. However, this quality is not like Pixel XL and Galaxy S7 but it is very close to it. The front camera takes very good and detailed selfies in indoor lighting. 4K video recording can be done at 30 frames per second. But you will also get the option of 1080 pixels 60 frames per second and slow-motion. The quality of the recorded video is quite good and the frame also remains stable.
The phone packs a 3400mAh battery that lasts for a day and a half with normal use. In our HD video loop test in ‘Normal’ mode, the phone lasted 12 hours and 33 minutes. Switching to ‘Performance’ mode, the battery lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes. We didn’t notice any significant improvement in apps in this mode, nor did benchmarks reveal any benefits. The phone supports Quick Charge 3.0 and we were able to charge the battery up to 65 percent in just 30 minutes.
Our verdict
The special edition of Zenfone 3 Deluxe is priced at Rs 62,999 and can be considered a good flagship for the price. Apart from this, it is the only smartphone to come with such a high storage (expandable support too). Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video come with offline viewing support.
The Zenfone 3 Deluxe is a very good flagship smartphone. We feel that Asus could have done better with Android customisation. Also, the fingerprint design could have been better. We feel that a quad-HD display would have been a better option for a phone priced this high.
If you are looking for a good camera phone, we would recommend the Google Pixel or the Samsung Galaxy S7 series over this Asus phone. But if you are looking for an all-rounder phone without spending too much money, the OnePlus 3T is for you.
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