Asus Zenfone Zoom S Launched In India At Rs 26,999

Asus, the Taiwanese smartphone brand has finally brought its highly anticipated offering Asus Zenfone Zoom S to Indian soil with a price tag of Rs 26,999. As the name itself implies, Asus Zenfone Zoom S is another camera-centric smartphone and will compete in mid-budget segment against the likes of Honor 8 Pro and OnePlus 5, who have already proven their mettle with a powerful processor under the hood and exceptional multimedia capabilities.

Coming to the Asus Zenfone Zoom S, it comes with a dual rear camera setup, a massive battery backup, and a highly competitive price because everybody was expecting Asus to price this smartphone near the Rs 35,000 after it was unveiled at CES 2017.

Moreover, Asus Zenfone Zoom S is the first smartphone from the company to feature a dual rear camera but since it is a mid-ranger, it comes with middleweight specs as well. So, will the Asus Zenfone Zoom S be able to climb up the sales chart, if not become the best seller in the segment? Let’s see!!

Asus Zenfone Zoom S Specifications

• 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD AMOLED 2.5 Curved Glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and 500 nits brightness, offering 424 ppi.
• 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor coupled with Adreno 506 GPU.
• 4GB RAM, 64GB of internal (eMMC) storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD.
• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Zen UI 3.0 on top.
• Hybrid Dual SIM (micro+nano/microSD) and a rear mounted fingerprint scanner.
• 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, f/1.7 aperture, PDAF, Laser AF, Sony IMX362 sensor with 1.4μm pixel size, four-axis OIS, three-axis EIS and a 12MP secondary camera, f/2.0 aperture, 5 P Largan lens and 4K video support.
• 13MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, Sony IMX214 sensor, PixelMaster 3.0 and a five-element lens.
• 5000mAh battery with BoostMaster fast charging.
• Hi-Res Audio 192kHz/24-bit standard and Dual internal mic with ASUS 3.5mm audio jack.
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C and FM Radio.
• Asus Zenfone Zoom S measures 154.3x77x7.9mm and weighs 170 grams.
• Color Options: Navy Black and Glacier Silver.

What we like about Asus Zenfone Zoom S

• The aluminum build makes Asus Zenfone Zoom S feel more premium, and despite having a huge battery, it’s comparatively slim.

• The 5.5-inch AMOLED offers better viewing angles than its predecessor and offers good visibility under direct sunlight as well. Colors are sharp and output is detailed.

• Photos taken with the dual rear cameras in bright light are overall good with accurate exposure as well as colors, thanks to the improved HDR. OIS and EIS do a great deal to prevent counter hand movements from blurring pictures or making videos appear shaky. Plus, there are 19 different modes to optimize the camera capabilities, which comes in handy.

• SD 625 coupled with Adreno 506 GPU is an old hardware package, however, the 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage help Asus Zenfone Zoom S to breeze through multitasking as well as heavy gaming.

• The front camera offers at par performance while taking selfies under outdoor conditions.

What we don’t like about Asus Zenfone Zoom S

• The bezels on the front are similar to that of Google Pixel XL, which means they’re big.

• Capacitive navigation buttons are not backlit.

• No NFC Support

• It comes with Android Marshmallow out of the box, although the company has promised an Android 7.0 Nougat update with Raw file support. But with Zen UI 3.0 on top, Asus Zenfone Zoom S struggles with a lot of bloatware and outdated features.

• It might sound a little contradictory but considering the competition, Asus Zenfone Zoom S should have offered a better processor.

• The 13MP front camera is not the best unit under low-lighting conditions.

Verdict

Asus Zenfone Zoom S is a great device at this price point but Honor 8 Pro and OnePlus 5 offers a better package, which justifies their price tag. Yes, who heard it right, Asus first dual-camera smartphones marginally fails to justify its price tag of Rs 26,999.

However, Asus Zenfone Zoom S comes with one of the brightest displays, great camera capabilities, and a huge battery backup and if this is what you are looking for in your next smartphone, go for Asus Zenfone Zoom S because, it excels in these departments, while also offering a tried and tested processor.

Asus Zenfone Zoom S is exclusive to Flipkart as of now and here is what Peter Chang, South Asia & Country Head, System Business Group of ASUS Mobiles India said:

On the onset of World Photography Day, ASUS wishes to rejuvenate the passion as well as the commitment of photography enthusiast by launching the ASUS ZenFone Zoom S. Today, we reinstate our commitment to help our consumers catch the beauty of each and every moment with the ASUS ZenFone Zoom S. This is an incredible device which combines a dual-lens camera unit with an unbeatable battery – ZenFone Zoom S will set a new bar for mobile photography.