The Taiwanese giant Asus has launched the range of smartphones under Zenfone 4 series recently. The company tried to target the all price segment of the market with their offerings. Moreover, Asus has also unveiled one more smartphone apart from the Zenfone 4 series known as Zenfone Zoom S. The major highlight of the smartphone is it rear 12MP dual camera setup which claims to offer detailed and sharp images in different lighting scenarios. So, here is the initial impression of the device.
In the Box
- ASUS ZenEar with Mic.
- USB-C Cable.
- Clear Soft Bumper.
- Ejector Pin.
- USB Power Adapter.
- Documentation (User Guide, Warranty Card).
Design and Display
The Asus Zenfone Zoom S adheres an eye-catching design which comes with the sleek overall dimensions. The smartphone comes with a unibody metal design with smooth curved edges. The smartphone feels great in hands and provides a nice form factor. The front of the phone packs with a beautiful 5.5 inches full HD AMOLED panel with LED indicator, Proximity sensor, light sensor, camera module, and receiver on the top.
Moreover, the back of the device comes with a dual camera module on the top left corner. Adjacent to the camera unit there is an RGB sensor, camera flash, and laser focus unit which is assembled in a single horizontal alignment. The fingerprint sensor is nicely positioned at the rear and the bottom there is an Asus branding. The top and bottom of the smartphone are equipped with a plastic cover.
The right side of the phone sports a volume rocker and a power button. While the left side of the smartphone is packed with a SIM tray. At the Bottom, there is a 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, speaker, and USB Type-C port, while at the top of the phone there is a microphone.
The smartphone is packed with 5.5 inches Full HD AMOLED display which offers deep black and punchy colors. The display also provides a significant brightness level and good sunlight legibility. Moreover, the display is protected by a 2.5D curved glass and Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Camera
The main USP of Zenfone Zoom S is it rear 12MP dual camera setup. The primary camera comes with a F/1.7 aperture and OIS, while the second unit is equipped with a telephoto lens supported by a F/2.6 aperture and 59mm of focal length. The image quality from the primary sensor is good in daylight; the picture adheres enough detail and sharpness. But in low light condition, it struggles a bit as we noticed some grain and color distortion at the corner of the images.
Meanwhile, the telephoto lens offers 2.3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom. The image quality from this unit is good in daylight and it comes handy in situations where the object is far away from the lens. In artificial light, the images are crisp and do not lose any detail. Nonetheless, on the front, there is a 13MP selfie shooter which captures nice images in good lighting condition, whereas in low light the output images are felt bit flimsy and over saturated.
Performance
The Zenfone Zoom S is powered by Snapdragon 625 SoC which paired with 4GB RAM and 64ROM. The SD 625 is a star performer, and it handles the multitasking with ease. There is no hiccups or lag while browsing or playing heavy games. However, the ZenUI ruins a little bit of its processing charisma, but apart from that, the chipset performs great across all functional aspects. The smartphone obtains good scores across all traditional benchmarking test and here is the result.
Software
The smartphone runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS with ZenU 3.0 on the top. This custom UI is heavy, and it perfectly syncs with Android Nougat. Asus impart the blue theme across the home window, notification panel, quick toggle, and the settings menu. The overall experience with this UI good but not great. The ZenUI is also enriched by the options like ZenMotion and Asus customized settings.
Other Features
The Zenfone Zoom S is fuelled by 5000mAh battery which claims to offers two days of backup under heavy usage. The Fingerprint module is fast, accurate and allows quick setup via security option in setting menu. The smartphone is also packed with DTS surround sound which delivers dynamic sound with deep bass.
Wrapping up
The Asus Zenfone Zoom S offers excellent performance regarding processing speed and rear camera capabilities. The smartphone is priced at Rs. 26,999, and it is currently available on Flipkart. The device aesthetic attributes are top notch and its offer great feel and form factor. However, the custom UI feel a little bit sluggish sometimes, but apart from that, the Zenfone Zoom S is a pretty decent offering from the Asus.