SUMMARY
The Asus Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL mobile features a 5.5 Inch display and runs on Android v6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system. The device is powered by a Octa core, 1.4 GHz, Cortex A53 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM. As far as the battery is concerned it has 3000 mAh. Over that, as far as the rear camera is concerned this mobile has a 13 MP, Auto focus sensor and the front snapper is powered by a 8 MP sensor.
MARKET STATUS:AVAILABLEMRP:₹ 18,999
CRITIC REVIEW
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser review: Come for the camera, stay for the design
f a five-magnet speaker covered with a decent design; add to that a 4GB RAM, and an under Rs 20,000 price tag - that's good enough for a budget smartphone. This is exactly what the Asus Zenfone 3 Laser offers. Launched last month alongside Zenfone 3, Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Zenfone 3 Ultra, and ZenBook 3, the Zenfone 3 Laser sports a price tag of Rs 18,999.
If you have been following Asus' products closely, you would already know that its 'Laser' models focus on delivering a better camera experience to customers. So is it the best camera-focussed smartphone in the given price range? We got to spend sometime with the device and here's our review.
Design and display
The design of the Asus Zenfone 3 series is a complete departure from the Zenfone 2 series. The Zenfone 3 Laser bears a striking resemblance to its cousins in the Zenfone 3 line up. We received the Sand Gold colour variant, which looked good. Besides sporting shining gold rims on the sides, back panel and on the fingerprint sensor, the handset was surprisingly light-weight. The Taiwanese manufacturer claims it to be just 150 grams in weight and 149x76x7.9mm in dimension. We appreciate the company's effort to create an all-metal smartphone weighing lighter than the others at the same price point.
The front panel is protected by a 2.5D glass with three capacitive touch buttons below the display and a front-facing camera with the usual array of sensors above the display. The microUSB charging port is at the bottom alongside a speaker, while the volume and power buttons are on the right side. The position of the speakers weren't ideal according to us since they were covered while watching videos or playing games in a landscape mode. However, they were loud enough especially after we tweaked the sound output using the Asus AudioWizard app. The five-magnet speaker claims to deliver 41% loud audio with 12% less distortion.
The 3.5mm jack rests on the top and the hybrid dual-SIM slot is placed on the left. The smartphone supports both micro and nano SIM cards.
The rear panel sports a 13MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and Laser autofocus on either side. The fingerprint sensor is situated right below the camera. While using the Laser, we found that the sensor failed to recognise fingerprints with wet fingers. So for those trying to unlock the device with sweaty fingers, you may have to wipe it off first.
Another downside is the absence of a backlight feature on the three capacitive buttons below the display making it difficult to navigate in low-light conditions. However, with a boxy-shape the Zenfone 3 Laser gives it a firm grip and makes it easy for single-hand usage.
The Laser includes a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution display, which is not the best but a decent offering by the company. The 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass coated over the IPS display gives good viewing angles and is bright enough to be used in broad daylight.
What was impressive was the fact that despite having three capacitive buttons below the display, the screen to body ratio in the Laser was much more than what its competitors are offering. According to the company, the smartphone comes with 77% screen-to-body ratio and 2.58mm screen bezels.
Similar to other Zenfone models, the Laser also has a 'Splendid' app to customise screen temperature and even use the Bluelight Filter for less strain on the eyes. The display supports glove touch as well.
Performance and camera
Performance is one of the sections where the Laser was not exactly up to the mark. The smartphone runs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor (launched last year) with Adreno 505 GPU. Sporting a 4GB RAM, the handset is one of the cheapest in the market offering higher RAM capacities.
However, despite featuring a powerful processor, the Zenfone 3 Laser was just about average in performance. We encountered several lags and stuttering while opening apps, multitasking or even while swiping down the notification panel. During heavy usage especially with photo-editing apps, the issues were observed more frequently. In addition, the smartphone heated up on many instances - while charging, during long video viewing sessions, and while playing graphic-intensive games.
Sporting Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS-based ZenUI 3.0, the Zenfone 3 Laser was easy to use and pretty straight forward. However, the presence of excessive bloatware (apps) was a deterrent. What adds to that is the fact that you cannot uninstall them. Some of these apps are Do It Later, Gallery, Laser Ruler, MiniMovie, Mobile Manager, PhotoCollage, Quick Memo, Share Link, Weather, ZenCircle, ZenFone Care, Backup, and MyASUS Service Centre.
It would've been better if Asus ditched apps, such as Weather, Quick Note, Quick Memo, and Gallery since Google already offers its Keep, Google Photos, and others.
A few features actually contributed to a better experience with the device. These were - parallax scrolling, RAM boosting, power saving, and the presence of extra themes. The company has not yet mentioned whether the Zenfone 3 Laser will ever receive the Android 7.0 Nougat.
For those worrying about storage, the handset comes only in a 32GB variant in India out of which 8.4GB is reserved by the system. This leaves up to 23.5GB for users to store media content, apps and more. It supports microSD cards of up to 128GB and also feature a 100GB Google Drive cloud storage for 2 years.
Coming to the camera, the handset features a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture. It includes Pixelmaster 3.0 imaging technology and a second generation ultra-fast focus technology which, as per the company, focuses on an object in 0.03 seconds. During our tests, the camera focus was impressively fast and the shutter speed was also decent.
However, the resulting image didn't break much ground. While daylight images were good enough and showcased saturated colours, low-light shots and those clicked in artificial light were not satisfying enough. Although they looked crisp on a small screen, extra pixelation was observed when zoomed-in. In low-light conditions, the Night Mode amped up the ISO to its highest levels, making a shot appear slightly unnatural. In addition, shots snapped in the mode are in 3MP resolution. However, with the Manual mode, you can get a better control on images clicked.
Some of the Pixelmaster 3.0 modes included are Manual, HDR Pro, Beautification, Night, GIF animation, Panorama, Time Rewind, Slow Motion, Time Lapse and more. The camera also record videos in up to 1080p resolution at 30fps.
The Laser also features an 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and an 84-degree field of view, which is not the widest seen in a front-facing camera. It is however decent enough to capture a selfie with folks. The front-facing camera performed well in daylight and was good in low light as well. Like in other Zenfone 3 smartphones, the Beautification mode is switched on by default while using the front-facing camera.
Battery performance on the Zenfone 3 Laser wasn't that impressive as compared to the Zenfone 3. With a 3,000mAh non-removable battery, the handset barely lasted for a day (on average use). Light users should have no problem with the Zenfone 3 Laser.
Interestingly, the flagship Zenfone 3 smartphone also comes with a 3000mAh battery capacity but with different performance numbers as it has more efficient processing power with same full-HD display as the Zenfone 3 Laser.
Besides sporting some battery-saving features, the smartphone claims to deliver up to 20 hours of talk time with 3G connectivity in ideal conditions.
Verdict
The Asus Zenfone 3 Laser failed to excite us. Apart from its design and camera (to some extent) we found nothing worth getting excited for. We were expecting something new in the camera department by Asus. But apart from the 0.003 ultra-fast object focussing, there was nothing much to appreciate. It can be called a good camera handset if not the best.
At Rs 18,999, users are being treated to a good camera phone with a decent design and an average processor with an average battery life. Pool in Rs 3,000 extra and you can get your hands on the Zenfone 3 (3GB+32GB variant) which may be a better investment. Other models worth mentioning in this category are LeEco Le Max 2, Gionee S6S, and Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime.
If you have been following Asus' products closely, you would already know that its 'Laser' models focus on delivering a better camera experience to customers. So is it the best camera-focussed smartphone in the given price range? We got to spend sometime with the device and here's our review.
Design and display
The design of the Asus Zenfone 3 series is a complete departure from the Zenfone 2 series. The Zenfone 3 Laser bears a striking resemblance to its cousins in the Zenfone 3 line up. We received the Sand Gold colour variant, which looked good. Besides sporting shining gold rims on the sides, back panel and on the fingerprint sensor, the handset was surprisingly light-weight. The Taiwanese manufacturer claims it to be just 150 grams in weight and 149x76x7.9mm in dimension. We appreciate the company's effort to create an all-metal smartphone weighing lighter than the others at the same price point.
The front panel is protected by a 2.5D glass with three capacitive touch buttons below the display and a front-facing camera with the usual array of sensors above the display. The microUSB charging port is at the bottom alongside a speaker, while the volume and power buttons are on the right side. The position of the speakers weren't ideal according to us since they were covered while watching videos or playing games in a landscape mode. However, they were loud enough especially after we tweaked the sound output using the Asus AudioWizard app. The five-magnet speaker claims to deliver 41% loud audio with 12% less distortion.
The 3.5mm jack rests on the top and the hybrid dual-SIM slot is placed on the left. The smartphone supports both micro and nano SIM cards.
The rear panel sports a 13MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and Laser autofocus on either side. The fingerprint sensor is situated right below the camera. While using the Laser, we found that the sensor failed to recognise fingerprints with wet fingers. So for those trying to unlock the device with sweaty fingers, you may have to wipe it off first.
Another downside is the absence of a backlight feature on the three capacitive buttons below the display making it difficult to navigate in low-light conditions. However, with a boxy-shape the Zenfone 3 Laser gives it a firm grip and makes it easy for single-hand usage.
The Laser includes a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution display, which is not the best but a decent offering by the company. The 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass coated over the IPS display gives good viewing angles and is bright enough to be used in broad daylight.
What was impressive was the fact that despite having three capacitive buttons below the display, the screen to body ratio in the Laser was much more than what its competitors are offering. According to the company, the smartphone comes with 77% screen-to-body ratio and 2.58mm screen bezels.
Similar to other Zenfone models, the Laser also has a 'Splendid' app to customise screen temperature and even use the Bluelight Filter for less strain on the eyes. The display supports glove touch as well.
Performance and camera
Performance is one of the sections where the Laser was not exactly up to the mark. The smartphone runs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor (launched last year) with Adreno 505 GPU. Sporting a 4GB RAM, the handset is one of the cheapest in the market offering higher RAM capacities.
However, despite featuring a powerful processor, the Zenfone 3 Laser was just about average in performance. We encountered several lags and stuttering while opening apps, multitasking or even while swiping down the notification panel. During heavy usage especially with photo-editing apps, the issues were observed more frequently. In addition, the smartphone heated up on many instances - while charging, during long video viewing sessions, and while playing graphic-intensive games.
Sporting Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS-based ZenUI 3.0, the Zenfone 3 Laser was easy to use and pretty straight forward. However, the presence of excessive bloatware (apps) was a deterrent. What adds to that is the fact that you cannot uninstall them. Some of these apps are Do It Later, Gallery, Laser Ruler, MiniMovie, Mobile Manager, PhotoCollage, Quick Memo, Share Link, Weather, ZenCircle, ZenFone Care, Backup, and MyASUS Service Centre.
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser ZC551KL | VS | Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime |
| 1400 MHz, Octa core | PERFORMANCE | 1600 MHz, Octa core |
| 5.5 Inch | DISPLAY | 5.5 Inch |
| 32 GB | STORAGE | 16 GB |
| 3000 mAh | BATTERY | 3300 mAh |
| 13 MP | CAMERA | 13 MP |
| 4 GB | RAM | 3 GB |
It would've been better if Asus ditched apps, such as Weather, Quick Note, Quick Memo, and Gallery since Google already offers its Keep, Google Photos, and others.
A few features actually contributed to a better experience with the device. These were - parallax scrolling, RAM boosting, power saving, and the presence of extra themes. The company has not yet mentioned whether the Zenfone 3 Laser will ever receive the Android 7.0 Nougat.
For those worrying about storage, the handset comes only in a 32GB variant in India out of which 8.4GB is reserved by the system. This leaves up to 23.5GB for users to store media content, apps and more. It supports microSD cards of up to 128GB and also feature a 100GB Google Drive cloud storage for 2 years.
Coming to the camera, the handset features a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture. It includes Pixelmaster 3.0 imaging technology and a second generation ultra-fast focus technology which, as per the company, focuses on an object in 0.03 seconds. During our tests, the camera focus was impressively fast and the shutter speed was also decent.
However, the resulting image didn't break much ground. While daylight images were good enough and showcased saturated colours, low-light shots and those clicked in artificial light were not satisfying enough. Although they looked crisp on a small screen, extra pixelation was observed when zoomed-in. In low-light conditions, the Night Mode amped up the ISO to its highest levels, making a shot appear slightly unnatural. In addition, shots snapped in the mode are in 3MP resolution. However, with the Manual mode, you can get a better control on images clicked.
Some of the Pixelmaster 3.0 modes included are Manual, HDR Pro, Beautification, Night, GIF animation, Panorama, Time Rewind, Slow Motion, Time Lapse and more. The camera also record videos in up to 1080p resolution at 30fps.
The Laser also features an 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and an 84-degree field of view, which is not the widest seen in a front-facing camera. It is however decent enough to capture a selfie with folks. The front-facing camera performed well in daylight and was good in low light as well. Like in other Zenfone 3 smartphones, the Beautification mode is switched on by default while using the front-facing camera.
Battery performance on the Zenfone 3 Laser wasn't that impressive as compared to the Zenfone 3. With a 3,000mAh non-removable battery, the handset barely lasted for a day (on average use). Light users should have no problem with the Zenfone 3 Laser.
Interestingly, the flagship Zenfone 3 smartphone also comes with a 3000mAh battery capacity but with different performance numbers as it has more efficient processing power with same full-HD display as the Zenfone 3 Laser.
Besides sporting some battery-saving features, the smartphone claims to deliver up to 20 hours of talk time with 3G connectivity in ideal conditions.
Verdict
The Asus Zenfone 3 Laser failed to excite us. Apart from its design and camera (to some extent) we found nothing worth getting excited for. We were expecting something new in the camera department by Asus. But apart from the 0.003 ultra-fast object focussing, there was nothing much to appreciate. It can be called a good camera handset if not the best.
At Rs 18,999, users are being treated to a good camera phone with a decent design and an average processor with an average battery life. Pool in Rs 3,000 extra and you can get your hands on the Zenfone 3 (3GB+32GB variant) which may be a better investment. Other models worth mentioning in this category are LeEco Le Max 2, Gionee S6S, and Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime.
ASUS ZENFONE 3 LASER ZC551KL SPECIFICATIONS
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