Asus Zenfone 3 vs Zenfone 3 Deluxe vs Zenfone Ultra: three-way specs comparison

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Tip your hats and bid a warm welcome to the Asus Zenfone 3, Zenfone 3 Deluxe, and Zenfone 3 Ultra! Asus' newest trio of phones will have a solid fundament to build on; a fundament established by the market success of the Asus Zenfone 2 and its multiple versions, including the Zenfone 2 Laser, Zenfone 2 Selfie, and so on.

The most impressive of the bunch is undoubtedly the Zenfone 3 Deluxe, a powerhouse by all means and purposes. Equipped with a Snapdragon 820 chipset and up to 6GB of RAM, a 23MP rear camera with EIS (electronic image stabilization) and a Sony IMX318 sensor, and up to 256GB of native storage, it's the most powerful of the bunch.

What about the Zenfone 3 Ultra? For starters, its biggest highlight is it's, well, size — this one is a 6.8-inch phone. Yep, that's almost 7 inches of phone we are talking about! Another highlight is the 4,600mAh battery inside. Apart from these, it's not a particularly high-end device. There's a Snapdragon 652 chip and up to 4 gigs of RAM, as well as the same 23MP camera unit found on the Deluxe. 

But what exactly are all the differences between the three? Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Asus ZenFone 3 Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe Asus ZenFone 3 Ultra

Design

Dimensions
6.01 x 3.05 x 0.30 inches
152.59 x 77.38 x 7.69 mm
6.16 x 3.05 x 0.30 inches
156.4 x 77.4 x 7.5 mm
7.34 x 3.70 x 0.27 inches
186.4 x 93.9 x 6.8 mm
Weight
5.47 oz (155.0 g) 6.00 oz (170.0 g) 8.22 oz (233.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Aluminum Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys, Soft keys Touch sensitive control keys, Soft keys Touch sensitive control keys, Soft keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gold, Blue, White Gold, Gray, Silver Gold, Gray, Silver, Pink

Display

Size
5.5-inch 5.7-inch 6.8-inch
Resolution
1920x1080px, 401 PPI 1920x1080px, 386 PPI 1920x1080px, 324 PPI
Technology
Super IPS+ LCD Super AMOLED IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
70.52 % 73.89 % 72.75 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216
Peak brightness
500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 8953 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 8976
Processor
Octa-core
2000 MHz
ARM Cortex-A53
Quad-core
2400 MHz
Kryo
Octa-core
1800 MHz
ARM Cortex-A72 and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU
Adreno 506 Adreno 530 Adreno 510
RAM
4GB (LPDDR3) 6GB (LPDDR4) 4GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
64GB 256GB 128GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 200 GB
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow), ASUS Zen UI Android (8.0 Oreo, 6.0 Marshmallow), ASUS Zen UI Android (6.0 Marshmallow), ASUS Zen UI

Battery

Capacity
3000 mAh 3000 mAh 4600 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
16 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.0
23 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.0
Sensor size: 1/2.6"
Pixel size: 1 μm
23 MP (OIS, Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.0
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Flash
Dual LED Dual LED LED
Video recording
Yes
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps)
Continuous autofocus, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (24 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)
Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, HDR) 8 MP (Wide Angle, HDR), Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.2, Yes 4.2, Yes
WLAN
802.11 b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.0 Type-C, USB 3.0 Type-C, USB 3.0
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers)
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share,SlimPort
Radio
FM FM
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS) Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 26(850+), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 6(800), 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 6(800), 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
Yes Yes Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM, Micro SIM Nano SIM, Micro SIM Nano SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jul 17, 2017
FCC ID value: MSQX00ID
Measured SAR
Head: 0.29 W/kg
Body: 0.81 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.08 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.08 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
May 30, 2016 May 30, 2016 May 30, 2016


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