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

posted by Peter K. / May 30, 2016, 8:44 AM

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

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 vs Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe vs Asus ZenFone 3 Ultra

Display

Display size

5.5 inches

5.7 inches

6.8 inches

Resolution

1080 x 1920 pixels

Pixel density

401 ppi

386 ppi

324 ppi

Technology

Super IPS+ LCD

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body ratio

70.52 %

73.89 %

72.75 %

Colors

16 777 216

Peak brightness

500 cd/m2 (nit)

Camera

Rear

Yes

Main camera

16 megapixels

23 megapixels

Hardware Features

Sapphire crystal lens cover, Optical image stabilization, Laser and Phase detection autofocus

Optical image stabilization, Laser and Phase detection autofocus

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.0

Aperture size: F2.0; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1 μm

Aperture size: F2.0; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Flash

Dual LED

LED

Software Features

Touch to focus, Smile detection, Face detection, Self-timer, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, HDR, Panorama, Night mode, Effects

Touch to focus, Smile detection, Face detection, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, HDR, Panorama, Night mode, Effects

Object tracking, HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Smile detection, Burst mode, Night mode, Macro mode, Effects, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Shutter speed control, Touch to focus, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging

Video recording

Yes

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (24 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)

Features

Time-lapse video, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Continuous autofocus, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Front

8 megapixels

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD)

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 g)

6.00 oz (170 g)

8.22 oz (233 g)

Materials

Back: Glass; Frame: Aluminum

Back: Aluminum

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys, Soft keys

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 8953

Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 8976

Processor

Octa-core, 2000 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit

Quad-core, 2400 MHz, Kryo, 64-bit

Octa-core, 1800 MHz, ARM Cortex-A72 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit

GPU

Adreno 506

Adreno 530

Adreno 510

RAM

4 GB LPDDR3

6 GB LPDDR4

4 GB LPDDR3

Storage expansion

Slot Type

microSDXC, microSDHC, microSD

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

4600 mAh

Cellular

LTE (FDD)

Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 30

Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28

LTE (TDD)

Bands 38, 39, 40, 41

Bands 38, 40, 41

UMTS

850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz

800, 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz

800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz

GSM

850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

CDMA

800 MHz

Data

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

Multimedia

Screen mirroring

Wireless screen share, SlimPort

Asus Zenfone 3, Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Zenfone 3 Ultra

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13 Comments

1. brasstax

Posts: 540; Member since: Apr 16, 2014

6.8 inches.. yahoo! Now that's what I am talking about.. a true phablet unlike the other 5.5 inch puny pretenders out there. I can see Asus responding to the inevitable launch of the xiaomi mi max phablet here in India and have tried to one up it by launching an even bigger device with same specs. They can't compete with xiaomi's price so I guess they are launching it early. As long as it's priced under 15000 rupees, I can see many people buying it.

posted on May 30, 2016, 9:00 AM 1

2. danny_a2005

Posts: 354; Member since: Oct 06, 2011

Asus Logo is pretty ugly

posted on May 30, 2016, 9:10 AM 0

5. Arch_Fiend

Posts: 3948; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

TBH, it is better than most.

posted on May 30, 2016, 9:54 AM 5

13. mrmessma

Posts: 271; Member since: Mar 28, 2012

I have to disagree. But maybe I'm biased as I've grown up building computers with their parts for the last 10+ years.

posted on Jul 05, 2016, 12:23 PM 0

3. iLovesarcasm

Posts: 589; Member since: Oct 20, 2014

My only complain is that the home button is a house.

posted on May 30, 2016, 9:18 AM 0

4. Jaysmd

Posts: 2; Member since: May 30, 2016

So no form of quickcharge for the base model? Need quickcharge these days especially with a battery of that size! Might have to start saving for the deluxe then

6. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

SD625 have QuickCharge 3.0

posted on May 30, 2016, 10:14 AM 0

7. Jaysmd

Yes but is it activated. It was not mentioned once nor on any specs lists. I.e above

posted on May 30, 2016, 10:20 AM 0

8. samystic

Posts: 242; Member since: Mar 25, 2012

@Peter K.and @PhoneArena - Asus is quite explicit about screen to body ratio for ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 3 Deluxe. 75%+ screen to body ratio is impressive. Where do i find the mention of it on PA? No mention on the news item or specs page.

posted on May 30, 2016, 11:59 AM 2

10. Swordylove

Posts: 209; Member since: Jun 27, 2015

Good screen-to-body ratio is easy to achieve on large phones, so it is hardly impressive.

posted on May 30, 2016, 2:24 PM 1

12. samystic

quick to debunk, eh? i know your half understood reply. didn't i mention Asus's name here? they are not known for good screen to body ratios. LG, Moto and the likes - yes! let's not talk about (other) large phones. let's be specific about Asus. Changing things drastically is impressive in my book. So don't debunk with quick opinions - internet gives you cowardly freedom to debunk or troll. Let's talk topic for a change.