MKB Proof 2017: ASUS ZenFone 3

Published by

WINMAG Pro Editorial Team

Sat, 14 February 2026, 18:00

Read time: 3 min 0 sec

Although ASUS has been making smartphones for much longer, they always passed by the Netherlands. No longer, as ASUS enters the market here simultaneously with multiple smartphones from their ZenFone line. We got to work with the ZenFone 3.

The smartphone market seems fairly saturated, but there is always room for a good smartphone. ASUS must have thought the same, as they enter the Dutch market with several very affordable devices without compromising on the necessary specifications.

Housing

ASUS has chosen a glass housing with a metal frame featuring 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. Besides being pleasant to hold, it also gives the device a premium look. That may sound unimportant, but since a smartphone is a frequently used device, it's nice that the appearance of the device has also been considered. Moreover, the device feels sturdy and has a good weight, making it feel just right.

Specifications

The ZenFone 3 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 64-bit Quadcore CPU with a speed of 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU. In terms of internal memory, you have 4GB at your disposal and 64GB of storage. Although the CPU is not very special, the internal memory combined with the 64GB of storage is indeed a draw and makes this smartphone anything but budget. The OS is the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Right out of the box, the device asks if you want to update to 7.0 Nougat, so you are working with the latest Android version.

Display and camera

The display is a 5.5-inch 10-point capacitive screen with a TFT panel and an FHD resolution of 1920x1080 with an 8MP camera on the front and a 16MP camera on the back. Moreover, the device can record in a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160, which will certainly attract some potential users. An important aspect is a good viewing angle, and that is really well done with the ZenFone 3.

Connectivity

In terms of wifi, you have to make do with 802.11 b/g/n/ac connections. Furthermore, the ZenFone supports 3G and 4G, which is of course nice. Even more important, and what we can confidently (and unfortunately) call a unique feature, is the dual SIM support. This makes the device suitable for purchase by business users who also use the ZenFone 3 for personal purposes.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you think the smartphone market is saturated or not, you cannot overlook the ASUS ZenFone 3 as a serious participant in this market. In terms of specifications, there has been a compromise on the CPU, but on the other hand, you get more internal memory and storage than we are used to in this segment. We are also very pleased with the design and the screen. Of course, we cannot overlook the very pleasant price, which makes it a nice smartphone for everyone (including business users!) who wants to make a good impression with an affordable smartphone.