CES 2016: ASUS debuts ZenFone Zoom

With compact cameras almost all but forgotten these days, companies like ASUS take full advantage of that with their mobile photography-centric smartphones like the ZenFone Zoom they just launched at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016. It’s touted as the world’s thinnest 3x optical-zoom smartphone with a 10-element HOYA lens, which is said to give sharp, detailed images even when you zoom in. Of course, it packs in a PixelMaster rear camera with a Panasonic SmartFSI 13-megapixel sensor. It has optical image stabilization and, as mentioned, a 3x optical zoom by 28-84mm focal length. ASUS also packs in laser autofocus, which promises “complete clarity” in 0.03 seconds. ASUS is also introducing a Super Resolution mode, which takes images with a super resolution equivalent of 52 megapixels. And yes, you get manual mode, too.

But what powers this camera-centric smartphone? Underneath its 5mm metallic unibody is an Intel Atom Z3590 SoC with quad 64-bit cores. It has 4GB of RAM, LTE Category 4+ connectivity, and 64GB or 128GB internal storage (which you can expand up to 128GB via microSD). The ZenFone Zoom has a 5.5-inch IPS touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery with BoostMaster technology that promises to charge the battery from 0 to 60% capacity in under 40 minutes. The 64GB model will retail in the US early next month for US$399.