CES 2015: ASUS ZenFone Zoom Is the Thinnest Handset with 3X Optical Zoom

[RoadWarrior]

At CES 2015, ASUS not only launched its latest flagship smartphone, but also wowed us by pulling another handset out of the bag, this time focused on photography.

The ZenFone Zoom was described by ASUS as being the world’s thinnest handset to feature a 3X optical zoom lens. It's a pretty rare bird, considering there aren't many models like this available today.

It’s obvious that the company was aiming to do what the Samsung K Zoom couldn't – pack an optical zoom in a compact form factor.
ASUS' ZenFone Zoom squeezes 3x zoom in a tight body

It’s true that the 3x optical zoom is not as impressive as the one found in Sammy’s 10x offering, but at least the handset is a lot slender, coming in at 11.95 mm / 0.47 inches (the K Zoom was 20.2 mm / 0.79 inches thick).

The specs outline a 5.5-inch handset with 1080p IPS LCD display with 400 nits of peak brightness and a 64-bit quad-core Atom processor working on the inside (although we’re not told exactly which one). Keeping things onboard alive is a 3000 mAh battery which should ensure the device lives a long life.

Now going back to the photography department – the main camera consists of a 13MP main snapper that has been equipped with a 3x zoom 10-element lens and f/2.0 to f/4.8 aperture plus optical image stabilization.

On top of that, there’s laser autofocus just like in the case of the LG G3 and G Flex 2 plus a dual-color Real Tone flash tech that is reportedly capable of providing a full point-and-shoot camera experience. The main camera takes advantage of ASUS’ own PixelMaster technology.

ASUS also throws in manual adjustments for things like exposure and shutter speed. As for the selfie-centric camera up in the front, this is of the 5MP variety with wide-angle.

The company plans to release the ZenFone Zoom in Q2 for a price of $399 / €334 a pop.