Asus Zenfone Zoom ZX550

3x optical zoom. Manual camera controls. Premium build.

Sluggish camera app. No 4K video. Unimpressive battery life. Dated UI with heavy skin and lots of bloatware.

Software and Conclusions The Zoom ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop , which is starting to feel a bit long in the tooth now that Android 6.0 Marshmallow is showing up on more devices . Asus has confirmed that the ZenFone 2 line will get Marshmallow....

Premium look and feel ; microSD card support ; Great dedicated shutter button

The camera itself is lacking ; Too many useless apps ; Average battery life

3x optical zoom gets us closer to a shot ; Rich set of shooting modes & controls ; Relatively slim profile ; Premium design ; Fast recharge time ; Snappy processing performance ; Not terribly expensive at $399

No major improvements to image quality ; No 4K UHD video recording option ; Video stabilization is limited to 720p mode ; Lack of continuous auto-focus ; Extremely cold screen color temperature ; Washed out looking screen

Asus established itself as a formidable competitor in the mid-range segment with the introduction and release of its ZenFone 2 last year. Since that time, they've diversified its ZenFone line with an assortment of variants – including this latest one...

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My Music Origin – NTU ; 2 ; Creative Pebble Plus Review: USB 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer Delivers Better Audio for Desktop ; 3 ; 7.5 ; ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova Review ; 4 ; Hands-On Experience: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 ; 5 ; Mi WiFi Router and...

The Zenfone Zoom S is the first Android smartphone with dual camera with different angles of view, just like the iPhone 7 Plus. It is a welcoming move to address consumers who appreciate the value of a telephoto lens that captures images in closer and...

Practical build quality with premium materials ; Camera-centric ergonomics ; Innovative camera zoom design

Lackluster photo and video output ; Mediocre battery life for multimedia and content creation ; Large footprint for medium sized screen

This is always painful. We want to reward daring design. We want to celebrate when companies take risks. The ZenFone Zoom is an incredible feat of camera design, but the crown jewel feature of this phone in many ways compromises the camera that the...

Amazing performance ; Great battery life ; Leather back feels nice ; Shutter buttons rock

Camera bump adds bulk ; Camera sensor is mediocre ; Software is filled with bloat ; Android 5.0 in 2016 is unacceptable

In more ways than one, the ZenFone Zoom feels out of its time. When it was announced a year ago this would have been an incredible phone at a time when smartphone cameras were just starting to get good and $400 was great high point for a mid-range...

Rear camera has 3x optical zoom ; Dedicated camera controls ; Built-in manual photo mode ; Removable leather back ; 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage come standard

White balance issues with camera ; Subpar battery life ; Mediocre audio ; Clunky interface

This Android phone's 3x optical zoom is a powerful feature for mobile photographers, but its battery life and bloatware are turnoffs.

All told, we’re really looking forward to giving the ZenFone Zoom a proper test run closer to its release date later this year. If that camera holds up it could be a real contender especially as Asus is planning to charge only $399 for it.