Asus CEO Jerry Shen says Zenfone AR is coming at CES 2017

November 14, 2016 Categories: CES, CES 2017, News, Zenfone AR by 0 Comments

Things seem quite clear that Asus is going to come strong to CES 2017 in January. News at it relates to the Zenfone Series comes from Digitimes which sources Asus CEO Jerry Shen who confirms an AR enabled smartphone, the Zenfone AR.

Details are not yet known, but according to Digitimes, the Zenfone AR will have a competitive price along with top performance and functions. Sounds intriguing for sure.

The difference between AR and VR is complicated because they are similar. Think of AR as like an overlay technology like how Google Glasses interacted with your world. It’s like computer objects laid overtop of the real world. You can distinguish the difference between the two. Augmented reality is a layer on top of the real world.

The big deal about an Asus AR phone is that it will support Google Tango according to Jerry Shen. If you want to learn a bit more about Google Project Tango, check out their dedicated website here. It’s quite overwhelming to think of the possibilities when Google shows off the technology via their videos. AR seems much more mainstream friendly as you won’t encase your case in a headset like with VR.

With a short time before CES 2017 we are hoping to have some more news about this mysterious Zenfone AR model.

[source: Digitimes.com]

 

Recent Software Update Listings – All Zenfone 3 Models listed

November 9, 2016 Categories: Firmware Updates, News, Software Updates by 0 Comments

To help keep on top of Zenfone 3 news, we also want to track software/firmware updates that roll out to the various Zenfone models. This is actually quite a frequent occurrence and people should realize that Asus does tweak and improve the functionality and performance of the phones on a regular basis.

So this post is more of a catch-up feature. We will list the Zenfone 3 models, the firmware details and the date of the roll out. Obviously some updates are more noteworthy than others and when updates do happen in the future, we hope to make posts for each version. What we have noticed though, is that Asus has made a lot of updates/improvements to the camera functionality and performance. This is especially true of the Zenfone 3 Deluxe series.

If you have yet to buy a Zenfone, these software/firmware updates are actually very important to consider. Think about this. If the Zenfone 3 Deluxe has had 3 or 4 camera tweaks since its initial release, consider the reviews that you might read about that phone. So if the photo part of the review is based on the first software/firmware, you need to consider the accuracy or lack of accuracy in those reviews. If you really want to dig, then ask the reviewer what software version the phone was using at the time. I bet 99% of the reviewers will ignore your question or they will have no idea what the version of firmware that was running on the phone at the time of the review. Due diligence. You need to check details of reviews before making a final judgement!

In order to get detailed listings of what’s changed or improved, you need to drill down a few pages on the Asus website. You need to get to the product page, then click the support link, then click the “Driver & Tools” tab, then use the drop down menu and choose “Android”, then click the “Firmware” link. Simple right? After those clicks, you get a the page where you can review the newest and entire list of firmware/software updates.

Recent Zenfone 3 Firmware/Software Updates – All Models

Rather than list every single update below, we’re going to provide you the most recent updates. At the very least this should give you an idea of Asus and their product support.

ZS570KL

  • JP-4.11.40.1162 (2016/10/31)

ZU680KL

  • WW-13.6.8.17 (2016/10/11)

ZE552KL

  • TIM_V13.20.10.75 (2016/10/27)
  • CN_V13.20.9.14 (2016/10/27)
  • WW_V13.20.10.79 (2016/10/13)
  • WW_V13.20.10.75 (2016/10/05)

ZE520KL

  • JP-13.20.10.77 (2016/10/21)
  • WW-13.20.10.79 (2016/10/13)
  • WW-13.20.10.75 (2016/10/05)

ZC551KL

  • WW-11.40.53.17 (2016/10/12)

ZC520TL

  • IN/ID_V13.1.1.15 (2016/10/28)
  • BR/PE_V13.1.2.16 (2016/10/28)

 

 

Software update 11.40.71.37 comes to Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS550KL)

November 8, 2016 Categories: News, Software Updates, Zenfone 3 Deluxe, ZS550KL by 0 Comments

The smaller and less robust Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS550KL) now has a new firmware/software update available. There are quite a number of improvements which we will list below.

Update 11.40.71.37 Details

Size: 1.78GB
Release Date: 2016/11/08

Available for the following model regions:

  • Version WW-11.40.71.37
  • Version JP-11.40.71.37

Improvements:

1. Improve photo capture speed.
2.Improve the calculating performance of HDR Pro mode
3.Enhance the purifying performance of headphone noice
4.Improve the roaming celluar connection search and registration speed.
5.Add outdoor mode in Audio Wizard and Volume Panel.
6.Enable touch key’s light “always on” service
7.Improve the VoLTE function resume speed after CSFB call ended in FET.

Instructions:

zs550kl-nov-8-2016

 

[source: Asus.com]

UK not getting Zenfone 3 according to Asus UK Twitter responses

November 6, 2016 Categories: News, Release Date, UK by 1 Comment

We have had many inquires from UK visitors asking about the Zenfone 3 in the UK. After much digging, we have been able to conclude that the UK is not getting any Zenfone 3 models.

Here are a number of quotes from Asus via their UK Twitter channel:

“Hi, we won’t be releasing this device in the UK so we don’t have test samples to send out” – Nov 1, 2016, Asus UK Twitter reply to a question about the Zenfone 3. [source]

 

“We won’t be releasing the device in the UK. Some countries like France and Italy may do” – Oct 27, 2016, Asus UK Twitter reply to a question about the Zenfone 3 Ultra availability. [source]

 

“We have no plans to release these devices in the UK unfortunately” – Oct 14, 2016, Asus UK Twitter reply to a question about the Zenfone 3 and Zenfone 3 Deluxe. [source]

 

Based on what the Asus UK Twitter channel has said regarding other devices, you can trust what they have said. This isn’t a situation where some hope is mentioned or some possibility in the future exists. It sounds firm. The UK is not getting a Zenfone 3 release.

So what can you do? You can look at European models of the Zenfone 3 series and then decide on currency conversion and network compatibility. We will see if there are suitable solutions if you’re in the UK and want a Zenfone 3 that is not UK specific.

Available in US for $149 – Zenfone 3 Max (ZC520TL)

November 2, 2016 Categories: News, Price, US, ZC520TL, Zenfone 3 Max by 1 Comment

First sighting of the Zenfone 3 Max (ZC520TL) in US based retailers! Selling price? Just $149 USD. That is astonishingly low however you are making some significant compromises in terms of specs.

In the Zenfone 3 Max, the main selling point is battery life. With a 4100mAh battery it’s going to be long lasting. The unknown though is the power efficiency of the MediaTek processor inside. We will have to wait for some review or customer feedback before we can say how stellar the battery life truly is.

The build and look of the Zenfone 3 Max is not saying budget at all. It’s a solid looking build quality. You are getting 16MB storage, 2GB RAM with a 1.25 GHz MediaTek MT6737 processor. The resolution is a modest 1280 x 720 on a 5.2-inch display. It does come with a finger print sensor which is not something you would associate with a budge priced phone. The battery as mentioned is the main selling point of this phone and it does offer the ability to reverse charge other devices.

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