Zenfone 3 Deluxe shows up on AnTuTu

An Asus phone Z016D has made an appearance on the AnTuTu benchmark website. We will report this as the Zenfone 3 Deluxe because spec wise, it’s top end for sure. With the Deluxe model being the most expensive, this phone fits that bill.

Check out these specs:

  • 1920 x 1080 display
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 32GB of storage
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor
  • Adreno 530 GPU
  • 23MP rear and 8MP front facing cameras
  • Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

asus-zenfone-3-deluxe-antutu-001

Big Zenfone 3 shown in trailer. What is it?

Is it a tablet? Is it a phone? Is it even a phablet or is it even bigger than that category? Does it belong in its own category? It’s ultra big, we know that.

So you watched the new Computex 2016 trailer from Asus right? Okay, at the end they showed off three different sized devices. We’ve looked at the smaller two, but then we have this giant on the right side. It’s definitely different that’s for sure.

First, let’s get the reality of the situation cleared up. There was a leak of a mysterious 5.9-inch Zenfone 3 (or it was at least guessed to be a Zenfone 3) which showed up in benchmark results. That was months ago in January 2016. We want to illustrate why we simply do not believe that the phone in the teaser is that 5.9-inch phone. Take a look, and the images don’t lie.

zenfone-3-ultra-vs-zenfone-3-size-comparison

We analyzed the smallest phone to the middle phone and based on that analysis, we have determined that a 5.9-inch phone would line-up close to where we have the arrow pointing in the above illustration. See what we mean by clearly not being the 5.9-inch Zenfone 3? Even with a wide margin of error, the phone is much bigger.

So how big? We are guessing that it is 7-inches or smaller. With added bezel, a screen size of 6.8-inches would appear possible, if not likely.

Now from that teaser and with the three Zenfone 3 models lined up, clearly the ultra model is different in design. There are some key differences that we spot.

  • The camera and flash is located in the top left corner of the device. The Zenfone 3 phones shown in the teaser have a central location in the rear. In terms of functionality, putting the camera in a different spot on this ultra made sense from a usability perspective.
  • This big phone/tablet has the volume rocker located in the same rear position as the Zenfone 2. The other Zenfone 3 models that were teased appear to have finger print sensors on the rear, which again is a significant design difference between these devices.

There was a Red Dot leaked image which was said to be a Zenfone 3 Deluxe. That particular photo showed a button on the front, which is likely a finger print sensor. Which leads up to a conundrum of sorts. Leaked photo shows Zenfone 3 Deluxe with front button which means either Red Dot had the phone named incorrectly or the big phone here is possibly the Zenfone 3 Deluxe and not the Zenfone 3 Ultra. We can also see quite clearly in the teaser video that this big Zenfone 3 has a single button on the side, just like the Red Dot leaked image. We remain a bit stumped for now.

zenfone-3-deluxe

We also me keep in mind that Asus could be throwing a curve ball and this big device is actually a 7-inch ZenPad tablet. However, logic says that doesn’t make a lot of sense to put a ZenPad in with their Zenfone 3 trailer. Considering how much is riding on a successful Zenfone 3 launch, we don’t see the under performing tablet category making an appearance along side their great hope.

We have also heard many tech news websites suggest that big device is the Zenfone 3 Max. Really? Max is for battery, not for screen size. Or did Asus change that too? A bigger screen would require more battery, so calling a device “Max” becomes a lot more challenging as you increase the size and or resolution. The original first generation Zenfone Max is 5.5-inches so why would Asus make a big leap to 6-inches+?

The last consideration here is that the scale is off on the video. You would think that Asus would present these phones in a true scale, but you just never know.

First Computex 2016 teaser video showcases Zenfone 3 models

This has been anticipated by us for a while. The first Computex 2016 teaser! Watch the video, then let’s discuss!

First and foremost? Asus is really pushing the camera capabilities of their Zenfone 3 line-up. It’s clear (no pun intended) that they are focused on meeting or beating the competition regarding phone cameras. We are all for that!

In particular there are some interesting details in this video. First, we cannot exactly make matches to the glimpses in the video in comparison to the two leaked images from Red Dot. Yes the rear aspect of the leaked photos vs. this teaser appear accurate, but the front video shown one part of the video here does not match up with the two Red Dot leaked photos.

So the key details we are getting from this video? There are going to be three different size Zenfone 3 models. In our opinion, they are the following:

  • 5.2-inch
  • 5.5-inch
  • 6.8-inch

We also did see those benchmarks from earlier in 2016 which showed off a 5.9-inch model. We just can’t connect the dots as to a 5.9-inch Zenfone right now. This video would obviously have the flagship Zenfone 3, which we believe in the middle one shown at the end of the video. On the left is a slightly smaller model but on the right, we see a gigantic phablet/tablet phone. The biggie is not a mere .4-inches bigger than 5.5-inches. No way. It’s much bigger so it cannot be 5.9-inches.

Why we believe there is a 5.2-inch Zenfone 3 coming

We just watched the first Comptex 2016 trailer which features the Zenfone 3 line-up. Within that video was something very interesting. It’s subtle. At first watch we thought something, but then thought nothing of it. Upon further review however, it does appear that 5.5-inch models are not going to be the smallest offerings from Asus.

How does a 5.2-inch phone work for you? Take a look at our findings and you can decide for yourself whether we are correct or are just talking nonsense.

5-2-inch-zenfone-3-analysis

When you consider that the teaser video shows three different Zenfones, you can see how they all line-up. The first one in the line-up clearly is slightly smaller. This is why we are suggesting it’s likely 5.2-inch which is a common size in mobile phones. It’s likely to be less wide also, which can be ideal for smaller hands. With the naming schemes that Asus relies on, we may very well be looking at a ZE520KL Zenfone 3 model.

Also let’s look at the width. The 5.5-inch Zenfone 3 is above the green line, and the smaller 5.2-inch Zenfone 3 is below the green divider line. The arrow indicates the width difference. We admit we might be off by a pixel or two, but we are confident that the evidence here suggests quite clearly it’s a smaller Zenfone 3 in width as well.

smaller-zenfone-3-laser-5-2-inch

 

Connecting the dots on benchmarks to official Zenfone 3 details

It was back on January 21, 2016 when two mysterious Asus phones were spotted on GFX Bench. Those two models were listed as Z010DD and Z012D. There was obviously rampant speculation during that initial leak, but now we may have more details which could potentially connect a few of the dots.

First let’s look at the Z01DD. Those benchmarks revealed the following: 5.9-inch screen, 1280 x 720 resolution display, octa-core Snapdragon 615, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 12MP rear and 5MP front camera (both cameras capable of recording full HD). This was originally discovered January 22, 2016. However, upon further inspection, we can see there is a 5.5-inch screen model listed and it shows that model as having Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. The plot indeed thickens!

This is the original benchmark that was discovered first. In particular notice the “Display” listing:

asus-zenfone-3-z010dd-original

Now look at a recent screenshot of the Z010DD benchmark. Notice the added “Display” entry showing 5.5-inch size:

zenfone-3-max-benchmarks

So we can say for almost certainty, that the Z010DD is in fact the Zenfone 3 Max. The 5.9-screens doesn’t make a lot of sense given the 1280 x 720 resolution so we are prepared to say the new Zenfone 3 Max will be 5.5-inch size. Is it possible that Asus is releasing 2 models of the Zenfone 3 Max, one with a phablet sized screen? Certainly this is possible given the fact that Asus officially stated that they expect the Zenfone 3 Max to be 2/3 of their Zenfone 3 sales.

Next is the Z012D (A: January 21: 2016). The benchmarks discovered the following specs: 5.5-inch screen, 1920 x 1080 resolution, hexa-core Snapdragon 650 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 12MP rear and 5MP front camera.

asus-zenfone-3-z012d-original-benchmark-leak

Next let’s look at a more recent Z012D variant (B: April 21, 2016). Those benchmarks listed the following: 5.5-inch screen, 1920 x 1080 resolution, octa-core Snapdragon 625, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, 8MP front facing camera (rear camera specs unavailable).

zenfone-3-deluxe-benchmark-z012d-latest-leak

So what to make of the Z012D and the two variations? It’s possible that the newest benchmark is the Zenfone 3 flagship phone. We have considered whether one of these versions might be the more premium Zenfone 3 Deluxe, but there isn’t anything leading us in that direction. When we think of most premium model, we expect to see 4GB RAM and none of these benchmark models have that.