Page 6 : Overall & 3D Performance, Our Verdict & Award

Overall Performance

AnTuTu is a nice benchmark for testing various performance aspects of Android devices.

	ASUS ZenFone 3	ASUS ZenFone 3 Ultra	HTC 10	honor 8
TOTAL SCORE	62761	76096	113813	90737
3D SCORE	13022	18816	50700	17706
– 3D (Marooned)	7906	10861	34778	9829
– 3D (Garden)	5116	7952	15922	7877
UX SCORE	23789	26794	30890	34550
– UX Data Secure	5847	5077	6319	7338
– UX Data Process	3109	4198	3379	5513
– UX Strategy Games	4254	7503	5433	9745
– UX Image Process	7443	6879	9521	5017
– UX I/O Performance	3136	3137	6238	6937
CPU SCORE	20342	23689	21915	32255
– CPU Mathematics	4226	6950	8494	10483
– CPU Common Use	6593	6311	5931	8543
– CPU Multi-Core	9523	10428	7490	13229
RAM	5608	6797	10308	6226

The ASUS ZenFone 3 (Amazon) is not going to win any gaming awards. It was fast in 2D graphics and CPU processing, but performed poorly in the 3D tests. It was far slower than top-of-the-line smartphones like the HTC 10, and even some mid-range smartphones like the Kirin 950-powered honor 8.

 

Gaming Performance – 3DMark

We tested the ZenFone 3’s gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.

	ASUS ZenFone 3	ASUS ZenFone 3 Ultra	HTC 10	honor 8
Gaming Score	13956	17719	23171	18659
Graphics	13484	21124	27512	19993
Physics	15903	11328	14925	15127
Graphics Test 1	80.5 fps	115.2 fps	136.6 fps	122.5 fps
Graphics Test 2	46.1 fps	76.3 fps	106.4 fps	67.4 fps
Physics Test	50.5 fps	36.0 fps	47.4 fps	48.0 fps

The Qualcomm Adreno 506 GPU in the ZenFone 3 (Amazon) is no 3D powerhouse and it shows. It was half as fast as the HTC 10 (Adreno 530), 36% slower than the ZenFone 3 Ultra (Adreno 510), and 33% slower than the honor 8 (ARM Mali-T880).

 

Our Verdict

The ZenFone 3 smartphone family represents a concerted effort by ASUS to break into the premium smartphone market. The ASUS ZenFone 3 (ZE552KL) model itself represents the tip of the spear. After all, it is the most affordable variant in the family.

Now, we must point out that this is not the best smartphone for 3D gaming. The ASUS ZenFone 3 (Amazon) is very fast at 2D games, and work applications, but it falters in 3D gaming performance. But if you do not intend to play 3D games on it, this is a very good smartphone for everything else.

It has a really good front and back cameras. Yes, the highlights are overblown (can ASUS fix this in a firmware update please?), but the optical and electronic image stabilisation has been greatly improved. The resulting pictures and videos are quite amazing. They are sharp, and the colours vivid.

[adrotate banner=”4″]

The ZenFone 3 (Amazon) also supports 4K video recording, in addition to 1080p recording. And some of you might like to know that it can record videos of indefinite length and file size. No more 30 minute limit. No more 4 GB limit. Just awesome for recording events like your child’s football game or a friend’s wedding!

You will also love the long battery life and the short recharge time – something you will appreciate if you are always on-the-go and have little access to a power point. The same goes for its large memory and storage capacity. With 4 GB of memory, and 64 GB of flash storage, you will find it hard to run out of both.

And last but not, the ASUS ZenFone 3 (Amazon) is a work of art. It exudes luxury with the 2.5D curved glass on both sides melding into the solid metal frame. That is a luxury that comes with a price premium – one that many will feel well worth it.

We are so impressed with the ASUS ZenFone 3 (Amazon) that we feel it deserves no less than our Reviewer’s Choice Award. Congratulations, ASUS!

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!