Asus Adds ZenFone 3 Series, ZenBook 3 Notebook to Its Lineup

As part of a huge product launch, Asus also rolled out the ZenWatch 3 smartwatch, two Transformer 3 tablets, a 9.7-inch ZenPad tablet and new gaming machines.

The ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.7 Special Edition handset features an all-metal unibody chassis and a 5.7-inch full HD AMOLED display, 6GB of memory, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 256GB of built-in storage and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 cover glass on its display. The phone also includes quick charging, a 23-megapixel main rear camera with optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone runs on the ZenUI 3.0 Android OS and includes a fingerprint scanner for security, dual SIM card slots and microSD card support for storage cards of up to 128GB. The Special Edition will be available at the end of October for $799 through the Asus Store in Glacier Silver or Sand Gold.

The ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.7 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and includes 64GB of storage, while sharing a host of features with its Special Edition stablemate, such as its all-metal unibody chassis, its full HD AMOLED display, 6GB of memory, a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 display cover glass, quick charging, a 23-megapixel main rear camera with optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone runs on the ZenUI 3.0 Android OS and includes a fingerprint scanner for security, dual SIM card slots and microSD card support for storage cards of up to 128GB. The ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.7 can be preordered immediately for $499 through Asus and selected retailers and will be available in Glacier Silver.

This handset also boasts an all-metal unibody and features a full HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of memory and 64GB of on-board storage. Also included are a 16-megapixel rear-facing main camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, quick charging and 4K video recording with stabilization. The phone runs on the ZenUI 3.0 Android OS and includes a fingerprint scanner for security, dual SIM card slots and microSD card support for storage cards of up to 128GB. The Deluxe 5.5 will sell for $399 and is available for preorder.

The ZenFone 3 Laser handset features a 5.5-inch full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core 64-bit processor, 2GB of memory, 32GB of on-board storage, a 13-megapixel main camera with laser focus and 4K video recording capabilities, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone runs on the ZenUI 3.0 Android OS and includes a fingerprint scanner for security, dual SIM card slots and microSD card support for storage cards of up to 128GB. The Laser will sell for $199 and is available for preorder.

The new ZenBook 3 notebook includes a choice of Intel Core i7-7500U or i5-7200U processors and is equipped with a 12.5-inch LED backlit full HD display. The Core i7-equipped machine includes 16GB of LPDDR3 2,133MHz memory, a 512GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD) and runs on Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, while the Core i5 model features 8GB of LPDDR3 1,866MHz memory, a 256GB SATA SSD drive and runs on Windows 10 Home. Both ZenBook 3 models are 11.65 inches wide, 7.53 inches high and 0.47 inches thick, and weigh about 2 pounds. They include a USB 3.1 Type-C port and come with an Asus Mini Dock that features a USB port, a USB-C port and an HDMI port. Also included is a four-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, an edge-to-edge display and a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 display cover. The ZenBook 3, available now, sells for $1,599 for the Core i7 model and $1,099 for the Core i5 model.

The company’s latest smartwatch, the ZenWatch 3, features Asus’ first circular smartwatch display—a 1.39-inch AMOLED screen (400-by-400 resolution) on a watch body made from jewelry-grade 316L stainless steel. The ZenWatch 3 includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, 512MB of LDDR3 memory, 4GB of on-board eMMC flash storage and a 340mAh battery that can quick-charge to 60 percent in 15 minutes. The smartwatch meets IP67 dirt-, dust- and water-resistance standards and comes in Silver, Gunmetal and Rose Gold. The watch has three control buttons for its operations and will sell for $229 when it becomes available in early November.

The Transformer 3 Pro is an all-metal two-in-one device that features a 12.6-inch 3K (2,880-by-1920) anti-glare touch-screen display, an Intel Core i7 6500U processor, 16GB of 2,133MHz memory, a 512GB PCIEx4 SSD and a backlit detachable keyboard. It includes an Asus Pen stylus that can sense 1,024 different levels of pressure; it also has stereo speakers that are tuned by Harmon Kardon. The Transformer 3 Pro sells for $1,499 and is available immediately at Costco.

The smaller Asus Transformer 3 Mini two-in-one tablet includes a 10.1-inch touch-screen, an Intel Core x5-8350 processor, 4GB of memory, 128GB of eMMC on-board storage and a rear fingerprint reader for security. An Asus Pen stylus is also included. The Transformer 3 Mini will sell for $399 and will be available in late October through the Asus Store and leading retailers.

The ZenPad 3S 10 tablet includes a 9.7-inch QXGA (2,048-by-1,536) high-resolution display, a MediaTek 8176 hexa-core processor, 4GB of memory, 64GB of on-board eMMC storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and dual front speakers. The tablet sells for $299 and will be available in early November.

The new Asus “Republic of Gaming” GX800 gaming machine features an Intel Core i7 6820HK processor, up to 64GB of DDR4 2800MHz SDRAM memory, an 18.4-inch 4K LED backlit ultra HD display, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 SLI graphics processor with GDDR5X, 16GB VRAM and a 512GB PCIE Gen3X4 SSD. The laptop is 18.03 inches wide, 13.30 inches deep and 1.78 inches thick, and weighs about 23 pounds with its detachable liquid-cooling module. The machine runs Microsoft Windows 10 Professional and sells for $5,999.