Skip to main content

Asus brings optical zoom into focus with the Zenfone Zoom

Are you a prolific Instagram sharer? The newly announced Asus Zenfone Zoom might be just the smartphone for you. While most spec details are unknown at this time, the Zoom’s most important feature is an impressive rear camera.

Unlike most smartphone cameras, which rely on digital enhancement to zoom into an image, the Zenfone Zoom is equipped with 3x optical zoom, accomplished by packing a ten element lens into the rear of the phone. The 13-megapixel sensor is no slouch either, easily shooting 1080p video, and the whole setup is equipped with laser auto-focus, and optical image stabilization.

asus-zenfone-zoom-5
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Zoom also sports the sort of manual control over your shooting that you normally only get with a full feature digital camera. Rather than relying on automatic imaging software, you can set the shutter speed, ISO settings, and more from within the Android 5.0 OS, all without unpacking your lenses.

Recommended Videos

The Zoom also comes equipped with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, with thin bezels and Gorilla Glass 3 for making sure every shot you take comes out perfectly.

There’s no word on release date yet, but when the Asus Zenfone does drop, it will start at $399. We’ll keep you updated on availability.

Brad Bourque
Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…
Android 16 put a digital bodyguard on my phone and you must enable it
Advanced Protection in Android 16.

Over the past couple of years, Android’s focus on user safety and device security has been pretty evident. The company has leveraged AI to build features that listen to calls and read messages in real-time and alert users if they are at risk of getting scammed. 

Similar guardrails have also been put in place for web browsing in Chrome, and a whole bunch of lost device portion protocols have been baked into the OS' core. A few of them have remained exclusive to Google’s Pixel phones (and some Samsung devices) so far, but with the release of Android 16, these benefits are now being extended to the entire platform.

Read more
Nothing Phone 3 is the firm’s biggest swing at Apple and Samsung yet
Is this the shot-in-the-arm the smartphone market desperately needs?
A person holding the Nothing Phone 2, with the lights active.

The Nothing Phone 3 will officially be available in the US, as the company looks to take on the likes of the iPhone 16, Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9 with a handset Nothing founder and CEO, Carl Pei, calls its "first true flagship smartphone".

Those looking for an alternative smartphone option this year will be able to pick up the Phone 3 from Amazon and Nothing's own website, reports TechCrunch.

Read more
This one iPadOS 26 feature has me excited for the iPhone Fold
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

Samsung is set to launch the seventh generation of its Galaxy Z Fold book-style folding phone this Summer, but its biggest rival is yet to show its folding phone hand. Apple has long been expected to unveil an iPhone Fold, and the latest rumors suggest that it will launch next year.

I’ve used almost every folding phone released globally, with some exceptions for extremely obscure ones. While I've always been curious what an iPhone Fold would look like, I was fairly certain that Apple shouldn't build it, as I wasn’t sure they could deliver on one necessary feature.

Read more