ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom US launch delayed to add "better specs"

In early January 2017, we got a chance to check out an early version of the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom at CES. While we thought it was cool this phone had an optical zoom for its dual lens rear camera, much of the phone’s other specs were in the mid-range. As it turns out, ASUS may have decided that was not good enough for this phone.

The ZenFone 3 Zoom was scheduled to be released sometime in February, but we are getting close to the end of the month with no launch announcement. In a response to a fan’s question about the release of the phone on its Facebook site this week, an ASUS rep confirmed that we will have to wait a while longer for the phone:

Unfortunately, the ZenFone 3 Zoom has been delayed until Q2. We’re reworking it with better specs so you and many others can have an awesome smartphone to use.

The fact that ASUS will be releasing this phone with “better specs” means that our previous coverage of the ZenFone 3 Zoom might not be as accurate anymore. At CES 2017, the company said the phone would have two 12 MP cameras in the back, with an 2.3x optical zoom feature, along with a 13MP front-facing camera. The phone also had a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, a big 5000mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor in the back, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. Pricing had not been revealed at that time.

Again, some or all of these specs may not be in the final version of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom when it is finally released, so stay tuned as we will get that information out as soon as the company reveals more info. At the very least, we would hope that the phone would get Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with this delay.