Asus launched a bunch of smartphones earlier this week in various price categories. One of the phones was the new Zenfone 3 Laser which is in fact the cheapest variant of the all, priced at Rs 18,999. Lenovo on the other hand launched its camera-centric smartphone, the Vibe Shot last year which is now available at the same price point on Flipkart. The Zenfone 3 laser along with the Zenfone 3 Deluxe and Zenfone 3 Ultra will be available from next month. Let’s compare these two smartphones and see which one comes out as a winner based on the specifications.
Design and Display
Starting with the Zenfone 3 Laser, the smartphone comes with a metallic unibody design with a vertical rectangular finger print scanner at the back. Both the volume rocker and power button is located on the right side of the device. Below the display are the three touch capacitive buttons.
The Lenovo Vibe Shot comes with a design language of a mixture of glass and metal. The Vibe Shot comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 glass panels both at the front and back with a metal strip for the primary camera at the back. The sides are made out of metal with a bunch of buttons at the right side including the camera shutter key, mode toggle, power button and volume buttons. Ergonomically, Lenovo Vibe Shot wins this segment even though Zenfone 3 laser still sports a metallic design.
The Zenfone 3 Laser comes with a 5.5 inch 2.5D curved Full HD display (1080 x 1920 pixels). The Lenovo Vibe Shot on the other hand comes with the same resolution but with a smaller 5.0 inch display resulting in more Pixel density of 441 ppi. Also, Lenovo has done a great job with colour reproduction and contrast on this display. Below the display you get the capacitive buttons as well. While Asus has gone with fairly a new and fresh design, Lenovo has opted for a design very similar to previous iPhones especially the iPhone 4.
Processor and Performance
Jumping straight into what’s under the hood, the Asus Zenfone 3 laser comes with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core Chipset clocked at 1.4 GHz and Adreno 505 GPU. Well, the exact same processor and GPU is seen in Xiaomi’s Redmi 3S which is priced much cheaper than the Zenfone 3 Laser. The Lenovo Vibe Shot, on the other hand, comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core (1.7 GHz x 4 + 1.0GHz x 4) with Adreno 405 GPU. You get a better processor on Lenovo Vibe Shot but with a slightly older GPU.
Asus Zenfone 3 laser runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the new ZenUI 3.0 on top whereas the Vibe Shot still runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with Lenovo’s own Vibe OS on top.
Storage and Memory
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser sports 32GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB via micro SD card. The smartphone also boasts a whopping 4GB RAM for easy multi-tasking. Lenovo Vibe Shot also comes with 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB and has 3GB RAM.
One may note that while Zenfone 3 laser has a hybrid SIM slot, the Lenovo Vibe Shot has a dedicated micro SD card slot.
Camera
Asus Zenfone 3 Laser has 13MP rear-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, dual tone dual LED flash and laser autofocus. The front facing camera is an 8MP shooter with same f/2.0 aperture. Both the cameras are capable of recording Full HD video.
Lenovo Vibe Shot’s main selling point is its camera with the company boasting about the technology used in the Sensors to be far more superior to other phones at this price range. The Vibe Shot comes with a 16MP f/2.2 camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Autofocus and triple LED flash. The front facing camera is an 8MP shooter. The Vibe Shot being a camera-centric smartphone does a good job in day lighting and a decent job in low light. Moreover, Lenovo has given a dedicated camera shutter button and a camera mode toggle (Auto – Pro) which is extremely helpful. The overall comparison will only be possible once the Zenfone 3 Laser is available for testing, as of now, the Lenovo Vibe Shot looks better on paper.
Battery and Connectivity
Both the phones are powered by 3000 mAh battery with the one in Lenovo Vibe Shot being lithium – polymer. The battery life on Lenovo Vibe Shot should be better given its smaller display and less RAM.
In the connectivity department, both the phones have WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM, 2G/3G /LTE etc. Though Asus Zenfone 3 Laser comes with Bluetooth 4.2 technology. Ambient sensors, Accelerometer, Proximity sensors are also present in both the phones. There is no USB Type-C port but a USB 2.0 on both the phones for charging and data transfer.
Wrapping Up
Asus’s Zenfone 3 Laser and Lenovo Vibe Shot are tough competitors but Asus Zenfone 3 Laser is a newer phone with latest Android version and better RAM. Whereas, the Lenovo Vibe Shot has an extremely beautiful display, better camera on paper and better design. Also it is more compact with smaller display. Go for Lenovo Vibe Shot if camera is your priority. If not, then Asus Zenfone 3 Laser should be a decent buy. The Zenfone 3 will probably be available in Silver and Gold colour variants and the Vibe Shot comes in three colour variants: Red, White and Black.