Lenovo has shaken up the Indian mobile industry with the launch of the Z2 Plus, which is the cheapest Snapdragon 820 powered smartphone available out there. With a starting price of Rs 17,999, this device has already caused headaches for rival manufacturers. So how does ASUS' ZenFone 3 stack up against it?
Design
As with any smartphone, design is always a subjective matter. But if we were to pick one winner here, the ZenFone 3 will probably take the cake for its polished and glossy look. The speaker grill is also quite refined on the ZenFone 3, while the Z2 Plus uses a pretty standard looking speaker grill at the bottom. Speakers on both devices are located right next to the USB Type-C port.
Display
The ZenFone 3 comes with a 5.2-inch Full HD display on board, while the Z2 Plus is slightly smaller with its 5-inch panel. The display resolution remains unchanged at Full HD or 1920x1080 pixels.
Camera
Lenovo is using a 13MP ISOCELL camera sensor on the back, which is known to perform decently well in suitable camera conditions. The ZenFone 3, however, packs a 16MP camera with an aperture size of f/2.0, allowing more light and better pictures overall. Although we're yet to compare the two phones side-by-side, we can ascertain that the ASUS offering will have the upper hand, at least on paper.
Both phones come equipped with 8MP f/2.0 front facing camera sensors, so expect identical results from the selfie cameras.
Performance
The highlight of the Z2 Plus is the quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, making it the cheapest handset out there to feature the chipset. While this might not be enough to push sales of the device, one can expect this to have a bearing on the customers' decision to purchase the handset. The ZenFone 3 is sporting an octa-core 2 GHz Snapdragon 625 processor, which is quite good on its own, but falls behind in comparison with the Snapdragon 820.
Battery
The ZenFone 3 is packing a 2,650mAh battery unit underneath, while the Z2 Plus is built with a significantly upgraded 3,500mAh unit. Needless to say, Lenovo's offering has the clear edge here.
Pricing and availability
The Lenovo Z2 Plus is available in two RAM/Storage configurations. One with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, priced at Rs 17,999, and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, priced at Rs 19,999. The handset is an exclusive via Amazon India and can be bought through an open sale starting 12AM on the 26th of September.
The ASUS ZenFone 3 is currently sold in just the one variant, which packs 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. This model is priced at Rs 21,999 or cheaper and can be bought from e-commerce retailers like Flipkart and Amazon.
