We have been on this quest regarding accuracy surrounding the China TENAA listings. We wrote a recent article about the incorrect reporting of the new, smaller and cheaper Zenfone 3 Deluxe. In fact Asus has yet to launch an official product page, but they have included the ZS550KL in some of their ZS570KL pages. So we know for a fact this model exists, but the question is whether we just spotted it for the first time.
Part of the confusion here is in the fact that most tech sites don’t speak Chinese. The expression “lost in translation” certainly applies to this story. The reason we want to track this new and cheaper Zenfone 3 Deluxe is because we believe that it’s also headed to the US and Canada markets. We haven’t seen anyone discuss the possibility that the second, cheaper Zenfone 3 Deluxe just announced in China is the ZS550KL. We are here to make a few points.
So let’s first take a look at this image from the Zenfone 3 China launch event. Sorry we can’t even find the source, so please contact us if this is your photo and we will post credit link.
But most importantly, let’s look closer at the spec sheet that Asus provided:
Okay, so is this spec sheet confusing? Yes, certainly it is to an English only individual. However, let’s do our best.
First, see the “5.5”? That says 5.5-inches to our mind. That particular listing is speaking about the display. However we are questioning the accuracy of the spec sheet shown here. See the “AMOLED FHD”? That is not what Asus lists on their website and it’s not what is listed in the TENAA information. The ZS550KL is supposed to have a “IPS+” display whereas the ZS570KL sports the super AMOLED display. With the TENAA listing showing IPS display, that would likely be more reliable than what’s on this spec card show above.
The processor listed on the spec card says S625 @ 2.0GHz which matches correctly with the Asus information on their website. Also the 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage matches what Asus listed on their website for the ZS550KL.
Also from the spec sheet is the camera spec, “IMX298”. This camera spec is from the ZS550KL model according to the Asus.com website. The ZS570KL comes with the more premium IMX318 according to Asus.com.
Price wise? We do not feel that the models announced in China match with what other websites are reporting. It’s correct that the Zenfone 3 Deluxe Special Edition is the most expensive, but the second Zenfone 3 Deluxe model announced should be more expensive than the Zenfone 3 Ultra. According to what we see from the official Asus presentation, the Zenfone 3 Ultra is more expensive that the second Zenfone 3 Deluxe model. In our mind the only way this makes sense is if the second Zenfone 3 Deluxe is in fact the lesser spec ZS550KL model.
So ultimately there is a bit of a mixed bag of information. We feel strongly that China has been the first country to get the ZS550KL model. It may be worth noting this because it’s likely headed to the US and Canada markets in the next week or two.
