Jun 09, 2016 06:55 AM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

A slew of affordable yet impressive handsets have been debuting over the past few months. Asus' upcoming Zenfone 3 is just the next in line, however an array of awe-inspiring features elevate it above the rest of the middle-range handsets.

Along with the Zenfone 3, the Taiwanese electronics firm recently announced the ZenFone 3 Deluxe and the ZenFone 3 Ultra during its Zenvolution event not too long ago. While Asus remained mum regarding the smartphones' availability, the company hinted it will take the wraps off the aforementioned smartphone sometime in the third quarter.

A new leak indicating that the Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe will debut in August in Indian markets has surfaced online. The smartphone will reportedly feature the Snapdragon 823 SoC, which arguably the best processor from Snapdragon instead of the existing Snapdragon 820 SoC that is bolted in standard variant released at Computex which wrapped up in Taiwan, NewsEveryday reported.

As far as the Asus Zenfone 3 is concerned, it boasts a Sony-like design creativity: flat, thin metal sporting minimal adornment on the front and back. In terms of design, it sports a 2.5D Gorilla Glass on both sides, robust spun-metal beneath, and beveled edges. Its dazzling, aqua blue color version is simply the icing on the cake.

Unlike most manufacturers that carefully opt for innocuous rectifications to their smartphones, Asus seem to have geared the Zenfone 3 with a look that totally stands apart from the rest of the smartphones in the series. No doubt, this is a great leap forward as far as building quality is concerned. That said, it remains to be seen whether the Zenfone 3 is equally impressive in terms of specs and features.

For the selfie addicts, the Zenfone 3 sports an impressive 8 megapixel front snapper, and a 16 megapixel rear camera. The smartphone boasts a Full-HD display. But that's not all, the Zenfone 3 reportedly packs an extremely fast laser-autofocus which focuses with a lightning speed of just 0.03 seconds - the same speed as Sony's Xperia Z5 camera, AndroidPit reported.

The Taiwanese smartphone maker has outdone itself with what looks like its most attractive smartphone design so far, and can be purchased without burning a hole in your pocket.

What do you think about upcoming Zenfone 3? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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