This year has seen quite a few notable trends. One of them in particular, has been the rise of the affordable mid-range devices. While mid-range devices have always been affordable, this year has specifically seen their specs increasing greatly. Offering consumers a greater device at the same ‘affordable’ price. Although, many might credit OnePlus with this surge in activity over 2015, it seems many manufacturers had this game plan in development.
For instance, one of the most popular devices which came through this year at a mid-range price was the ASUS ZenFone 2. It is difficult to see this device as a mid-range smartphone as it did come boasting a number of ‘flagship’ specs like 4GB RAM. However, its price did firmly make it an affordable device and one of the best you could in 2015. As such, it should not be too much of a surprise to learn that the company’s chairman, Jonney Shih, has now confirmed that the ZenFone 3 is going to come. The confirmation came through an interview Shih gave to Trusted Reviews. Although, the interview did not reveal too many details about the next ZenFone, it did confirm that the device will come and did confirm one specific feature worth noting. This is that the ZenFone 3 will come sporting a Type-C USB port. This is again, another trend which has developed over recent months with a number of the latest smartphones like the OnePlus 2, Nexus 5x and Nexus 6P all coming sporting the new port, which is designed for ‘any way’ usage and faster data transfers. When asked why the ZenFone 2 did not come sporting the new port, Shih noted that it was a question of cost and timing, suggesting that the timing was simply not right with the launch of the ZenFone 2, but now that the tech is starting to roll out on other devices, it is the right time for the third generation device.
Shih did not reveal any further specifics on when the ZenFone 3 will arrive, although, as the ZenFone 2 was announced quite early in 2015, it does seem to make sense that the ZenFone 3 will follow suit early in 2016. Of course, details such as the price was not hinted or provided.