latest
Asus releases an early Android 10 build for its mid-range ZenFone 5
The final release could still be far away
Asus was relatively quick with its Android 10 rollout that reached the ZenFone 6 and 5Z in November, while the gaming-centric ROG Phone II got the update about a month back. With the flagships now covered, the Taiwanese brand wasn’t expected to extend the software coverage to older mid-rangers like the ZenFone 5, especially since the handset already got a major update last year. As it turns out, Asus is indeed working on its Android 10 update, and the developer version is already out.
It's been about six months since Android Pie launched, and we're still waiting on updates for quite a few phones. Some OEMs haven't even talked about which phones will get the update, but Asus has finally spilled the beans on its OTA plans. Well, some of the beans. There's a list of phones that will get Pie, but we don't have a specific timeline.
It's been a few months since Google rolled out Android 9 Pie, which means that many OEMs with skinned UIs are gearing up to start updating their devices too. Samsung began its process with the S9 and S9+ on Christmas, and now Asus is following its footsteps with its Zenfone 5.
At Google I/O, it was announced that camera apps from over 10 major manufacturers would be getting Google Lens integration. Since then, Sony's Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact and some newer Motorola phones have had this functionality added. Now, ASUS phones are being updated to support this as well.
Advertising can get pretty stale these days, so it's always nice to see something different. ASUS took "different" and ran with it, throwing 89 ZenFone 5s on dancer Ian Eastwood to advertise the ZenFone 5/5z. The result is... quite the spectacle.
ASUS' Android phones might slide under the radar for most, but the company's new ZenFone 5 series probably won't. The company has had some trouble historically trying to penetrate the US phone market to any great depth—perhaps a result of its crowded, sometimes confusing product portfolio—but nonetheless it persists. Some of its phones have even been pretty good. But now that the wraps have been taken off its latest line of phones, it seems like ASUS has found a successful way to attract the attention it wanted: by copying the iPhone X's notch.
Asus, as we expected, showed off the new ZenFone 5 family at MWC. Unlike years past, the Taiwanese company is keeping in step with modern smartphone trends, in some cases to the point of plain copying the iPhone X. Regardless, some of the new devices look fantastic and our initial impressions are relatively positive.