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Asus started 2024 in great fashion, launching the powerful ROG Phone 8 last month. Since then, we've also received extensive information on a potential Zenfone 10 successor launching soon, dubbed the Zenfone 11 Ultra. However, prematurely leaked renders indicated that the new device would merely be a rebrand of the ROG Phone 8. We don't have to wait much longer to get confirmation on this front, as Asus has just sent out invites for the phone's launch, and it's not when you'd expect.
Last year, there was a rumor floating around that Asus would stop making the Zenfone, to the chagrin of all small phone lovers out there. This rumor turned out to be untrue, but with a recent leak that showcases the upcoming Zenfone 11 Ultra, brought to light by Mishaal Rahman on X (via Reddit user Td3v1l), it looks as though Asus has rebadged the ROG 8 as a Zenfone Ultra, complete with a 6.78-inch screen, which surely doesn't sound very small, lending credence to the once squashed rumor small Zenfones might become a thing of the past.
Gaze at the colorful Asus Zenfone 10 ahead of its official launch
Leaked images leave nothing to the imagination
The Asus Zenfone 9 is currently our favorite small phone with flagship-tier specs and dual cameras in an era where even the best budget phones have three lenses on the back. Now, we are preparing to see its successor, the Asus Zenfone 10, launch later this month. We already know quite a lot about the phone, but ahead of the launch, we now have a first look at the hardware design.
Leaked Asus Zenfone 9 renders show off the compact Android flagship of your dreams
A 5.9" display might not sound small, but in 2022, we'll take whatever we can get
If you're a fan of small phones — like many of the writers here at Android Police are — you're probably anticipating the launch of the Zenfone 9. The next non-gaming phone from Asus promises to be one of the only compact Android flagships to launch this year, a rarity in this world of phablets and foldables. The company has already sent out invites to the global Zenfone 9 launch event, but if you're unwilling to wait that long for an official reveal, some leaked renders might be enough to tide you over.
Leaks spill all the beans ahead of the Asus ZenFone 8 launch event
The Zenfone 8 Flip hangs on to the rotating camera module, but the smaller Zenfone 8 drops it
Asus is still very much an also-ran in the smartphone world, but that gives it the space to try some unconventional designs that many find appealing. Take, for example, the Zenfone 6 and later, which elegantly solves the aesthetic issue of the notch by making its rear camera module flip around to the front when needed. Personally, I think it makes the Zenfone series some of the best-looking Android hardware there is. Asus isn't quite done with this design yet, according to a newly-leaked render of the unannounced ZenFone 8 Flip. We've also got a few more details on the regular ZenFone 8.
Asus is now accepting sign-ups for its ZenFone 7 Android 11 closed beta program
A late bloomer in the ZenFone family
Asus released its first Android 11 beta build last week — not for the latest ZenFone 7 line but yesteryear’s ZenFone 6. It’s not typical for companies to treat their older models with latest Android updates before their current flagships, but nothing seems to be going straight in 2020, so what the heck. The ZenFone 7 and 7 Pro are at last catching up with their predecessor as they’re now getting their own Android 11 beta program, which you can sign up for right away.
Leaked ASUS ZenFone 7 photos suggest that the motorized flip camera is here to stay
Another leak reveals most of its key specifications
ASUS’s big flagship launch for the year is just around the corner. But two days before the company will officially take the wraps off its ZenFone 7 series, a couple of leaks have popped up to reveal what at least one of the upcoming models is going to look like. That nifty flip-up camera from last year’s ZenFone 6 looks set to make an appearance once again to give the phone a clean, notch-less front.
ASUS has been improving on its ZenFones with every generation, which means we have high hopes for the ZenFone 7 line. A YouTube live stream event for the ZenFone 7 launch has just been listed for August 26th, less than two weeks away.
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Android 10 beta testing for ASUS’ last two flagships — the ZenFone 6 and the ZenFone 5Z — is already underway since August, though only for a small, closed group. The early ZenUI version for the 5Z reportedly came laden with a long list of bugs that essentially held off its public release for a while. ASUS appears to have addressed many of those flaws, and is now making the ZenUI 6 open beta available to a wider userbase of its 2018 flagship.
The ZenFone 6 marks the beginning of a new era for ASUS, as the company switched to an AOSP-inspired ROM for the phone — plus, it's generally a surprisingly good phone at a decent price with an interesting take on cameras. The device has already got a plethora of updates, and now that it's starting to become available in retail, it received yet another one with version 16.1210.1906.156 that adds ARCore capability, further camera refinements, and the June 2019 Android security patch.
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- Looking at Flipkart's listing, it seems that ASUS has taken quick action in rebranding for India. The ZenFone 6 will now be called "ASUS 6z" there. The listing does still have "ZenFone 6" in the URL, but there's probably not much that can be done about that.
ASUS's ZenFone line may not be popular stateside, but that's not the case in overseas markets. Unfortunately, it looks like the ZenFone phones may soon have to be completely rebranded in India. This is thanks to a lawsuit made by Telecare Network, which owns the trademarks "ZEN" and "ZENMOBILE" in the country.
Last year's Asus Zenfone 5Z was an excellent phone with great hardware and an even better price point. The Zenfone 6, however, takes everything its predecessor did well and ups the ante with a wholly original design, powerful hardware, and a motorized flip-up camera, all while starting at $499 like the 5Z.
Asus today unveiled its 2019 flagship, the ZenFone 6. Sporting the latest hardware, its headlining features are its motorized flip camera, a huge 5,000mAh battery, and the very attractive starting price point of $499.For you spec junkies, here's what you get:
When ASUS started updating a few of its phones to Android Pie, it ran into issues for some models, including the Zenphone Max Pro M1 (ZB601KL) and Max M2 (ZB632KL). Their upgrade was supposed to roll out in March, but the company had to apologize and delay the release to mid-April. True to its word, ASUS is now pushing the new software to the first devices in a staged distribution, starting in India.
Asus has already rolled out Pie to a few of its phones, but the vast majority are still stuck on Android 8.0 Oreo (or older). Three phones were expected to get Pie soon — the Zenfone Max Pro M1, Max Pro M2, and Max M2 — but now have to wait a bit longer.
Last week, we saw some leaked images of purported Asus ZenFone 6 prototypes with various designs. The most interesting (or most alarming, depending on your outlook) showed a notch way over on the right side of the display. We didn't think much of it at the time since the authenticity couldn't be verified, but a new leak suggests that this could indeed be the real deal.
Asus and Verizon have had an on-and-off deal here in the U.S., both for phones and tablets (the latter of which aren't half bad). One of of those devices, the Zenfone V Live, is getting an update to Oreo starting today. Another one of those better-late-than-never situations, I guess.
When Asus announced the Zenfone 5 lineup at MWC, all eyes were fixed on the the king of the group, the 5Z. Fast forward almost six months and the phone is finally available to purchase at a mere $500 in the U.S. While the high-end Android flagship market is squarely controlled by Samsung, there's a curious middle ground between budget and top-tier devices. This "affordable flagship" space is heavily populated with offerings from OnePlus, Honor, and Xiaomi, but Asus has set its sights on a piece of that pie with the 5Z.Quite frankly, this is the Taiwanese company's best phone to date, sporting premium hardware, a solid camera, and a very iPhone X-inspired design (for better or for worse). It's fast, powerful, and a looker to boot. However, I'm sure you're waiting for the "but" and I don't want to disappoint: the Zenfone 5Z, as awesome as it is, just doesn't quite cut it. When compared to the OnePlus 6, arguably one of the best Android phones released this year (especially in terms of value), Asus' offering falls a bit short. Even though it's $30 cheaper, it has other quirks – notably its software – that bring it down.
At MWC, Asus showed off its 2018 Zenfone lineup. Most of the attention fell on the 5Z and 5, with their display notches and fresh designs. Perhaps left to the wayside was the lower-end device of this family, the Zenfone 5Q (or Lite, depending on where you are). It doesn't resemble its brethren whatsoever, right down to even lacking a notch.As is typical with Asus, the focus on this budget phone is on cameras, namely four of them. We've seen this same story before; Asus even says "We <3 photo" (with the heart being two phone silhouettes crossed in a V-shape). And while the photography performance is actually quite good, the Zenfone 5Q suffers from other, larger problems.The first and foremost is that, at time of writing, the phone ships with and remains on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, a year and a half old OS version. For some of us enthusiasts, that's enough to reject this device from the outset. And while not nearly as egregious, it has microUSB, unlike its closest GSM competitor, the Nokia 6.1 (or even the Moto G6). To top it all off, Asus has slapped a $300 price tag (though you can get the white model for $285 from Amazon) on the 5Q, $30-$50 more than its other budget rivals.
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.