The new ZenFone 8 comes closest to the mini Android flagship we've been longing for, even though it’s nothing like its big brother with its radical flipping camera mechanism. Both 2021 ZenFone flagships are barely a week old, but the company has already released a big software update, which comes with a slew of new features and general improvements.

The changelog for both the ZenFone 8 and 8 Flip is identical except for the latter’s additional option to automatically launch the camera app as you slide down a special Rhinoshield cover. Asus has also introduced a one-handed mode, which will come in handy particularly on the bigger model. The camera app gets a new Document mode, while there’s also a "new" Android security patch, though Asus hasn’t specified which one.

Among the other additions, there’s something called Priority Mode in Asus Settings, which XDA says lets through calls from trusted contacts while your phone is on mute. Force Dark Mode allows you to force a darker theme in apps that don’t support a high contrast setting just yet. You can find the entire list of changes coming to the two phones below:

Changelog

  1. Added one-hand mode and guidance instructions
  2. Added Document mode to ASUS Camera
  3. Added new feature that launch ASUS Camera automatically while Rhinoshield cover slide down (ZenFone 8 Flip)
  4. Adjusted the opening animation of the front camera (ZenFone 8)
  5. Improved camera quality
  6. Added priority mode in ASUS Settings.
  7. Added search function in Force Dark Mode
  8. Added capsule-style icon in the status bar for specific scenarios such as phone call, sound recording, etc.
  9. Improved fingerprint unlock animation
  10. Improved system stability
  11. Improved system performance
  12. Enabled VoLTE on Telia (Lithuania)
  13. Enabled VoLTE & VoWifi on ICE (Norway)
  14. Updated Android security patch

The OS versions 30.11.51.41 and 30.11.55.37 for the ZenFone 8 and 8 Flip, respectively, started rolling out to eligible users over the weekend, much ahead of today’s announcement. This OTA update should hit your phone in the next few days if it hasn’t already.