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- Statement from Asus
The Asus Zenfone 9 was revealed in July, but those in the US may have to wait until October to get their hands on the phone. Asus opened pre-orders for the phone at the end of last week and it’s a remarkably complicated if not confusing situation to get your hands on one of these new phones. Fortunately, the bottom line is that you can reserve the phone and claim a bonus perk right now on Amazon.
Asus tells Android Police that customers can pre-order their Zenfone 9 from the company's own online store as well as from third-party retailer Mobile Advance either through its website or sold on Amazon. At the time of writing, we’re seeing October 20 and beyond for delivery dates on Amazon, but the company tells us that its making stock available as soon as possible. Meanwhile, on Mobile Advance's website, only the middle of the three memory configurations can be reserved — the entry-level isn't listed and stock has run out for the top-end model.
The Taiwanese firm is also giving away free pairs of ROG Cetra True Wireless gaming headphones, worth $99, with any pre-order.
Earlier in the week, some reported the device had appeared as “out of stock,” but that now seems to have been solved — it may have been that Asus had a limited amount of stock for pre-order, and then it switched to other retailers once that ran out.
The phone costs $700 for the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while a variant with 8GB / 256GB goes up to $750, and a version with 16GB / 256GB sells for $800. The phone is available in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Starry Blue, and Sunset Red, but at the time of writing, only the first two were available, with the others appearing out of stock.
In our review of the phone, we cited its size, headphone jack, and terrific battery life as the reasons to pick up this phone. We enjoyed the handset but said the lack of wireless charging, limited update policy, and camera quality were among the negatives. Before you pre-order, be sure to read our full Asus Zenfone 9 review.
Buy the Asus Zenfone 9
UPDATE: 2022/09/06 15:28 EST BY JULES WANG
Statement from Asus
A spokesperson for Asus sent us a statement clarifying retail availability for the Zenfone 9 and ROG Cetra earbuds:
...only devices sold by authorized retailers will include the earphone bundle. Currently our authorized retailers are Mobile Advance on Amazon, [the] Mobile Advance website, and Asus Store. We are also working on making product available as soon as possible. The availability date shows our current expectations on delivery but as we get closer and have more accurate shipping dates, the delivery dates will be updated.
We've updated our story with this information.