Asus Zenfone 8 Series: The latest compact flagship phone.
Asus recently announced its latest flagship series, the Zenfone 8 and 8 Flip. Powered also by the latest Snapdragon 888, the Zenfone 8 series boast high performance that are comparable with all other flagship phones in the market.
With that being said, the Zenfone 8 does possess several unique offerings for users in the market for flagship performances. These unique offerings are indeed refreshing as the flagship space has become relatively saturated with generic offerings.
Zenfone 8’s Unique Design
Unlike most flagship phones, the Zenfone 8 is a compact phone with a display that stretches across a mere 5.9 inch. For reference, the majority of flagship phones boast a larger display of ~6.7 inches.
Nevertheless, this change is in view that people typically operate their mobile phones with a single hand. With a bigger display, a user faces the challenge of operating the device single-handedly.
As such, the Zenfone 8 seeks to resolve this issue with a smaller and more compact design. It also comes complete with a One-handed mode to ensure users are able to comfortably navigate the device by making all widgets and settings accessible without needing to stretch.
Somewhat related to the overall design is the 4,000mAh battery featured on the Zenfone 8. While it raises many eyebrows amongst phone enthusiasts, the 4,000mAh battery is in fact really impressive considering the overall size of the device.
Though one may expect at least a 4,500 mAh battery for a flagship phone, it is important to note that a smaller display should reduce overall battery consumption by a fair bit. We’ll just have to wait till we get our hands on the device to try it out for ourselves.
Zenfone 8 Flip’s Distinct Camera Set
Although no longer a new concept, it is great to see Asus bringing back the flip camera that was featured on the Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro last year.
The Zenfone 8 Flip share pretty much the same specs as the Zenfone 7 Pro aside from its improved processor from the Snapdragon 865+ to the latest Snapdragon 888.
In terms of camera set, Asus has maintained the 64MP Sony IMX 686 sensor on primary camera as well as the 8MP Sony IMX 636 sensor on the ultra-wide camera. The triple camera setup does also include a tele-photo camera with 3x optical zoom.
Overall, the Zenfone 8 Flip is more of a camera-centric. Users will not find the same 120Hz refresh rate display on the Zenfone 8 Flip as featured on the Zenfone 8.
Full Specs
| Zenfone 8 | |
|---|---|
| Est. Price | ~ RM2,999 |
| Processor | Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660 |
| Display | 5.9″, Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 240Hz Touch Sampling, DC Dimming |
| Memory | up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. |
| Main Camera | 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 112˚, 14mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Selfie Camera | 12 MP, f/2.5, 28mm (standard), 1/2.93″, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Other(s) | with 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Battery | 4,000mAh battery, 30w Fast Charge |
| Zenfone 8 Flip | |
|---|---|
| Est. Price | ~ RM4,000 |
| Processor | Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660 |
| Display | 6.67″, Super AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 200Hz Touch Sampling, DC Dimming |
| Memory | up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. |
| Main Camera | 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.4, 80mm (telephoto), PDAF, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 112˚, 14mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Selfie Camera | Motorized Flip Camera for Selfie |
| Other(s) | no 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Battery | 5,000mAh battery, 30w Fast Charge |
Watch the full release:
Final Thoughts
It is refreshing to see Asus launch two distinct flagship quality phones into the market which carries unique offerings. While iPhone mini may have been an indicator that compact phones are lesser in demand, we’ll just have to see if this unique offering will win the hearts of mobile enthusiast in Malaysia.
On that note, the Zenfone 8 series is expected to launch in Malaysia end of this month. Will you be getting your hands on one?
