The Asus Zenfone 8 series has just been officially announced, and there are two devices in the lineup. The Zenfone 8 is a more compact device that focuses on performance, while the Zenfone 8 Flip focuses on photography and features the rotating camera system. And good news, for the first time in a long time, the Asus Zenfone 8 series will be making a comeback to Malaysia very, very soon.
Asus Zenfone 8
The Asus Zenfone 8 seems to be the perfect one-handed smartphone, that doesn’t compromise on performance. Under the hood, the Zenfone 8 is running on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 based storage (no storage expansion).
For its display, it has a smaller 5.9-inch Samsung AMOLED display, compared to the Zenfone 8 Flip. With an aspect ratio of 20:9, it has a FHD+ resolution complete with a high 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 1ms response time, and 1,100nits of peak brightness. Protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, the display also covers 112% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, as well as has a rating of Delta E<1 colour accuracy.
In the camera department, it has a dual camera system on the back, featuring a 64MP IMX686 main sensor, and a 12MP IMX363 ultra-wide angle sensor. On the front, there’s a 12MP IMX663 sensor in charge of selfies and video calls.
Connectivity wise, the Asus Zenfone 8 does support the latest Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Qualcomm aptX, aptX HD, Wi-Fi Direct, and NFC – 5G optional. It also has an in-display fingerprint sensor too. Battery wise, it has a 4,000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 4.0 and PD charging via USB Type-C.
Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip on the other hand, is a larger device that features a beefier camera system, and an interesting camera mechanic, seen before on the Zenfone 7. The device also runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM an up to 256GB of UFS 3.1-based storage (storage expansion via microSD card up to 2TB).
For its display, it has a larger 6.67-inch FHD+ Samsung all-screen AMOLED display, but has a lower 90Hz refresh rate with a 200Hz touch sampling rate. It supports the same colour accuracy as the Zenfone 8, but has a lower 1000 nits peak brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 for protection.
For its camera system, the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip’s camera system is shared for the front and back by using a rotating mechanism. It comprises of a 64MP IMX686 main sensor, a 12MP IMX363 ultra-wide angle sensor, as well as an 8MP telephoto sensor that can achieve 3x optical zoom, up to 12x total zoom.
Connectivity wise, it supports all modules as the Zenfone 8, but has dual 5G standby connectivity included as standard. For its battery, it has a larger 5,000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 4.0 and PD charging via USB Type-C. However, because of the larger battery and overall larger design, the device’s weight also gets bumped up to a total of 230g.
Pricing And Availability
The Asus Zenfone 8 will be priced from €599, while the Zenfone 8 Flip will have a price tag from €799. As for Malaysian pricing and availability, no information has been mentioned yet, but Asus Malaysia has confirmed with us that it will indeed be coming to Malaysian shores as soon as the end of May, so stay tuned!