Introduction
Compact size, big possibilities – the slogan of the Zenfone 9, printed on the box of the phone, neatly sums up its priorities. One of the most pocket-friendly high-end handsets on the market, the latest from Asus has a powerful chipset, a new main camera and an increase in battery capacity. Unfortunately, there is no Zenfone Flip this time – the tiny Zenfone 9 is the only Zenfone 9.
And yes, it is small. Asus has shaved off a few millimeters here or there from the already small Zenfone 8’s dimensions and kept the weight at 169g, which makes the larger battery all the more impressive. The improved efficiency of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 should work wonders with the extra juice, and the Fall version of Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line chipset is even more powerful than the OG version.
The other major development is the gimbal mounted main camera which also comes with a larger sensor than last year’s model. The ultrawide remains unchanged, but does have autofocus, which is still not a given in 2022. In the same way, the also reused AF-compatible selfie camera sets the Zenfone 9 from the crowd.
The rest remains largely unchanged. The 5.9-inch OLED screen refreshes to 120Hz, the battery charges up to 30 watts, there is still a headphone jack and stereo speakers, the housing is IP68 rated. A somewhat surprising turn of events is the side-mounted fingerprint reader – the old phone had it under what is otherwise the same screen. Here are a lot more numbers.
Asus Zenfone 9 specifications at a glance:
- Body: 146.5×68.1×9.1mm, 169g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes).
- Display: 5.90″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 446ppi.
- chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.19GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.75GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM; LPDDR5, UFS3.1.
- Operating system/software: Android 12, ZenUI.
- Rear camera: wide (head): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm, PDAF, gimbal stabilization; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 113˚, 14 mm, 1/2.55″, 1.4 µm, dual pixel PDAF.
- Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.5, 28 mm (standard), 1/2.93″, 1.22 µm, dual pixel PDAF.
- Video recording: reversing camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps; gyro-EIS, HDR; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
- Battery: 4300mAh; Fast charging, USB Power Delivery 3.0.
- Miscellaneous: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; 3.5mm jack; Stereo speakers.
Unpacking Asus Zenfone 9
The Zenfone 9 comes in a matte gray recycled cardboard box with an oversized ‘9’ on the lid. Inside, you get a 30W charger and a matching USB-C cable.
There’s also a hard plastic snap-on housing that covers the back and most of the sides and has raised edges for the cameras to ensure the glass doesn’t come into contact with surfaces. The color of the case is also matched to the frame of the phone – so off-white on the Moonlight White version, black on the other. However, it doesn’t feel as soft as the handset’s own panel. Visit us on the next page to learn more about this year’s design changes.