Release date, rumours, price, specs and feature wish list

2021’s Asus Zenfone 8 Series still stands out from today’s hulking handsets. The series has earned a devoted following thanks to its smaller screen and compact size, premium build, high-end performance and a budget-friendly price. We’re quickly getting closer to the handset’s successor – the Asus Zenfone 9.

In recent weeks, a smorgasbord of details has emerged regarding the phone. So here’s everything we know so far and what we hope to see when the Zenfone 9 finally arrives.

Will there be an Asus Zenfone 9?

The Zenfone is a long-running phone series, so it should come as no surprise that the company has revealed the compact Zenfone 9 is coming. What’s not so clear at this point is whether we’ll see another pop-up camera variant like the Zenfone 8 Flipwhether Asus returns to the Pro naming scheme, or whether there will be only one model this time around.

When will the Asus Zenfone 9 release date be?

Asus has confirmed that the Zenfone 9 will be unveiled on July 28 at 9 AM ET. So how does this launch pad compare to previous phones? Well, you can check out past launch dates below.

• Asus Zenfone 6 – May 16, 2019
• Asus Zenfone 7 – August 26, 2020
• Asus Zenfone 8 – May 13, 2021

The big question is whether the Zenfone 9 will be available for purchase shortly after launch. This was mostly an issue with the Zenfone series.

What we thought: Asus Zenfone 8 review

What features does the Asus Zenfone 9 have?

There’s no word on a Flip model this year, but we’ve got a lot of information about the standard Zenfone 9 thanks to a leaked promo video† You can see all the reported features below.

Design

according to an early rumor Based on a sketch spotted in the Android 12 update for the Zenfone 8 Flip, the handset is expected to retain a dual camera setup on the rear of the Zenfone 8. specifications from last year.

Indeed, the leaked promo video matches the above sketch and shows a phone with the same compact design and dual camera setup on the rear. The video even confirms an IP68 rating and a 3.5mm port. The Asus clip even notes that the fingerprint scanner can be swiped to the side to flip through pages. Check out a few screenshots below.

Not convincing draft renders suggest that the Flip triple camera module version may also return this year, but we wouldn’t put stock in this as confirmation. The handset’s design is left up in the air at this point, as is its actual existence.

Functions

The promo video mentioned above also gives us a lot of information about features. First, we have a 5.9-inch 120Hz OLED display, a 4,300mAh battery, a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset and a fingerprint scanner on the side.

We also have camera details, namely a 50MP IMX766 main camera with “gimbal stabilization”. There’s no word on the secondary rear camera though, but we suspect it’s a 12MP ultra-wide camera.

One of the earlier rumors about the Zenfone 9 was the introduction of a back-tap gesture much like that of the Zenfone 9 Google Pixel 6† This will apparently be a double tap gesture, but we’re not sure what it does and if it can be assigned at this stage.

There’s no word on other details like the selfie camera or charging speed, so we’ll just have to wait for the launch to hear about these features.

Last year’s Asus Zenfone 8 and the larger Zenfone 8 Flip were reasonably priced, and the series has historically been more on the affordable side of the market. Here’s how the series has stacked up historically:

• Asus Zenfone 7 – €699 (~$830)
• Asus Zenfone 7 Pro – from €799 (~$950)
• Asus Zenfone 8 – from $629
• Asus Zenfone 8 Flip – from €799 (~$970)

Asus’ handsets have been very fortunate to be among the ultra-premium players in the market. As such, we can probably expect a margin price to be in the same region, although additions like gimbal stabilization may shift the price slightly.

Asus Zenfone 9: What we want to see

The Asus Zenfone 8 series went a bit under the radar in 2020, but the Zenfone 8 made a name for itself as one of the best little phones of 2021. The Zenfone 8 Flip wasn’t bad either, but was more of an iterative upgrade over the Zenfone 7 Series† Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement in both cases, so here’s what we want to see from the Zenfone 9 series in 2022.

A faster, wider release on the market

One of the more annoying things about the release of the Zenfone 8 line was the availability of scatter shots. The standard Zenfone 8 landed in the US a few weeks after its launch, but the Flip variant skipped the US entirely. The phone is also available in Europe and the UK, but the Indian release was delayed for months. In fact, the Indian release finally took place in February 2022.

So we’d like to see the Zenfone 9 come to market sooner across the board. After all, the Zenfone 8 was launched in India when the new generation of flagship phones was already available. Plus, greater availability would be great too.

Keep the price of the Zenfone 9 the same or go a little lower

The best thing about the Zenfone 8, aside from its size, was its price, which was just $629. This was a fantastic price for a water-resistant flagship phone, making it only slightly more expensive than the aggressively priced, but rather large, Pixel 6.

Asus should maintain this price point with the Zenfone 9, as it was priced well to begin with. We wouldn’t be at a slightly lower price if the new phone is just an iterative upgrade, but it sounds like the device will be a more substantial release.

Read more: The best high-end phones that won’t break the bank

As for the Zenfone 8 Flip, it started at a pricey €799 (~$913). We can somewhat understand a higher price given the more complex design and additions such as a telephoto camera and a larger battery. But the standard Zenfone still offered exclusive features like better Gorilla Glass, a higher refresh rate, a headphone jack and water resistance. So a lower price tag would also be welcome for the Flip, unless it gets some major upgrades.

Bring wireless charging

One notable premium feature missing from the Zenfone 8 phones was wireless charging, which has become a staple on more expensive devices over the years. This absence was especially noticeable on the Zenfone 8 Flip considering its price point, so we hope the Zenfone 9 gets at least Qi charging.

Related: The best phones with wireless charging

We understand why the feature was lacking on the stock Zenfone, given its compact size and the space wireless charging components can take up in a phone. Nevertheless, both the compact iPhone SE 2022 and the Pixel 6 have it, so it would be great if Asus offered it with the Zenfone 9. That said, there has been no mention of wireless charging for the Zenfone 9 so far.

Minimum of three years of OS updates

Asus is not bad for software updates as it has been a bit lively with the Android 12 release. That said, there’s plenty of room for improvement beyond the standard two-year OS updates. After all, the industry has changed dramatically in recent years when it comes to software support.

Since then, we’ve seen Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Nokia, and OnePlus all offer three years or more of OS updates in some capacity. Some of these policies appear to be: more about PR than others and thus only focus on a select number of devices. We’d like to see Asus push through and commit to at least three years of OS upgrades for the Zenfone 9 family (and retroactively for the Zenfone 8 series too!).

However, we are not sure this will happen as it is much more expensive Asus ROG Phone 6 “ still stuck with two years of OS updates and only two years of security patches. That’s a real shame.

Improve the cameras

The Zenfone 8 series wasn’t exactly cutting edge when it came to photography. More specifically, we thought the Zenfone 8 (which has a 64MP main and 12MP ultra-wide angle lens) took good but not excellent shots through the main shooter. We also found the ultra-wide-angle camera disappointing.

Read more: The best camera phones you can get

U.S impressions were not better for the Flip phone, except for the presence of an 8MP 3x telephoto camera. We’d love to see the telecamera come to the stock phone too, but leaked promo material suggests it won’t.

However, we’d at least like to see Asus improve the main and ultra-wide picture quality on both phones. Whether that is through better image algorithms, leveraging Qualcomm’s latest image technology, or introducing better hardware (e.g. better sensors and OIS). Fortunately, the stock phone comes with gimbal stabilization technology, which suggests that recorded videos should be smoother.

Keep the headphone jack and IP68 rating

Two key features Asus added to the Zenfone 8 were the headphone jack and IP68 rating, the former being a rarity on flagships these days and the latter unusual at the ~$600 price point.

The company should take an “if it ain’t broken” approach to these two features, and keep them on the Zenfone 9. Indeed, this appears to be the case according to promo material. We would also welcome the return of the headphone jack on the Flip version.

An IP68 rating may be difficult or impossible to achieve on the Zenfone 9 Flip, but splash resistance would be a welcome addition nonetheless. After all, if Samsung can make its foldable devices water-resistant, you’d think some form of IP rating would be possible on the Zenfone 9 Flip, even with its nice rotating camera.