Asus Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip Released, Both Flagship but Different Target Market
Flagship smartphones with compact sizes are quite rare these days. The reason may be because the market is too small, but that apparently does not prevent Asus from trying to fill the void.
As in the previous year, Asus this year re-introduced two flagship smartphones at once. What's different, the two this time differ in size: Zenfone 8 with 5.9-inch screen, Zenfone 8 Flip with 6.67-inch screen.
Let's start with Zenfone 8 first. With dimensions of 148 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm and a weight of 169 grams, it is not as petite as the iPhone 12 Mini, but overall still seems compact enough to be used with one hand. The screen is pretty special too; AMOLED with 1080p resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, not to mention the maximum brightness level of 1,100 nits and HDR10+ certification.
Behind the scenes is an embedded fingerprint sensor, and the screen itself is coated with Gorilla Glass Victus glass. Still around its physicality, Zenfone 8 carries ip68 water and dust resistance certification, and on the upper side there is still a headphone jack.
Like the iPhone 12 Mini, zenfone 8 is equipped with only two rear cameras: a 64 megapixel main camera (Sony IMX686) and a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera (Sony IMX363) that can double as a macro camera because it is able to lock focus from a distance of as close as 4 cm. Up front, there's a 12 megapixel selfie camera (Sony IMX663). All three cameras support Dual Pixel AF technology.
When it comes to performance, Zenfone 8 relies on Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, complete with a choice of 6 GB, 8 GB, or 16 GB RAM, as well as a choice of 128 GB or 256 GB storage. The embedded battery has a capacity of 4,000 mAh, and supports fast charging of 30 W. Again, flagship but compact. Also the flagship is the price, which starts at €600 for the European market, or roughly the equivalent of 78,269.98 Kenyan Shilling
Switching to Zenfone 8 Flip, this phone is basically a Zenfone 7 that has received a specification refresh. Its main advantage, as can be guessed by its name, is the rear camera module that can be fliped forward. As a result, the screen is free of bangs or tompel.
What's perhaps a bit unfortunate is that the camera specs are exactly the same as last year: the 64 megapixel main camera (Sony IMX686), the 12 megapixel ultra-wide camera (Sony IMX363), and the 8 megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Not that the quality of the camera is poor, but it should be even more interesting if the camera hardware is updated.
Also unchanged is the screen, still AMOLED with a resolution of 1080p and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, not 120 Hz as zenfone 8 had. Luckily the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the bottom of the screen.
In terms of specifications, Zenfone 8 Flip is powered by a Snapdragon 888 chipset, 8 GB of RAM, and a choice of 128 GB or 256 GB of internal storage. Unlike its little sister, zenfone 8 Flip comes with a microSD card slot. Its battery capacity is certainly larger at 5,000 mAh, and it also supports fast charging 30 W using the built-in adapter included in its sales package.
In Europe, the device is sold for €800. Its marketing in other countries is reportedly coming soon.
