Asus has announced the Zenfone 9. An Android smartphone with more angular contours, a metal frame and two circular camera eyes. However, the Taiwanese have not changed anything in terms of handiness compared to the Zenfone 8: the size of the AMOLED display (120 Hertz) is less than six inches (5.9 inches), as with its predecessor. It also remains with a matt, grippy glass back as well as a water- and dust-protected housing (IP68) with a jack socket.
With the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, Asus relies on Qualcomm’s currently most powerful processor. Behind the lens of the main camera is a Sony sensor (IMX 766) with 50 megapixels, which is optically stabilized (six-axis hybrid gimbal). At the same time, electronic image stabilization is also used to prevent blurred images.
New cooling system on board the Zenfone 9
The Snapdragon chip 888, which is still used in the Zenfone 8, tended to generate a lot of heat during intensive use of the device. Asus has obviously learned lessons from this: instead of so-called heat pipes, the new Zenfone 9 now uses a steam chamber and a heat spreader made of copper, graphite plates and conductive paste.
A new side-mounted multifunction button with fingerprint sensor, in combination with Asus’ Zen-UI-9 for Android 12 user interface, should enable convenient operation of the smartphone with one hand, more precisely with just one thumb.
Also new is a modular case and stand system called Connex for the Zenfone 9. With the also optional Smart Backpack Mount, the smartphone can be attached to the shoulder strap of a backpack for filming and taking photos on the go using a magnetic holder with a safety cable.
30-Watt fast charger included
The scope of delivery, on the other hand, includes a 30-watt fast charging adapter for the 4300 mAh battery. The prices start at 800 euros for the Zenfone 9 with 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 128 GB of memory in the colors white, blue, black and red.
In white or black, the smartphone is available with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for 850 euros. And for buyers of the largest variant with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of memory (900 euros), the Zenfone 9 is always black. According to Asus, all models will be available from August 12.
