ASUS' smartphone division has recently shifted the majority of its focus toward the ROG gaming smartphone line-up, but that isn't stopping them from launching new Zenfones. They took the wraps off the brand new Zenfone 9 a while back and although it follows in its predecessor's footsteps, some significant changes make it quite the step-up. As for India, it might be getting the compact flagship in September.
ASUS Zenfone 9 - Everything New
The Zenfone 9 gets the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 while keeping the same compact form factor. It still has a 5.9-inch 120 Hz OLED display with 1080P resolution, but now you get a bigger 4300 mAh battery with the same-old 30W charging. At least ASUS kept the charger in the box and another thing they kept around, at least this time, is the 3.5mm headphone jack which supports Hi-res headphones.
The biggest change, however, comes in the design and the camera. First, ASUS changed the back material to a hard plastic with a soft-touch finish and squared off the edges. The second change has been in the cameras. It's the same formula with an upgraded 64MP IMX766 Main (Wide) camera, a 12MP IMX363 Ultrawide camera, and a 12MP IMX663 Selfie camera, but the main camera now packs 6-axis Gimbal Stabilization for ultra-steady videos.
ASUS Zenfone 9 Specifications
| SPECS |
|---|---|
Display | 5.9-inch OLED (2400x1800), 120 Hz, 1100 nits |
SOC | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 4nm Process, 3GHz |
RAM | 8/16GB LPDDR5 |
Storage | 128/256GB UFS 3.1 |
Main Camera (Wide) | 50MP IMX766, F-1.9, 6-axis Gimbal |
Ultra-wide Camera | 12MP IMX363, F-2.2, 113 degrees fov |
Selfie Camera | 12MP IMX663, F-2.45, Dual PDAF |
Video | Up to 8K 24FPS Rear (Hyperstady at 1080P) and up to 4K 30FPS Front |
Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E(802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax), 2.4GHZ/5GHZ/6GHz, 2x2 MIMO |
Audio | Stereo Speakers, 3.5mm Headphone Jack with Hi-res Audio Support |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth v5.2, LDAC |
Cellular | 5G/4G/3G/2G, Dual Sim with Dual Standby |
Battery | 4300 mAh, 30W Fast Charging, PD3.0, and QC4.0 supported |
OS | Android 12 with ZenUI |
Weight | 169 Grams |
Dimensions | 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.1 mm |
ASUS 9Z May Launch In September In India
ASUS India took around 6 months (after the announcement) to launch the Zenfone 8 in India as ASUS 8Z. However, the Zenfone 9, which will be rebranded in India as ASUS 9Z, may launch as soon as, later this month. To be more specific, the ASUS 9Z (Zenfone 9) may launch by the end of September.
The company has been facing issues as it lost a legal battle against Zen Mobile as it filed a lawsuit to stop the Zenfone branding in India. As a result, the company had to rebrand its Zenfone lineup to be able to sell those phones in India. The Zenfone 6 was the first flagship Zenfone to be rebranded as ASUS 6Z, and while they skipped the Zenfone 7 series entirely, the Zenfone 8 did launch as ASUS 8Z, and the Zenfone 9 will follow,
However, that also means that the company has to print the back covers separately with ASUS branding instead of the Zenfone branding. This may have been causing delays for the company to launch their phones in India. However, all the good media the Zenfone 9 has been getting and the low sale figures for ASUS 8Z because of late availability, may have caused the company to act quickly this time. They even sent out Zenfone 9 units to Indian tech media in August.
If it however launches this month, you'll probably not be able to buy one until Big Billion Days hit Flipkart in early October. The company is likely to put its latest flagship on sale during Flipkart's biggest shopping festival of the year which will also allow the customers to take advantage of the Credit Card offers from ICICI and Axis Bank.
Update: Launch delayed. The next expected launch window is around Diwali 2022.
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