Asus has launched one of the smallest Android flagship phones of the modern day. The Zenfone 9 may be a small device, but it packs quite a punch with Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line SoC, a larger camera sensor, larger battery, and a larger VC than last year’s Zenfone 8.
Design and Display
The display stays in the 5-inch territory, measuring 5.9″ with 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is an OLED panel with 1080p resolution, HDR10+ support, 1100 nits peak brightness, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate for a quick response time. The refresh rate can dial down to 90Hz and 60Hz to save battery. The whole package weighs only 169g and it is protected by IP68 water resistance as well as Gorilla Glass Victus.
Internals and Storage
The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC and it is paired with three memory configurations including 8/128GB, 8/256G2B, and 16/256GB. This is a combination of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 memory. There is no memory card slot for storage expansion.
Asus Zenfone 9 boots near stock Android 12 and promises two years of OS and security updates.
Cameras
The main camera setup is not equipped with flagship sensors, but these are large units nonetheless with remarkable quality. The primary shooter is a 50MP Sony IMX766 (1/1.56”, 1.0µm pixels) equipped with gimbal stabilization that is three times more capable than regular OIS. There is no dedicated telephoto lens, but the main camera sensor is capable of 2x lossless zoom at 16MP. The secondary sensor is a 12MP IMX363 ultrawide shooter that can also do macro shots.
The main camera can record 8K videos at 24 FPS and 4K at 60 FPS with EIS.
The selfie camera is a 12MP IMX663 sensor capable of 4K 30 FPS and 1080p 60 FPS videos.
Battery and Pricing
Despite being a compact phone, Asus has managed to fit a 4,300 mAh battery inside the Zenfone 9, which is 300 mAh more than the Zenfone 8. This is paired with 33W fast charging.
Asus Zenfone 9 has a starting price of €800 and it will be available in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Starry Blue, and Sunset Red color options.
Asus Zenfone 9 Specifications
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- CPU: Octa-core (1×3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510)
- GPU: Adreno 730
- OS: Android 12
- Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
- Display:
- 5.9″ Super AMOLED with 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1100 nits
- Memory:
- RAM: 8GB, 16GB (LPDDR5)
- Internal: 128GB, 256GB (UFS 3.1)
- Card slot: No
- Camera:
- Rear (Dual): 50 MP, f/1.9, 23.8mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, gimbal OIS
12 MP, f/2.2, 14.4mm, 113° (ultrawide), 1/2.93″, 1.4µm, AF - Front: 12MP
- Rear (Dual): 50 MP, f/1.9, 23.8mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, gimbal OIS
- Colors: Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Starry Blue, Sunset Red
- Fingerprint sensor: Under-display
- Battery: 5,000 mAh, 33W fast charging
- Price: €800
