Asus has announced the Zenfone 10, a flagship Android phone in an extremely compact body.
It’s all too rare to find a genuinely small phone these days, especially one with decent specs. Even Apple has given up on the idea, with the iPhone 13 Mini rapidly receding into the rearview mirror.
Asus supplied one of the best phones to fill this niche in last year’s Zenfone 9, and now it’s just taken the wraps of the Zenfone 10.
It looks an awful lot like the Zenfone 9, with a nigh-on identical flat-edged body that weighs a mere 172g. The rear panel is made of a bio-based polycarbonate material in the new Eclipse Red, Comet White and Aurora Green models. You can also specify the Zenfone 10 in the familiar Starry Blue and Midnight Black shades.
The compact 5.9-inch FHD+ OLED display looks broadly the same as before, though it can now extend from 120Hz to a 144Hz refresh rate in gaming applications. Talking of gaming, you get a healthy power boost courtesy of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, along with 8GB of RAM/256GB storage or 16GB of RAM/512GB storage.
Asus has returned with another dual camera system, fronted by the same 50MP Sony IMX766 wide sensor as the Zenfone 9, and backed by an upgraded 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 2.0. Together with adaptive EIS and 3D surround-sound recording, Asus is clearly pushing for video recording supremacy.
There are improvements with the other two cameras in the shape of a new 13MP ultra-wide with an expanded 120-degree FOV, and a sharper 32MP selfie camera. With the latter, an RGBW sensor and 4-in-1 pixel binning promises improved low light performance.
When it comes to stamina, Asus has packed in the same 4300mAh battery, but is promising a 12.9% boost to battery life. You get the same 30W wired charger in the box, but the big addition here is 15W wireless charging, which the Zenfone 9 lacked.
The Asus Zenfone 10 will be available for pre-order from today here in the UK from the official Asus online store. If you order before August 1, you’ll be able to get the 8GB/256GB model for £699.99 and the 16GB/512GB model for £749.99.
Past that point, the entry model will cost £749.99, while the range-topper will cost £819.99. That represents a price bump over the Zenfone 9, which started at £699 this time last year.
