- Asus is tackling part of the market that others appear to have deserted with the Zenfone 9.
It is the compact flagship telephone phase, which means that those that desire a smaller system do not need to compromise on the highest specs.
There is not big competitors on this house: the Sony Xperia 5 III (and IV when it's introduced) or the Xiaomi 12 are the one apparent rivals.
That leaves Asus to take advantage of this place, and, within the Zenfone 9, it is doubling down on the work it began with the Zenfone 8.
The Asus Zenfone 9 stands out as one of the compact and highly effective telephones obtainable.
Attractively designed, there isn't any compromise on the hardware specs on this diminutive system, making it a horny selection for anybody who would not desire a huge telephone.
The efficiency, show and battery life are nice, and the cameras present excellent outcomes - hampered solely barely by the dearth of a zoom.
The largest unfavourable is on the software program entrance. A brief help window and extra duplicating bloatware imply this is not as clear as some rivals, and it is troublesome to see why Asus thinks that including its personal telephone app or clock goes to make the expertise higher for anybody.
However, on stability, regardless of the value rise over the Zenfone 8, if it is a small telephone you are after, that is the one to decide on. It delivers in all areas, would not scrimp on hardware or options and slips into your pocket simply that little bit simpler.
Asus Zenfone 9
- Compact construct
- Waterproofing
- 3.5mm headphone socket
- 30W charger included
- Nice efficiency
- Few compromises in going small
- No telephoto digicam
- Solely two years of software program help
- Software program bloat is irksome
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Design and construct
- 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.1mm; 169g
- Gorilla Glass Victus
- IP68 score
Sticking to a compact kind issue, the Zenfone 9 is about the identical measurement because the Zenfone 8, however it makes some pretty vital adjustments.
That features a shift within the physique design, from these curved edges to a squared end.
There is a trace of iPhone about it, though the Zenfone builds on this with two big digicam lenses on the rear which actually makes it stand out from the earlier mannequin, whereas the rear is a very completely different materials, too.
Asus has ditched the glass rear, this time utilizing a composite, however it's been formulated to present it a gentle contact texture. It is tactile, it is strokable and it is grippy. It is also distinctive, staying free from fingerprints and avoiding reflections.
There are particulars scattered round it to make it just a little extra attention-grabbing than only a plain telephone, just like the 09 numbering and the digicam particulars scribed on the again. It isn't garish like some units and the extra time we spend with it, the extra we prefer it.
Across the energy button, there's been a reasonably vital change. Asus has ditched the in-display fingerprint scanner and opted to place it within the energy button on the facet of the telephone. But it surely's not only for unlocking - which it appears to do completely nicely - however it additionally has help for swipes.
We have seen related from Sony Xperia previously and it is a good use of house, permitting issues like swiping to tug down the notifications shade or to refresh an app or webpage. Sounds nice, however we discovered ourselves recurrently swiping down the notifications when dealing with the telephone, so it's possible you'll nicely end up turning this characteristic off.
Regardless of being a compact telephone, Asus remains to be providing stereo audio system and a 3.5mm headphone socket. On the wi-fi entrance, there's Hello-Res music help from aptX Adaptive and LDAC, so with supporting headphones, you are nicely served.
There are stereo audio system with considerable quantity they usually sound nice, though there is a truthful quantity of vibration by the again of the telephone on the highest settings. Nonetheless, it is nice for gaming with out headphones.
The entire thing is wrapped in a package deal that provides IP68 waterproofing, once more, with no compromise for selecting a smaller system. There's even a free onerous shell within the field to guard your telephone.
Show
- 5.9in, 2400 x 1080 pixels, 445ppi
- Samsung AMOLED, 120Hz
- HDR10+
The show on the Zenfone 9 is similar measurement and backbone because the earlier version of this telephone, sticking to that 5.9-inch diagonal and a full HD+ decision.
With a 446ppi pixel density, this show is lots sharp and due to the AMOLED tech, it is good and punchy too.
There's additionally a peak brightness of 1100 nits, which means it could possibly punch by reflections in vibrant circumstances.
The Zenfone 9 provides a 120Hz refresh price, which is similar because the Zenfone 8, with the identical association of letting you select 60, 90 or 120Hz, or simply leaving it in auto to let the telephone select one of the best refresh price for the content material you are viewing.
There's help for HDR too, so whenever you fireplace up your favorite streaming service you will get one of the best efficiency from it - though in all honesty, at this measurement, it is troublesome to actually spot any actual benefit.
General, the one draw back in fact is that you've got rather less house on this telephone than on most different units - however having a smaller telephone might be the explanation you are on this system within the first place.
Hardware and efficiency
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- 8-16GB RAM
- 128-256GB storage
- 4300mAh; 30W charging
The Zenfone 9 comes with the newest model of Qualcomm's high cellular hardware - the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
This is not an enormous development over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, however it makes incremental good points - and it is a few steps ahead over the Snapdragon 888 within the older Zenfone 8.
It is supported by 8-16GB of RAM, with choices for 128 or 256GB of storage, so there are a variety of mannequin choices to select from. There isn't any microSD help, however there may be twin SIM help.
The nice benefit of packing this hardware into this telephone is that you just're getting flagship efficiency, quite than having to compromise on the ability obtainable, which is the case in another smaller units.
The largest criticism we had of the Zenfone 8 was that it ran just a little sizzling. The Zenfone 9 is just a little higher on this regard, switching to a vapour chamber for cooling, quite than utilizing warmth pipes.
That helps preserve issues cooler, however whenever you push the telephone it should nonetheless warmth up just a little: there's simply much less house for cooling than in a bigger telephone.
We've not discovered that to downgrade the efficiency, nevertheless, and lengthy gaming classes aren't any downside - aside from being just a little cramped with the controls on the show.
There is a 30W HyperCharge charger within the field (a rarity today), too, which implies you possibly can rapidly recharge the 4300mAh battery.
It isn't the quickest charger on the market, however, until you actually need to get out of the door, we will not see that being an enormous downside for anybody.
There isn't any wi-fi charging, nevertheless - it is cable solely.
The battery life can also be good. In lighter use this telephone will make it by the day and into the subsequent fairly simply, so you do not essentially need to cost it each night time.
General, the efficiency delivers a lot the identical expertise as some other flagship telephone. It is easy and quick, and completely succesful.
The one actual distinction between this and most flagship telephones is the truth that it is way more compact.
Digital camera
- Double rear digicam:
- Important: 50MP, 1/1.56in, f/1.9, 1.0μm
- Ultrawide: 12MP, 1/2.55in, f/2.2, 1.4μm
- Selfie: 12MP, 1/2.93in, f/2.2, 1.22μm
There are two cameras on the again of the telephone, with the primary digicam using the abilities of a 6-axis gimbal to easy every thing out. That partly explains why the digicam lenses look so huge.
It is value noting that the primary digicam protrudes just a little greater than the ultrawide digicam, too, however we're guessing that a part of that's to help the gimbal.
Whereas there is a most important and ultrawide digicam, the draw back of this association is that there isn't any telephoto, so the Zenfone 9 cannot compete with different fashions with that devoted lens.
The place it could possibly compete is thru that most important digicam. It is a Sony IMX 776 sensor and you will get nice constant photographs in most circumstances, with correct colors and loads of element. There's some inconsistency between the primary and ultrawide digicam - the latter producing darker pictures.
Low gentle images is fairly good, however noise does come creeping and issues soften pretty quickly. Utilizing the digicam would not provide the sense that there is a huge AI machine within the background fixing every thing for you.
The entrance digicam will give an honest selfie, with correct edge detection by the portrait mode to present these good blurred backgrounds.
It struggles just a little in decrease gentle, dropping element and is more likely to be blurry, so it is not as competent as a telephone just like the Google Pixel 6a on this regard.
However it's autofocus, so may give you sharper pictures in the appropriate circumstances and that is at all times a bonus over mounted focus entrance cameras.
Video provides a big selection of choices, however the HyperSteady stabilisation is restricted to 1080p - so you possibly can't get entry to the highest stability on 4K or 8K video seize.
We have discovered that video to be nice although, with some nice colors and fluid stability whenever you're utilizing HyperSteady - though there's nonetheless some noise when the sunshine drops.
General, nevertheless, it is onerous to actually level to any specific faults with the digicam.
As a point-and-shoot telephone, it really works rather well, whereas there are further modes and choices if you wish to take issues just a little additional.
Software program
- Android 12 with ZenUI
- Two OS updates
- Two years of safety updates
The software program on the Zenfone 9 at launch is Android 12, customised with Asus' ZenUI. That provides tweaks and adjustments to the expertise so you will see a visible distinction round areas just like the settings and menus.
The one optimistic we have present in ZenUI is the direct toggle for Wi-Fi within the fast settings - which inventory Android appears to have sullied - so should you're recurrently switching off Wi-Fi, it is tremendous simple on this telephone.
However elsewhere, we see the basic signs of an Android pores and skin making issues messy. There's duplication of apps and Asus chooses to make use of icons which might be virtually similar to Google's core apps - particularly for the telephone, messages, contacts, calculator and clock.
You possibly can't take away these apps they usually do not add something to the expertise should you're utilizing Google's providers (which prospects outdoors China shall be), so that is one space the place Asus stumbles.
In any other case, we have discovered the UI to be quick and fluid. Should you're a gamer then the Recreation Genie is nice, with a dashboard you possibly can entry in-game to regulate vital issues like navigation blocking and so forth. It really works rather well, drawing on expertise gained by Asus' ROG telephones.
There's one different draw back although. Asus is just providing two Android OS updates and a pair of years of safety updates. That is nicely behind the likes of Google or Samsung, who will successfully help your system for double the size of time.
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The Asus Zenfone 9 is the compact telephone of selection, making few compromises to ship a flagship expertise in a smaller package deal. There's loads of energy and efficiency, with good cameras solely marred by the dearth of telephoto. The design is enticing and the construct is high quality, together with waterproofing. Nonetheless, the telephone is let down by the software program - bloat and app duplication are compounded by comparatively brief help, with solely two years of updates.
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