Asus Zenfone 7 series: Everything you need to know about these flippy phones

Asus has finally taken the wraps off the Zenfone 7 series, coming over a year after the Zenfone 6 made its debut. Thankfully, the new Zenfone 7 lineup offers much of what made the 2019 flagship special.

So what kind of improvements should you expect? How do the Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro differ? Do we still see the flipping camera mechanism? Here’s everything to know about the Zenfone 7 series.

Editor’s note: This Asus Zenfone 7 series buyer’s guide is current as of August 2020. We will update it with new content regularly.

Asus Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro: At a glance

The Asus Zenfone 7 series is the latest in the firm’s mass-market flagship range, offering a lower price than typical flagships these days. While the pricey ROG Phone 3 is focused on gaming and flashiness, the Zenfone 7 devices dial features and pricing back a bit.

You’re still getting an impressive spec sheet for the price though, with the two devices featuring flagship silicon, 90Hz OLED screens, triple cameras, 5G, and 5,000mAh batteries. The Zenfone 7 packs the Snapdragon 865 processor while the Pro variant ups the ante a little with the Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset.

In-depth: Check out our Asus Zenfone 7/7 Pro hands-on impressions

Asus Zenfone 7 series: The flippy camera explained

Arguably the coolest feature on the Zenfone 6 was the flip camera mechanism, as the rear camera housing flips over to handle selfies as well. This mechanism is back in action on the Zenfone 7 series. And much like the older phone, it’s a motorized swivel, so you can take panoramas without moving the device or get pictures/videos from all sorts of angles.

Asus has also delivered improved reliability in this regard, claiming that the swivel is now good for 200,000 flips or 100 flips daily for five years. Meanwhile, the firm says the Zenfone 6’s mechanism was rated for 100,000 flips.

The swivel camera mechanism enables a full-screen experience without a notch, cutout, or pop-up selfie camera, and you’re looking at a 6.67-inch 90Hz OLED screen with HDR10+ support on both phones. This is a marked step up from the previous phone’s 6.4-inch 60Hz LCD panel.

Asus has upgraded the camera experience on the Zenfone 7 series too, as the Pro has a 64MP IMX686 main shooter (with OIS) in lieu of the 48MP IMX586 sensor on the predecessor. You’ve also got a 12MP ultra-wide snapper (IMX363, macro support) and an 8MP 3x telephoto shooter (12x digital zoom, OIS).

Fortunately, the vanilla model packs all these cameras too, albeit without OIS at all. Nevertheless, the addition of a telephoto camera in particular means you should get better zoom results than the Zenfone 6 in theory.

The phones also pack some impressive video tech, such as 8K/30fps video recording, 4K/120fps slow-mo, three microphones, audio zoom, and wind filter functionality.

Asus Zenfone 7 series specs

Asus Zenfone 7 competition and alternatives

The Asus Zenfone 7 series marks a move towards higher pricing, but the standard phone is still cheaper than base flagships from the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi. Fortunately, there are still quite a few options out there if you like the idea of a cheaper high-end phone.

The Poco F2 Pro is one of the better ZenFone 7 alternative in this regard, starting at $499 in Europe. This makes it significantly cheaper than the base Zenfone 7 too. The phone lacks a high refresh rate screen and telephoto camera as seen on the new Asus devices, but you’re still getting a Snapdragon 865 processor, a big battery (4,700mAh), a pop-up selfie camera, and a headphone port. In fact, the headphone jack is missing from the Asus Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro.

Another notable alternative is the €600 (~$709) Realme X50 Pro, which is the firm’s first 5G flagship. The Realme device packs a 90Hz OLED screen, flagship power, and a whopping six cameras. The latter also includes a dual selfie camera pairing featuring standard and ultra-wide shooters, so group selfies are just as feasible here as the Asus phones.

One of the better alternatives might be the OnePlus 8 too, as it’s available for €649 in Europe and $699 in the US. So this is more in line with the base Zenfone 7 than anything. And you’re getting the Snapdragon 865 processor, 5G, a 90Hz OLED screen, and a decently sized battery. The $999 Pro model ups the ante even more by offering a 120Hz screen, wireless charging, and an impressive camera setup featuring a 48MP main shooter, 48MP ultra-wide camera, an 8MP 3x telephoto shooter, and a gimmicky 5MP color filter camera.

The Asus Zenfone 6 is another potential alternative if you really must have a phone with a flipping camera setup but don’t want to spend a ton of cash. It packs last year’s Snapdragon 855 silicon, slower 18W wired charging, a 60Hz LCD screen, and lacks a telephoto camera though. But between the 5,000mAh battery, capable dual cameras, and the aforementioned flipping camera mechanism, this is still worth a look at its launch price (which will likely only trend downward now that the new phones are here).

Asus Zenfone 7 series pricing and availability

The Zenfone 7 range hasn’t received wider availability details yet, but the vanilla phone starts at 21,999 New Taiwan dollars (~$749) for the sole 6GB/128GB option. Meanwhile, the Zenfone 7 Pro starts at 27,990 New Taiwan dollars (~$954). We’ll update the article when we receive European, Indian, and/or North American Zenfone 7 pricing.

Top Asus Zenfone 7 series questions and answers

Q: Does the Asus Zenfone 7 family support headphone jacks?

A: Unlike their predecessor, the Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro don’t support 3.5mm ports. So USB-C/dongle or Bluetooth connections are the only other options. Asus says there wasn’t enough room for the port due to 5G requiring additional antennas.

Q: Do these new phones support wireless charging?

A: Unfortunately the Asus Zenfone 7 devices don’t pack wireless charging support. However, they do offer 30W wired charging capable of topping up your phone in 93 minutes. That’s far better than the Zenfone 6’s 18W charging that took two and a half hours.

Q: Do the Asus Zenfone 7 devices pack microSD and/or dual-SIM slots?

A: Yes, both the Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 7 Pro actually offer triple slots. So that means you’ve got two nano-SIM slots and one dedicated slot for microSD cards.

Q: What storage variants are these phones available in?

A: The standard Zenfone 7 is only available with 128GB of storage, while the Zenfone 7 Pro only offers 256GB of storage.

Q: What happened to the Smart Key?

A: Asus has ditched the separate Smart Key for shortcuts in favor of using the power button. In addition to featuring a fingerprint scanner, the power button can also be programmed to launch certain apps/features with a double-tap or long-press.

Q: Is the Asus Zenfone 7 series water resistant?

A: Unfortunately the Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro lack a significant IP rating due to the flip camera setup.

Q: What’s in the box when you buy a Zenfone 7 or Zenfone 7 Pro?

A: You’ll get a rugged Active Case, a transparent case, a 30W USB-C charger, and a USB cable.