Asus Zenfone 9: The vastly improved 5.9-inch smartphone

The most important data for the Zenfone 9 was already known, but now Asus has revealed all the details of the new compact smartphone. Compared to the Zenfone 8, the main improvements are performance, battery and camera, but the price has also gone up.

For compact smartphone fans, the Zenfone 8 (review) was one of the best Android options of 2021 alongside the Google Pixel 5 (review). It offers many high-end features while being extremely convenient With the Zenfone 9, the successor model is now launching, which has been improved in almost every aspect. You can find the data sheet below.

Price and Availability

The basic variant with eight GB RAM and 128 GB storage costs 799 euros. The base price of the predecessor, however, was 599 euros at launch and 669 euros regularly. In the compact class, the Asus Pro Max competes with Google Pixel 6a, Sony Xperia 10 IV, Xiaomi 12, Galaxy S22 and iPhone 13 series models. As an optional accessory there is a backpack mount and a magnetic case for a stand and a card holder.

The smartphone can now be pre-ordered and released in Germany In stores August 12th. The red variant is available exclusively on the Asus online shop with 128GB only. With eight GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space, the price 849 euros and 16 GB of RAM 899 euros. It is available from select retailers and the Asus online store A free Asus Chromebook until the end of August (CX1) on smartphones.

Design and display

In addition, the manufacturer depends on a screen format 5.9 inches (14.99 cm) And the weight also remains unchanged at 169 grams. What’s new, however, is a more eye-catching design with a flat aluminum frame. The case measures 146.5 × 68.1 × 9.1 millimeters A little more compact than before And comes in a choice of black, blue, creamy white and red. It is appropriate again IP68 Protected from water and dust and has a top Headphone jack. However, the back is no longer made of glass, but of a matte polymer that is said to be 36 percent lighter.

The power button now has a fingerprint sensor that can be used to scroll with swipe gestures. Custom shortcuts can be triggered by double-tapping the back Also, the speakers are optimized for better stereo effect and more bass.

Let’s use it predecessor’s AMOLED panel, which is in 20:9 format and has a full HD+ resolution, but has a fairly thick border at the bottom. The 5.9-inch display has a refresh rate of 120 hertz (no LTPO) and a maximum brightness of 1,100 nits. Recently it is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.

Performance and cooling

Instead of the Snapdragon 888, the new one now serves Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 As a processor. The Zenfone 9 is one of the first devices with the improved Plus chip in this way, leaving the heat issues of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 behind.

The chip area is 10 percent larger than the 888, but Asus has it The cooling system has increased by 230 percent. The heat pipe has given way to a vapor chamber, which means the smartphone should stay cooler than the Galaxy S22 and Xiaomi 12 despite its compact size. According to the manufacturer, the Zenfone 9 offers 15 percent higher CPU performance, 50 percent higher GPU performance and 30 percent better power efficiency compared to the Zenfone 8.

Memory and software

optional Eight or 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM Stuck on the side 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.1 mass storage In the new Zenfone. Storage space is not expandable. Apart from the 128 GB version, there are two 256 GB versions with different RAM capacities. The USB-C port only works at USB 2.0 speeds.

Android 12 based on Zen UI 9 operating system. The user interface is Very close to unmodified Android your turn Software innovations include one-handed operation, new sound and display options, Material U design and ROG Phone 6’s Game Genie interface. But there will be OS update only for two years promise

battery pack

Battery capacity from 4,000 4,300 milliampere hours According to Asus, the Effective running time is just under two days And surpasses the Galaxy S22 and Xiaomi 12. Furthermore, the max 30 watts per USB-C loaded, but the loading time is reduced by 80 to 100 percent according to the manufacturer.

Various battery saving functions are retained. However, wireless charging was offered again. The reason given in early discussions was that a large battery for a long runtime was more important to the developers than support for induction charging.

the camera

The fairly mid-range camera was one of the Zenfone 8’s biggest flaws. The Zenfone 9 has clearly improved in this regard. The camera system is now 40 percent larger and includes a 50-megapixel sharper as the main sensor IMX766Which is also on Oppo Find X5 Pro (Test), OnePlus Nord 2 (Test) and Xiaomi 12.

The sensor area has increased by 22 percent to 1/1.56 inches and is a special feature Six-axis gimbal stabilization This stabilizes the entire camera module for use and should help with video and low-light recording. The effective stabilization zone is displayed in the camera app.

Besides, there is one in the smartphone As the IMX363 Ultraweitwinkelkamera. The resolution is twelve megapixels, the field of view is 113 degrees and with autofocus it can also be used for macro shots. The IMX663 front camera Also has a resolution of twelve megapixels and offers autofocus. 4K video recording is possible with all three cameras. According to Asus, the Zenfone 9 outperforms the Galaxy S22+ when it comes to camera. Incidentally, a Light Trail mode for long exposures, a better Pro mode and different audio recording settings for videos are also new.

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• Asus-Livestream (YouTube)

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team Metzger