Asus has officially lifted the lid on its latest premium handset, the Asus Zenfone 10 – and it has the makings of being one of the best small phones of 2023.
Owing to its unjustifiably high price, the Asus Zenfone 9 was among the most disappointing phones of last year, but its successor looks to have rectified some of those shortcomings by bringing top-end performance to the table.
Leading the charge is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – which is the same processor you’ll find inside many of the best Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Xiaomi 13 – and the Zenfone 10 pairs that superior power with more internal storage (up to 512GB) this time around.
The Zenfone 10 ships with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and battery life is up 13% over the Zenfone 9, too, despite the newer phone using the same 4,300mAh power pack.
On the design front, the Zenfone 10 sticks with its predecessor’s 5.9-inch AMOLED display, and the device weighs a comparable 172g, making it one of the smallest and lightest flagships to hit the market in 2023. It’s worth noting that several rumors had hinted at a 6.3-inch display for the Zenfone 10, so it’s good to see that Asus has decided to roll the dice again on what is arguably the best feature of the Asus Zenfone 9.
The only real aesthetic differences between the Zenfone 10 and Zenfone 9 come in the form of re-shaped camera rings on the former, which, Asus says, have been adjusted to offer a “more distinct and discrete design” on the newer phone. There’s a new color option, too: Aurora Green.
Disappointingly, there are still only two rear cameras on the Zenfone 10, one of which is the same Sony IMX766 50MP sensor as seen on last year’s model. The Zenfone 9’s 12MP ultra-wide camera has been upgraded to a 13MP ultra-wide on the Zenfone 10, though, and the former’s 12MP selfie snapper is now a 32MP front-facing camera.
Alongside Asus’ usual HyperSteady mode, a new adaptive EIS function is available on the Zenfone 10, with AI Object Sense and HyperClarity – which ensures detail preservation at high magnification – among the other new photographic additions. Oh, and you’ll also now get an extra 2x magnification Portrait Mode.
As for the phone’s price and release date, the Zenfone 10 is available now from €799, which is the same starting price as the Zenfone 9. We haven’t had confirmation of pricing in the US, UK or Australia just yet, but judging by that European starting price, we’re confident that Asus will stick with figures around the $699 / £699 / AU$1,210 mark. We’ll update this article once we know for sure.