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Returned & Tested
CHF541.71
ASUS Zenfone 8 (8GB)
128 GB, Obsidian Black, 5.92", Dual SIM, 64 Mpx, 5G
Asus Zenfone 8: what's round and has a headphone jack?
12.5.2021
Translation: Eva Francis
Asus has released its new Zenfones. One has a headphone jack and is designed for one-handed operation. The other has a flip-out camera.
A rectangle with rounded corners. One screen at the front, two cameras at the back. Visually, the Asus Zenfone 8, which was just presented at a livestream, does nothing wrong and nothing right. It's one of those phones that doesn’t stand out when you see it on a shelf.
But behind the 5.92-inch screen diagonal and the inconspicuous design, the Taiwanese manufacturer, which mainly produces PC components and notebooks, has impressive hidden specs.
Asus Zenfone 8: the low-key flagship
The Asus Zenfone 8 only weighs 169 grams. Despite this low weight, Asus has installed a 4000 mAh battery that powers a Snapdragon 888 system-on-a-chip (SoC) in the phone – and an AMOLED screen with 2400 x 1080 pixels resolution. The Zenfone is Asus's flagship – ignoring gamer phones – which is why its screen features a 120 hertz refresh rate. Speaking of the screen: the Zenfone 8 has been built so that it can be operated with one hand.
If you turn the phone around, the exciting features become visible. While other manufacturers rely on three, four or even five cameras, Asus says: «Nope. Two are enough.»
- 64 megapixel, f/1.8
- 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, f/2.2, can also take macro shots
- 12 megapixel selfie cam
On top of this, it has 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of internal storage and dual SIM. By the way, the Zenfone 8 is equipped with a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. In order for the battery to fit into such a small case, Asus – pronounced «Ey-Sus» by the way – split the phone's motherboard into two parts and placed them on top of each other. Very clever.
As good as that sounds, the Zenfone 8 is not the reason why the Zenfone series is getting attention on the market. There’s also the Zenfone 8 Flip.
Zenfone 8 Flip: the one with the flip-out camera
While others – Asus included – like to punch holes in the screen for the selfie cam to see you, the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip does it differently. It boasts a motorised main camera that folds out, rotates 180 degrees over the top edge of the phone and allows you to take selfies with the main camera array. But be warned: the Flip doesn’t have a headphone jack, judging by the launch video.
The Flip is larger, stronger and generally aimed at those who just want a bit of a special phone with extra performance. This is also evident in the flip-out camera array:
- 64 megapixel wide-angle lens, f/1.8, PDAF, optical image stabiliser
- 12 megapixel telephoto lens, f/2.4, PDAF, 3x optical zoom
- 12 megapixel macro lens
Videos are recorded by the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip in 8K at up to 30 frames per second, 4K up to 120 fps, 1080p at up to 240 fps, 720p at up to 480 fps. It’s not surprising that this requires a lot of battery power. Therefore, the Flip can be charged with up to 30 watts. Asus states that you can charge the 5000 mAh battery from 0 to 60% within 34 minutes. Charging from 0 to 100% takes 93 minutes thanks to the Smart Charging feature.
The camera is also equipped with a few clever features that are based on the rotation of the array, allowing you to take angled pictures while holding the phone straight.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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