ASUS announced two new Zenfone flagships in May. There is the Zenfone 8 Flip, a more direct successor to the Zenfone 7 Pro with the same form factor and motorized cameras. Then there is the Zenfone 8, a compact flagship phone with a candy bar design. ASUS has now brought the latter to the U.S.

The Zenfone 8 is now available for purchase unlocked on the ASUS US online store. The phone is available in two configurations – 8GB RAM + 128GB with a $599 price tag and an 8GB RAM + 256GB version that costs $100 more. Both configurations can only be purchased in Obsidian Black.

The Zenfone 8 has a 5.92-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with a punch hole at the top left corner. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, a Pixelworks chip, HDR10+,  and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus. There is a Snapdragon 888 processor under the hood and it is paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

ASUS ships the phone with a dual-camera setup for the rear. The main camera is a 64MP Sony IMX686 and it is paired with a 12MP ultrawide angle camera that can also shoot macro pictures. For selfies, there is a 12MP Sony IMX363 camera

The Zenfone 8 packs a 4000mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging. There is an audio jack at the top of the device, stereo speakers, Cirrus Logic amplifiers, and Dirac HD sound technology. Alongside having NFC, Wi-Fi 6E, dual SIM support, and an in-display fingerprint scanner, the phone also has an IP68 rating. The Zenfone 8 runs Android 11 out of the box and will receive at least two major OS upgrades.

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ASUS has announced its latest flagship phone and it arrives as the Zenfone 8. The new flagship is smaller than most of the phones available on the market now and caters to those who want a device with a small form factor.

Zenfone 8 Design

The Zenfone 8 was born out of the requirement of customers who want a compact phone that doesn’t compromise on performance. Most phones these days are in the 6.5-inch range which can be pretty uncomfortable for a lot of people.

ASUS has managed to squeeze a 5.9-inch screen in a frame that is just 148mm tall and 68.5mm wide. The back is curved to make it more comfortable to hold and the frosted matte back adds a nice touch to the overall design while keeping fingerprint smudges at a minimum.

The Zenfone 8 has a blue-colored power button and is available in Obsidian Black and Horizon Silver, the latter whose color shifts depending on the angle light rays land on it.

Zenfone 8 specs

The 5.9-inch screen which is protected by a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus has a 120Hz refresh rate and a punch hole at the top left corner. It also has a Pixelworks chip, HDR10+, a 112% DCI-P3 color gamut, and a peak brightness of 1100 nits.

There is a Snapdragon 888 processor inside and it comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

On the back of the phone are two cameras – a 64MP Sony IMX686 f/1.8 1.6µm main camera with Quad Bayer technology and a 12MP Sony IMX363 f/2.2 1.4µm ultrawide angle camera with Dual PDAF that also supports 4cm macro photography. For the front-facing camera, ASUS has put a 12MP sensor inside the hole in the left corner. The Sony IMX663 camera has a 1.22µm pixel size and Dual PDAF too.

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ASUS has also focused on the audio features of the Zenfone 8. In addition to having an audio jack at the top, the phone also has stereo speakers, Dirac HD sound technology, dual Cirrus Logic CS23L45 amplifiers, and Hi-Res Audio. The amplifiers provide increased volume and a higher bass with better power optimization. There is also an Audio Wizard app that allows you to choose from four sound profiles scenario effect and 10 customizable equalizers.

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The phone packs a 4000mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging via a USB-C port. There are three charging profiles that you can choose from including Scheduled Charging which lets you choose when the phone should begin charging when plugged in.

The Zenfone 8 has an IP68 rating, Wi-Fi 6E, and an under-display fingerprint scanner. It runs Android 11 out of the box and comes with a 30W adapter.

Zenfone 8 Price and Availability

The Zenfone 8 comes in four configurations. below are their prices:

• 6+128GB = €599
• 8+128GB = €669
• 8+256GB = €729
• 16+256GB  = €799

The phone is already available for pre-order on the ASUS estore in Europe and will be available on May 31.  ASUS says it will also be available for purchase in different markets around the world.

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