Asus Zenfone 8 review: finally, another small smartphone

I can hold on to large smartphones without any problems, and I usually wear pants with sufficiently sizeable pockets. Over time, I’ve got used to larger and larger displays. Then suddenly, in 2019, I had a realisation while holding the relatively minuscule Pixel 4. I was thrilled by how handy it is. Since then, I’ve been looking out for smaller smartphones. I simply had to try out the Zenfone 8 from Asus.

5.9-inches or a rotating camera

The term «small» will always be relative. The Zenfone 8 is minute by today’s standards with its 5.9-inch display. However, I still remember the times when smartphones were already considered huge beyond the 5.5-inch mark. I’ll admit: there were wider borders around the touchscreen back then. But the Zenfone 8 feels very handy. It’s been sized quite well.

The Zenfone 8 Flip is similarly equipped, but considerably larger. Its display stretches to 6.67 inches, with its suffix referring to the rotatable «Flip Camera». There’s no selfie cam at the front. Instead, you can rotate the three cameras at the back so that they face you. This opens up many more possibilities not possible with other selfie cameras, ideally leading to better image quality.

Let’s compare:

• Zenfone 8: 148 × 68.5 × 8.9 mm, 169 grams
• Zenfone 8 Flip: 165.04 × 77.28 × 9.6 mm, 230 grams

Above all, the 17-millimetre difference in height is clearly noticeable. But even 61 grams is clearly evident when distinguishing either model.

Compact and well equipped

The Zenfone 8’s Super Amoled display proves that smaller doesn’t automatically mean worse. With its 5.9 inches, it provides a resolution of 2400 × 1080 pixels. It also offers a maximum refresh rate of 120 hertz. The Zenfone 8 Flip only has enough for 90 hertz, and its 2400 × 1080 pixels are distributed over a screen diagonal of 6.67 inches. However, the pixel density is still high enough that you won’t see any difference in detail with the naked eye.

Any of the Zenfone 8 display’s other advantages are also mainly on paper: a maximum brightness increased by 100 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus instead of Gorilla Glass 6. In practice, both touchscreens leave a good impression. You can use them as an always-on display. This means that you can view information such as the time, notifications or the weather even when the device is turned off.

Both smartphones follow the same design philosophy, but there are still small differences. This might just be due to the moving camera. For example, only the Zenfone 8 has a 3.5 mm port for headphones and is waterproof. It’s received an IP68 certification – 1.5 metres of water depth for 30 minutes. The Zenfone 8 Flip doesn’t have any certification.

Same software, near identical performance

Inside the Zenfones, we again find many similarities. This applies to the software, and to a large extent, the hardware.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 powers both smartphones. No need to worry about their computing power. Even if their working memories are different. The Zenfone 8 Flip only comes with 8 gigabytes. Same goes for the Zenfone 8, however, you can also go for 16 gigabytes instead. However, I didn’t notice any significant differences during a short benchmark test using Geekbench 5.

• Zenfone 8: 1127 and 3650 points in the single and multi-core test, respectively.
• Zenfone 8 Flip: 1119 and 3647 points in the single and multi-core test, respectively.

As soon as I started Geekbench, the Zenfones activated high-performance mode. When turned off, the Flip 8 surprisingly performs better with less working memory.

• Zenfone 8: 1005 and 3443 points in the single and multi-core test, respectively.
• Zenfone 8 Flip: 1113 and 3670 points in the single and multi-core test, respectively.

Both smartphones support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. You can insert two SIM cards at a time, but you can only expand the internal storage with a microSD card in the Flip 8. On top of working memory, the Zenfone 8 lets you decide between 128 or 256 gigabytes of internal storage. The Zenfone 8 Flip only comes with 256 gigabytes. Asus’ dual speakers each deliver some decent stereo sound for a smartphone.

Both Zenfones are charged via the USB-C port and a 30-watt power supply. There are more powerful fast-charging technologies on the market, but even so, it’s quick. It can’t quite manage half an hour, like WarpCharge from OnePlus. But in an hour, the batteries fill up to about 80 per cent. The Zenfones’ batteries have – unsurprisingly, given the size difference – different capacities: 4000 mAh for the Zenfone 8 and 5000 mAh for the 8 Flip. In practice, however, the difference in runtime is negligible. During typical use, both will get you through the day.

A tidy Android 11 system with unsure updates

Asus chose Android 11 as the operating system for the Zenfone 8, providing it with its in-house Zen UI user interface. I don’t have a problem with how it looks, but if you do, you can always change it with a launcher. The number of preinstalled apps is limited enough. Aside from several Asus tools, there’s Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger and Netflix. Except for the streaming service, the apps can be uninstalled in a few clicks.

Updates trickled in for the devices during my test. So, seems Asus is working on its software. Nevertheless, the September 10th security update is still stuck back in July. This means there are still two patches available. Asus needs to establish a reliable reputation for its updates overall. Other manufacturers have recognised their importance, delivering on any promise they make.

Dual and front camera vs. rotating triple camera

The similarities between the Zenfone 8’s camera equipment continue. Its main camera uses a Sony IMX686 sensor. It nominally has a maximum resolution of 64 megapixels, but delivers images with 16 megapixels by default. «Pixel Binning,» as it’s called, combining four adjacent pixels into one. As a result, image quality is supposed to be improved. The Sony IMX363 sensor with a resolution of 12 megapixels is installed in the wide-angle camera.

The Zenfone 8 also has a 12-megapixel front-facing camera (Sony IMX663 sensor). Understandably, the Zenfone 8 Flip doesn’t need a front-facing one, as its camera can be flipped. That’s also why you’ll find a telephoto lens with 8-megapixel resolution as well as triple optical zoom in place of a third camera on it. Twelve-fold magnification is possible digitally.

Turning on HDR

Unsurprisingly, there are no differences in image quality for the main camera. The attention to detail is high, reproducing colours naturally. To achieve stronger contrasts, it’s worth activating HDR mode, as these cloudy skies show.

This also goes for the wide-angle camera.

Zoom

Where things really get interesting is magnification. Here, the Zenfone 8 only uses its high resolution and digital magnification; the Zenfone 8 Flip has a purpose-built extra telephoto lens. Qualitatively, the extra camera only provides minimal added value. At double zoom, I can’t tell the difference.

Only at 8x zoom – the maximum for the Zenfone 8 – are more details visible. Less so with the prominent observation tower in the centre, but it shows in the stones of the grey building in the background.

Nighttime

In the dark, night mode is worth it. Due to the longer exposure time, images are illuminated a bit better and, above all, sharper. But this is only true if you have a steady hand and the subject isn’t moving. This applies to both the main camera and the wide-angle camera.

Selfies

The Zenfone 8 Flip has a big advantage when it comes to selfies: its main camera is superior to the front-facing camera on the Zenfone 8.

In darkness particularly, night mode makes a big difference.

The Zenfone 8 Flip’s camera also captures more details in bright daylight. However, it is worth activating HDR mode on both smartphones for selfies as well. Otherwise you risk capturing an overexposed sky.

You can also use the other cameras for selfies on the Zenfone 8 Flip. The wide-angle camera only really makes sense if you’re photographing multiple people or a larger background. Its telephoto lens, on the other hand, provides a cropped portrait image.

Verdict: the small Zenfone 8 is solid, but I’m still sceptical

The Zenfone 8 mainly convinces me with its size. I like that it’s comparatively small and handy. You don’t have to make any concessions in terms of performance, and you can expect an above-average camera performance. Overall, a solid top smartphone, but it lacks the wow factor that other flagships offer – often only included at a much higher price. Its only real weak point: Asus still has to prove that they can provide sufficiently optimised and timely updates.

In terms of hardware and software, the same applies to the Zenfone 8 Flip. However, it is larger and thus similarly handy, or rather unwieldy, as many other smartphones. The picture quality of the selfies is a plus. Due to its inverted rear camera, no front camera can match it.