ASUS May Deliver Devastating News For Fans Of Its Compact Zenfone Android Devices
According to Taiwanese news outlet TechNews, ASUS has completely and abruptly dissolved its Zenfone division. Much of this internal restructuring involves employees from the division merging with other parts of the company, in particular the ROG gaming phone department. An internal letter announcing a reorganization first circulated in June, but the closure of this business unit occurred suddenly just days ago.
While not necessarily linked with the shutdown, there were some clues that something within the Zenfone team was brewing. ASUS recently began preventing Zenfone users from unlocking their bootloaders, even though ASUS claimed that that applied to the unlock tool only. Furthermore, users started noting that the company had removed older Zenfone firmware from its support site.
ASUS hasn't released any statement on what the future holds for its phones. Will there be a Zenfone-sized ROG device? That's surely possible, but that device would probably look like a gamified ROG, rather than the clean, simple design that the Zenfone has become known for.
For fans of the Zenfone series, this report truly comes as sad news. The latest $700 Zenfone 10, which is widely regarded as one of the best-valued phones one can buy, will likely be the last. Besides packing some of the most competent hardware and camera specs in the industry, Zenfones have become one of the last bastions of small (relatively speaking) Android smartphones.
The Zenfone 10, for example, comes with a 5.9-inch 144Hz AMOLED display—perfect for those who crave more compact and comfortable phones without compromising performance. It still squeezes in a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 8GB RAM and 16GB storage, with 30W (wired) and 15W (Qi) charging for its 4,300 mAh battery. Its camera package was a standout as well. The electronically stabilized 50MP main cam was supplemented by a 6-axis gimbal stabilizer to keep the view steady, just like an action cam.
