Android phones are undoubtedly huge, so every summer for the past few years when the new Asus Zenfone arrives, it’s been a treat for the little phone geeks among us. The Zenfone 10 continues the tradition of delivering flagship-grade specs in a “small” package – yes, a 5.9-inch screen is considered small these days. We are scoring on a curve.
This year’s Zenfone comes with wireless charging, something the previous model didn’t have. Using some stand chargers is a bit tricky because of the small size – the charging coil on the phone seems to be out of reach on my Belkin Qi charger, and I can only charge on the Pixel Stand (2nd gen) if I Press it in the middle of the charger and carefully lower it down. A pad charger may be the best option.
It has the same IP68 rating and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset as last year. The headphone jack is still alive! The screen resolution is the same 1080p as the Zenfone 9, which is plenty for a screen of this size, and the refresh rate is 120Hz. The 144Hz mode only kicks in when you’re gaming, so 120Hz is the maximum refresh rate for all purposes. The Zenfone 10 comes with a 4,300mAh battery, and in my daily casual use, it managed to last a day without any issues.
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There’s Gorilla Glass Victus on the front, aluminum side rails, and a polycarbonate plastic rear panel with a textured finish that I can only describe as “papery.” The review unit I’ve been using is the eclipse red version, and boy, was it ever red. Asus says the phone will be sold in the U.S. in all colors. Unfortunately, it only works with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, not Verizon. This is a tradition I wish Asus would abandon with the Zenfone.
The Zenfone 10 retains last year’s 50-megapixel f/1.9 main camera with OIS and includes a 13-megapixel ultrawide and an upgraded 32-megapixel pixel-binning selfie camera. The gimbal-like stabilization feature introduced in last year’s model gets a new mode that dynamically changes the level of shake correction required for conditions, thus changing the field of view.
Product photos of ASUS Zenfone
See how good the little phone is?
There’s also a handy new shortcut that lets you open the Camera app from the Lock screen and automatically snap a burst of three images without having to tap the shutter button. I use it a lot when my kids are doing something cute and I usually miss fumbling around with the camera app for a shot.
Asus promises two operating system updates and four years of security patches for Zenfone 10 – a welcome improvement over the Zenfone 9’s two years of security support. It’s available first in Europe for €799 (the same price as the Zenfone 9) and will be coming to the US in the third quarter of this year.
When it comes to the U.S., it’s destined to be a niche device. Most people prefer big phones, but I admire Asus for sticking with this form factor. The company seems to be listening to its customers, too – Zenfone 10 includes a setting to speed up animations, which was previously only available in developer mode. A lot of people are using it on the Zenfone 9, and Asus has included it in the standard software. It’s very nerdy and very good. Personally, I’m glad this little phone with so many thoughtful details is back for another year.
＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞＞ 3.85V 3600mAh Asus C11P1701 Long Life Battery Replacement