Asus Zenfone 8 review: Going against the grain

Asus Zenfone 8 in a nutshell

The Asus Zenfone 8 will arrive in three reminiscence configurations: 8/128 GB, 8/256 GB, and 16/256 GB. In accordance with the corporate, the US value remains to be being finalized, however it can price someplace between $599 and $799.

$599 was the asking value of the OnePlus 8T when it was first launched in October 2020. Therefore, Asus has no illusions that it has positioned the Zenfone 8 in flagship territory, albeit at a value level that even Xiaomi is unable to match with its Xiaomi Mi 11.

However the high quality/value ratio is, surprisingly sufficient, not the important thing argument that Asus wished to drive residence. As a substitute, the producer wished to give attention to the compact type issue of the Zenfone 8. Gone is the flip digital camera rotating module that took up an excessive amount of area, which is now reserved for its “Professional” model, the Zenfone 8 Flip.

Gone are also the just about ineffective digital camera sensors reminiscent of a 2 MP macro whose solely goal was to artificially inflate the specs sheet. One of many compromises made to accommodate its small type issue? A really small 4,000 mAh battery that’s insufficient for a flagship in 2021 - no less than on paper.

Briefly, Asus has made some compromises in terms of the {hardware} specs in a high-end Android-powered smartphone. The Verge has even equated the Zenfone 8 because the Android equal of the iPhone 12 mini in its overview. I might say that it’s a actually distinctive Android flagship handset that goes towards the grain.

A compact, modern design that’s harking back to Google’s Pixel

The Asus Zenfone 8 seems to be quite a bit like a Google Pixel.
It is barely much less compact than a Pixel 5 (the Zenfone 8’s dimensions are 148 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm and 169 grams whereas the Pixel 5 measures 144.7 x 70.4 x 8 mm and weighs 151 grams). However it’s clearly light-weight towards the behemoths within the high-end Android market that tip the scales at 200 grams and extra.

I liked the:

• Compact and chic design
• Responsive and well-calibrated 120 Hz AMOLED show
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• IP68 certification

I didn’t just like the:

• Smaller display measurement that takes some getting used to
• Lack of expandable reminiscence
• Location of the fingerprint reader

The flat AMOLED show is pierced by a punch-hole digital camera on the high left. Surrounding by rounded corners, the pretty noticeable chin, matte glass again, and the unassuming twin digital camera module, I discovered it straightforward to carry in my hand securely identical to the newest technology of Pixel handsets.

I’ve already written quite a bit about this matter, however this format clearly has the advantage of maximizing the “reachable space” to your fingers, a proven fact that increasingly more producers take into consideration even of their person interface. Briefly, the thought is to facilitate one-handed use. For this matter, Asus has hit the nail on the top.

As for the show itself, I will have to make use of it for an extended time period, however the smoothness achieved through the 120 Hz adaptive refresh charge may be very nice to the eyes, even on a “small” show.

The Full HD+ panel provides a most brightness of 1,100 nits, which isn’t actually extraordinary, and a contact sampling charge of 240 Hz that’s appropriate for gaming. These are thought of “regular” specs inside such a value vary. I discovered the colours in default mode to be a bit uninteresting however as soon as I switched to straightforward mode, the colorimetry glad me.

Total, the Zenfone 8 does comply with the footsteps of Apple in terms of a compact smartphone type issue. However it is a good factor that no different Android producer has carried out thus far. Not content material with being compact, the Asus Zenfone 8 can be very stylish wanting with a refined design, sporting a wonderful grip, and a well-calibrated display that can be utilized with one hand!

The ability of the Snapdragon 888 SoC

Like each different Android flagship in 2021, the Asus Zenfone 8 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC.
On this hands-on, Asus loaned me the highest-end mannequin which carries 16 GB of LPDDR 5 RAM and 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage!

I liked the:

• Uncooked energy of the Snapdragon 888 chipset
• Means to compete towards bigger and costlier flagships
• Intuitive sport menu that was inherited from ROG Cellphone 5

I didn’t just like the:

On paper, the Zenfone 8 outperformed its direct opponents just like the OnePlus 9 or the Xiaomi Mi 11 by way of pure benchmark scores. Unsurprisingly, the smartphone will have the ability to deal with all kinds of utilization, from productiveness to gaming, with none points.

I ran the Wild Life and Wild Life Stress Check benchmarks from 3DMark which simulated an intense gaming session of 1 and 20 minutes, respectively. Since I started this overview, the smartphone benefited from a software program replace that might have an effect on the ultimate outcomes. I, subsequently, repeated my take a look at protocol that comprised of three classes for every benchmark that was spaced about fifteen minutes every with a purpose to present sufficient time for the smartphone to chill down in between.

Within the 1-minute take a look at, the Zenfone 8 didn’t warmth up in any respect, sustaining a body charge that was all the time above the 30 FPS mark on common.

Within the 20-minute take a look at, the smartphone heated up quite a bit, hitting the 50 °C mark. I could not maintain it in my hand for quite a lot of seconds at that time. Stability noticed a nosedive within the second half of the take a look at. When utilizing it for longer gaming classes, I didn’t discover such a level of overheating, however make no mistake about it - the Zenfone 8 does warmth up after quarter-hour of gaming.

I feel it’s a matter of the shape issue. The Snapdragon 888 is well-known to warmth when it’s pushed to its limits, and the Zenfone 8 simply does not have sufficient area inside the case design to dissipate warmth successfully.

Total, my impression of the efficiency of the Asus Zenfone 8 stays constructive. I used to be pleasantly shocked to see it outperform costlier rivals by way of uncooked energy. Nevertheless, the speed at which it overheats simply stays a dealbreaker in case you are a heavy responsibility cell gamer.

A twin 64+12 MP digital camera module that is just a little too conservative

It isn’t simply by way of design that the Zenfone 8 seems to be like a Pixel.
Like Google’s smartphones, the Asus Zenfone 8 makes do with two lenses - sporting a wide-angle and extremely wide-angle lens. The one exception is, Google has way more experience on this space, of which I discovered the digital camera expertise to be quite restricted with the Zenfone 8. My full overview didn’t trigger me to expertise a shift in my preliminary impressions of what finally is, a quite conservative digital camera configuration within the Zenfone 8.

I liked the:

• Extremely wide-angle photographs weren’t distorted an excessive amount of
• Ample zoom efficiency with out a telephoto lens
• First rate night time mode efficiency

I didn’t just like the:

• Lack of versatility
• Lack of a telephoto lens
• Disappointing extremely wide-angle efficiency

Zenfone 8 wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle photographs

Through the day and underneath good lighting circumstances, the principle sensor provides a superb degree of element, a large dynamic vary, and quite pure colorimetry.

However issues start to go incorrect whenever you snap photographs with the extremely wide-angle lens. The extremely wide-angle lens has too restricted a FOV and the distortion on the edges is noticeable. I observed an absence of element on essentially the most advanced components of my photographs thus far (foliage stays very blurry). The dynamic vary can be quite poorly managed, with the half of the primary picture being too shiny whereas the opposite half is completely overexposed.

I additionally discover that the 2 sensors lack coloration consistency. I’ve the impression that the saturation is extra pronounced in extremely wide-angle. In truth, it’s too pronounced in comparison with the principle sensor in my view. Lastly, it have to be stated that the 113 ° area of view is nicely under what its rivals supply at round 120°.

Zoom photographs of Zenfone 8

Relating to zoom efficiency, the Zenfone 8 is disadvantaged of a devoted telephoto lens and so it boils right down to cropping your picture or going via a digital magnification course of through the principle digital camera sensor. Clearly, we should always not count on miracles past the 2x mark, with a most magnification degree of 8x.

However the footage that I used to be capable of seize had been removed from catastrophic. Understandably, it’s regular that Asus manages to restrict the lack of high quality at such low magnification ranges. However higher to maintain a small promise than breaking an enormous one!

The perfect zoom outcomes that I achieved when strolling round, assuming I get shut sufficient to the topic, allowed me to acquire 8x zoom photographs such because the statue of King of Prussia Frederick William IV that’s situated in entrance of the outdated nationwide gallery or this painstakingly carved face on the fringe of the Neptune fountain in Berlin.

Even in 8x, I discovered that the photographs retained a sure diploma of sharpness, though there have been points within the smoothing as will be seen within the decorative cherubs that overlook the doorway to the Berlin Cathedral.

Zenfone 8 photographs at night time

At night time, the Zenfone 8 behaves precisely just like the ROG Cellphone 5. Its night time mode kicks in robotically, the place it prompts itself based mostly on the encompassing lighting circumstances (though you may simply decide to have it activated manually).

You will have the selection between two shutter speeds of 4 or 7 seconds. By default, night time photographs with an publicity time of 4 seconds illuminate the scene very nicely. The flare impact of metropolis lighting is satisfactorily restricted, leaving the publicity to be well-balanced whereas retaining a passable degree of element.

Total, the Zenfone 8’s digital camera efficiency is clearly not its finest promoting level. We shortly discover ourselves restricted by this digital camera module that lacks zoom efficiency and with a good ultra-wide angle. The outcomes are ample and even good in some instances, however I used to be left unhappy on the finish of all of it. I discovered it to be missing in versatility and quite too boring by way of person expertise. However I clearly anticipated worse!

A tiny 4,000 mAh battery

The Asus Zenfone 8 has a 4,000 mAh rechargeable battery that prices utilizing a 30-Watt charger. It is a pretty small battery for an Android flagship in 2021, of which we should do not forget that it has to cater to the power-hungry wants of a Snapdragon 888 processor along with a excessive refresh charge show.

In real-life utilization, I used to be capable of have the Zenfone 8 final for over 24 hours, attaining a Display screen On Time (SOT) of 4 hours and 45 minutes at a refresh charge of 120 Hz. It is a respectable efficiency, but it surely falls in need of what different Android flagships supply with their bigger capability batteries.

However for a standard person who doesn’t play video games for greater than 2 hours day by day and doesn’t use the smartphone as the principle video streaming system, a full day of battery life is greater than sufficient.

Just like the ROG Cellphone 5, the Zenfone 8’s battery makes use of the STP (Particular Tab Course of) expertise which prices the battery from the center to the skin of the cell and never from finish to finish. This reduces impedance and temperature rise through the discharge course of, additional decreasing the danger of fires.

Asus guarantees that its 30W HyperCharge charger can recharge the Zenfone 8’s battery from 0 to 60% in 25 minutes, from 0 to 80% in 38 minutes, and from 0 to 100% in 1 hour 20 minutes. The perfect time that I obtained was 1 hour 22 minutes, which is shut sufficient for me to think about it falling nicely inside the specified claims.

As soon as once more, Oppo, OnePlus, and even Xiaomi clearly carry out higher on this division. Asus itself does higher with its ROG Cellphone 5. The battery lifetime of the Zenfone 8 is clearly nothing spectacular, however it isn’t unhealthy both. Nevertheless, we should admit that it doesn’t appear to signify the common “flagship” battery life rating.

Asus Zenfone 8: Technical Specs

Conclusion: Going towards the grain