The Zenfone 9 is a compact flagship phone that has few compromises. It has a top-tier Qualcomm processor, excellent battery life, and a good camera on board. It’s an excellent choice for those looking for a compact flagship phone.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is more efficient and powerful than the original, with a larger sensor. The Zenfone 9’s AF-capable selfie camera distinguishes it from the crowd.
Asus Zenfone 9 review: Design
The Asus Zenfone 9 is a phone that is designed to be lightweight and comfortable to use. It has a flat aluminium frame and a redesigned camera bump, which consists of two large circular bumps. This makes it easy to hold and use, even when you are wearing gloves.
The Zenfone 9 is a phone that has been updated with a new polymer material that feels spongy and papery and repels fingerprints like no other. It’s an acquired taste, but the phone may not appear as attractive to some as other glass sandwich creations, but the Zenfone 9 has personality.
The iPhone XS Max is an impressive device that is perfect for those who want the best possible experience. The front is flat, and the 5.9-inch display is safely tucked beneath a sheet of Corning Gorilla Victus. The selfie camera is a hole-punch design, located in the upper left corner and surrounded by a silver ring.
Asus Zenfone 9 review: Display
Asus released the Zenfone 9 in 2022, a year before the majority of Android phones are released. This phone has a 5.9-inch display, making it one of the smallest Android phones on the market. ..
The Nokia 6.1 is a budget-friendly phone with an FHD+ display, 1100nits max brightness, and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It has a few features that are worth considering, such as its 1100nits max brightness and FHD+ display.
The Galaxy S10 is a phone that does what you need it to do, with a resolution that matches the output of most apps and a refresh rate that makes motion appear smooth, but it doesn’t do anything better than any other phone.
Asus Zenfone 9 review: Software
Asus has focused on one-handed operation with their software. The ZenUI-9 user interface, which is based on Android 12, includes a configurable Edge Tool on the side. This provides convenient quick access to apps. At the time of testing, the security patches were up to date. ..
Apple announced that they will be discontinuing support for their older smartphones after two years. This is especially useful for people who are shooting video, as stabilisation isn’t really necessary during the day, and software does a lot of the heavy lifting at night. ..
The Zenfone 9 has a stable camera that is able to shoot 8K resolution videos. This phone is better than some of the flagship phones because it is hardware-based.
Asus Zenfone 9 review: Hardware and Performance
The Zenfone 9 feels solidly built in the hand. It’s not particularly heavy, but the straight-edged sides make it feel solid. It’s not overly thick, but it fits comfortably in your hand, and the smaller form factor allows for one-handed access to the physical volume rocker and power button. ..
The iPhone X has a new design that includes a power button and a fingerprint sensor. The button is also fast and unlocks the phone with a single touch. The fingerprint sensor can also be used as a smart button, with the ability to launch apps with a long or double press. Swiping down to bring down the notification shade is also possible, but we disabled this function because it was too good at recognising the swipe.
The phone has a large 5.9″ FHD+ (10802400) resolution Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate that is very easy on the eyes. It’s also bright, with a peak brightness of 1100 nits, so you’re never stuck in direct sunlight.
Asus Zenfone 9 review: Camera
The Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe features a Sony IMX663 sensor with a 12-megapixel resolution. The selfie camera with autofocus provides comfortable sharpness, richly contrasted colors, and adequate daylight illumination. The camera, which is concealed beneath a punch hole, records videos in UHD quality at most, resulting in excellent Vlogging results when combined with phase detection autofocus. ..
The Zenfone 9’s main camera is based on the IMX766 sensor, which we are familiar with from other smartphones such as the OnePlus 10T and Nothing Phone 1. The recordings have good sharpness under good lighting conditions, but the edges are slightly over-sharpened. Overall, the dynamic in the images could be slightly improved.
The Asus smartphone quickly reaches its limits in low-light conditions. Despite the large aperture of f/1.9, the recordings are very dark, with few details remaining. However, the sharpness is adequate thanks to the 6-axis hybrid gimbal technology.
Battery life
The Asus Zenfone 9 has a good battery life, but the Sony Xperia 10 IV has a better battery life.
The Asus Zenfone 9’s 30W charger is not very efficient. When testing the power draw with a power metre, the rate jumps all over the place during a charge cycle. The Asus Zenfone 9 takes 84 minutes to charge to 100% and 33 minutes to charge to 50%. When you consider that a full charge of the OnePlus 10T takes less than 20 minutes, it’s a bit disappointing.
The Asus Zenfone 9 is a budget-friendly phone that has good battery life.
Price and Availability
The iPhone 13 Mini is a compact phone that offers comparable performance, a superior camera, wireless charging, and a less compromised design to the iPhone 13. According to rumours, the Mini line will be phased out soon, but you can bet Apple will continue to support the iPhone 13 Mini for years to come.
The Zenfone 9 is a great phone, but it’s not as portable as some of the other flagships on this list.
Final Words
Asus’ latest flagship phone, the Zenfone 9, offers a great combination of performance and portability. However, it is larger and slower than other flagships on the market, and its prices are slightly higher. The gimbal-stabilized main camera is impressive, particularly at night, but with a few visual glitches and issues in bright environments, it’s clear that Asus needs to do some software tuning. ..
