Asus Zenfone 10 Review: A Compact Phone That's Big on Features

(Image credit- Nextpit) Nowadays, it's difficult to find small phones; The Zenfone 9 from last year, however, continued the pattern of Asus preferring compact phones, keeping it smaller than both Samsung's and Apple's offerings. However, you won't receive any novel or eye-catching features, but you will receive an ordinary smartphone with a stylish appearance, a decent camera, and outstanding performance that won't take up much room in your pocket.

Asus Zenfone 10 - Specifications

 

Brand	Asus
SoC	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Display	5.9-inch 120Hz (up to 144Hz in game) AMOLED 1080 x 2400
Battery	4,300mAh, Wired 30W HyperCharge, Qi Wireless 15W
Ports	USB-C and 3.5mm audio jack
Operating System	Android 13
Front camera	32MP RGBW (pixel binning actual output photo: 8MP)
Rear cameras	Main: 50MP 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 2.0, f/1.9, Wide: 13MP, f/2.2, FOV 120°
Connectivity	5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
Dimensions	2.68x5.77x0.36 inches (68x146.55x9.14 mm)
Colors	Midnight Black, Starry Blue, Aurora Green, Eclipse Red, Comet White
Weight	6.07 ounces (172g)
IP Rating	IP68
RAM and Storage	8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, 16GB/512GB

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit- Mobile Drop[/caption]

Design and Hardware

The Zenfone 10 is remarkably similar to the Zenfone 9, and for weight reduction, it has a similar polycarbonate plastic back. For what it's worth, the Zenfone 10 is just big enough to be useful for using apps that require larger displays and for watching videos. The display itself is a 5.92-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a decent spectrum of colors and vibrancy. The screen refresh rate, though, is even greater. You can lock it to 60, 90, or 120Hz or toggle it to shift automatically between those frequencies. The display has a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz, but only when playing games. The Zenfone 10's design is a huge success since it's far more innovative than what other manufacturers are doing right now.

Performance

Like all Asus devices, the Zenfone 10 is a capable performer. The most recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage are both present. It has the highest quality in a compact design and delivers the same amount of power as you would expect. Considering most smartphones are powered by the Snapdragon processor, this one comes out of the box in its default performance mode, which fails to optimize the chipset's capabilities. However, turning on the high-performance mode will make all of its features available. The Asus Zenfone 10 is a strong competitor in standard mode and comes close to matching rival devices' performance, but it falls short in a few crucial areas. You won't notice a difference in typical use, but under heavy workloads, your CPU and GPU capability will be limited. But unless you're playing games, you won't see it. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="4423"] Image credit- XDA Developers[/caption]

Software

Asus has always placed a strong emphasis on allowing you to customize your smartphone, to the point that there are two settings for the majority of changes: "Stock Android" and "Asus Optimized." You can select either of these two modes when configuring your device by going to the settings menu. Your power menu, volume panel, and notification appearance are all altered.

Cameras

Asus chose to use a dual-camera arrangement on the back of the device that includes a 13MP wide-angle lens with a 120-degree field of view in addition to a 50MP main sensor with a 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer 2.0. A 32MP RGBW sensor in the front-facing camera bins pixels to produce an 8MP final image. The new stabilization technology, which performed a superb job of maintaining the stability of films and photographs, is the main highlight of this product. Clear images and shake-free video are produced thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor's powerful processing capabilities and quick memory. Asus uses Adaptive EIS, which takes three FOV and automatically adjusts to combine into an extremely steady video, in addition to the 6-axis gimbal stabilizer.

Price and Availability

In Q3 2023, the Asus Zenfone 10 will go on sale in a number of nations, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Also read: ASUS Zenfone 10 renders show thinner bottom bezel than Zenfone 9