Asus Zenfone 9: Flagship specifications in a compact device
While smartphones with a screen smaller than 6 inches are disappearing from the world, the Taiwanese technology giant aimed at a community that demands small smartphones - and it can be said that it succeeded.
The full review
Yanon ben Shoshan
04/07/2022
Monday, 04 July 2022, 20:00 Updated: Thursday, 04 August 2022, 20:27
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Asus Zenfone 9 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan)
Our smartphone screens are getting bigger every year.
Take for example the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which boasts a 6.7-inch screen, or the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which includes a 6.8-inch display.
The result - devices that are difficult to operate with one hand and are not comfortable to carry around in your pocket.
The Taiwanese technology giant Asus (ASUS) continues to go in the opposite direction - and announced last week the Zenfone 9 (Zenfone), a small but powerful smartphone.
Just before the launch in Israel, we took the new device for a short but in-depth test - and found a particularly surprising alternative that managed to make us miss normal-sized smartphones, and in the days when screens that scratched the 7-inch mark were considered tablets.
Asus Zenfone 9 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan)
Design
Let's start with the most interesting thing about the Zenfone 9: a screen that fits a flagship device like this device wants to be.
It is a 5.9-inch edge-to-edge AMOLED screen, with support for a 120 Hz refresh rate and a "hole" for the selfie camera in the upper left.
In practice, in normal day-to-day use - which included social networks, Netflix and the Internet - even when I tried to push its limits, the Zenfone 9's screen did a great job.
Unlike most of the flagship devices I've tested in recent years, apart from the iPhone 13 mini, the Zenfone 9 is a phone that can be operated with one hand (almost) perfectly.
On the other hand, it is a bit thicker than most devices on the market (9.1 mm), and a bit heavy for its size (169 grams).
Besides, on the top of the device you will (still) find a 3.5 mm jack for connecting wired headphones.
However, the smartphone is water and dust resistant under the IP68 standard, including Gorilla Glass Victus coating on the front screen.
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Asus Zenfone 9 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan)
interface and performance
Asus did not compromise on performance and integrated the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip system into the Zenfone 9, along with a massive 16 GB of working memory (RAM) - much more than you need.
This means that both while using applications - such as scrolling through social networks, and during a smooth transition between other applications, including games, the device provides a perfect experience.
On the right side of the device is a lock button that also serves as a biometric fingerprint sensor, which responds excellently and unlocks the device easily and quickly.
Also, the device comes built-in with the Android 12 operating system and Asus' ZenUI 9 interface.
And it's important to dwell on this for a moment: the Asus system interface is a significant bright spot in today's smartphone world.
The interface is mostly clean and not loaded with unnecessary apps that cannot be removed (due to Xiaomi's MIUI interface). In fact, all of these rank ZenUI 9 very high in the ranking of successful operating systems.
Asus Zenfone 9 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan)
A camera that is also a gimbal
The Zenfone 8 combines a pair of cameras - Sony's IMX766 sensor with a resolution of 50 megapixels, including built-in optical stabilization (OIS, including a gimbal capable of moving in 6 axes. This means taking video while moving without shaking. The secondary camera, also It's from Sony, it's designed for wide-angle photography and has a resolution of 12 megapixels.
How's the quality? When shooting with good lighting designers, the photos come out great with an excellent level of detail, bright colors but true to the original, and lots of natural light entering the lenses. Also, even in challenging lighting conditions - Like too bright or dark areas (night), the photos come out good with a high level of detail, without excessive smearing and smart lighting balance.
A look at the Zenfone 9 and a photography experience:
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A post shared by Inon Ben Shushan (@inon_ben_shushan)
Asus Zenfone 9 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan)
In the bottom line
Looking for a smartphone with a screen smaller than 6 inches, specifications of a flagship device and an excellent camera?
The Zenfone 9 is the best device you will find, at least in the Israeli market.
The device is available for purchase in Israel in two versions: 2,999 shekels for a version with 8 gigabytes of working memory (RAM) and a storage capacity of 128 gigabytes, and 3,499 shekels for a version with 16 gigabytes of working memory and a storage capacity of 256 gigabytes.
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