ASUS Zenfone 8 – review

I was telling you when I first wrote the reviews for the ASUS Zenfone 8, that this smartphone deserves special attention from us, so I turned the phone into an everyday one, and now, after almost a month of use, I can bring complete details .

Without insisting on the introductory part, we go straight to the actual review, with each chapter of analysis, because there is much to tell about one of the most successful phones of the moment.

Specifications for ASUS Zenfone 8:

Design

You already know from my first contact with ASUS Zenfone 8 that the phone arrived to me a few days before the official launch, in the sealed retail box. On the phone, inside we also find a rigid plastic cover, the fast charger, the cable with USB Type-C port at both ends, a clip for the sim slot and a user guide.

The cover of the package protects the back of the phone the most. On the top and bottom edges are wide cutouts, as well as on the right side, next to the buttons there. Unfortunately, the cover does not help much on the grip side, although it has a pattern with diagonal lines, which form diamonds through their intersection. However, they are too shallow and thus the hard plastic does not manage to adhere too well to the palm.

On the other hand, with its extremely compact size by current standards, the ASUS Zenfone 8 fits snugly in your hand and can hardly slip. The matte back, I would call it slightly rough, is extremely pleasant to the touch.

The design is simple. ASUS Zenfone 8 stands out only perhaps through the turquoise stain represented by the turquoise hue of the Power button. Otherwise, the classic lines for 2021, with the main camera module placed in a rectangle in the upper left corner and with a circular cut-out in the screen for the front camera.

Here is a chrome circle that surrounds the camera lens for selfies, which stands out easily. This approach seems strange, as most manufacturers are trying to somehow hide the dot on the screen camera, but the ASUS Zenfone 8 is the other way around.

I only mention on the aspect side that the edges around the screen are not the narrowest. I can't even consider them wide, but it seems like not enough effort has been made here to have an even higher screen / body ratio. The bottom edge is the widest.

Otherwise, about the ASUS Zenfone 8 only good in this regard. The phone offers protection against the ingress of liquids and dust in accordance with the IP68 standard, while the construction, materials and finishing details are unique and perhaps at the flagship level.

Screen and sound

The 5.9-inch screen is from Samsung, from the latest AMOLED editions, E4 series. Although it does not bring a really high resolution, like 2K, nothing is wrong on the fine contouring side of the details. The density of 445 ppi is at least satisfactory regardless of the content displayed.

Like any flagship that is respected, ASUS Zenfone 8 rises with the refresh rate up to a maximum of 120 Hz, more than enough for such a phone, without gaming pretensions, such as ASUS ROG Phone 5.

There are many settings in the display menu, including selecting a variable refresh rate, automatically chosen by the system based on the content. You can also choose a stable refresh rate, which can be 120, 90 or 60 Hz.

In terms of colors, you can make wide adjustments in the settings so that you get the results you want. From my point of view, the screen is a top one, certainly worthy of the flagship status. Intense colors, almost infinite contrast, wide viewing angles and sufficient maximum brightness even in direct sunlight.

The external sound is stereo, with a speaker on the bottom and a caller that helps. And the latter is not much lower in intensity.

The sound is one of the best I've ever had on a smartphone. It is rich, dynamic, clear and with excellent fidelity for such a device. We also have a lot of bass, much more than you would expect. It's amazing how ASUS managed to do this for Zenfone 8, because as I said the phone meets the IP68 standard, so the sound waves are easily "blocked" in their path from speaker to ear.

The maximum volume is not necessarily huge, but it is also more than enough. I would even appreciate it being somewhere above everything I've tested so far.

Although it is extremely compact, the ASUS Zenfone 8 manages not to give up the old 3.5 mm audio jack. And not only is it still present, but it plays Hi-Res sound, and that feels great with a good pair of headphones. In the company of some like ASUS ROG Cetra II Core you have an audition that no audiophile can find big flaws.

Hardware, operating system and applications

ASUS Zenfone 8 is a flagship, I hope you understand that by now :). So, it comes with the most powerful components. Absolutely good about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, with its Adreno 660 graphics accelerator, plus LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 internal storage.

What I could blame is the lack of a memory card slot. If you choose the version with 256 GB of internal memory (of which about 227 GB available to the user), then you will hardly run out of space. However, with the basic ASUS Zenfone 8 version, you get 128 GB of internal memory, which in 2021 may prove to be insufficient in a few months, especially when we can shoot at 8K resolution…

We return to the hardware assembly, which copes without any problem in any application or game in the Google Play Store. It is true that in heavy games, with the maximum details, or in that 8K shooting, the phone heats up significantly, I would even say that it gets hot, but I did not notice any significant decrease in performance.

Screenshots of the CPU-Z application with information about ASUS Zenfone 8:

The operating system with which ASUS Zenfone 8 comes from the factory is an Android 11 that looks and moves like a native one. Compared to what you find installed on a Pixel phone, a few additional settings appear in the menu. There are not a few, but I give you the chance to customize in detail certain aspects, with gestures and some options that deserve to be present on any modern Android phone.

What is very important to mention is that everything runs smoothly on the ASUS Zenfone 8. There can be no lag even when you force the system to the limit, with many applications running in the background. On the other hand, I found some bugs, like the lock screen that activates when you have your phone in your pocket and so you wake up having to enter the unlock code instead of using the fingerprint, because apparently you tried to unlock it several times. by this method. I sometimes had problems when I wanted to answer a call and the screen brightness was minimal and I couldn't see who was calling me. In fact, this would be one of the small inconveniences, namely the automatic adjustment of the screen brightness: sometimes it is too high (evening, for example) to stay dimmed in natural light.

It should be noted that in about a month since using ASUS Zenfone 8 as my main phone I have received several system updates and that some of the bugs are now history. I am sure that in time, in a few weeks at most, ASUS Zenfone 8 will get rid of all the small shortcomings of youth.

It should be noted that for ASUS Zenfone 8 will be available upgrade to Android 12, being already included in the list of phones that can install this operating system in beta. Moreover, ASUS also promises a second major update for the operating system, so Zenfone 8 will arrive at some point to run Android13.

The list of pre-installed applications on the ASUS Zenfone 8 is not long at all, but there are some that I wish I hadn't seen ready at the factory. I mean Facebook, Messenger, Instagram or Netflix, applications that anyone can install at any time, if they want. Admittedly, three of the above list can be uninstalled.

ASUS Zenfone 8 Android 11 screenshot gallery:

Performance

With such a hardware assembly, the ASUS Zenfone 8 is a champion of benchmark testing. For those who really care about synthetic test scores, here are some examples:

Connectivity

Here, too, the ASUS Zenfone 8 is not bad at all. The only downside is the lack of an extra memory card slot. Otherwise, the phone offers dual-sim 5G connectivity, with support for bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 28, 38, 77 and 78, SA and NSA.

On Wi-Fi, the ASUS Zenfone 8 has the latest and most powerful standard, namely Wi-Fi 6E, which also brings the 6 GHz band, in addition to the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Bluetooth is version 5.2, with support for Qualcomm aptX Adaptive codec, while localization is dual-band, with support for A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS and NavIc satellites. We also have NFC, of ​​course.

Unfortunately, the USB Type-C port is only in version 2.0, but as I said we already have a 3.5 mm audio jack. Both are on the bottom edge. Also here is the sim card slot, as well as the main microphone and speaker. Next to the latter there is even a notification LED, another element that has started to be completely missing from today's phones.

There is no connectivity on the left side, while on the right are the volume and Power buttons. Upstairs we see a second microphone, while the third is placed in the dual camera module on the back.

The fingerprint sensor is below the screen and is optical. It is located extremely convenient, easy to reach. The recognition rate is high, I would appreciate somewhere over 90%, but the response time is not one of the lowest. It's not slow either, but I wouldn't call it the 2021 flagship level.

Photo and video camera

Where ASUS Zenfone 8 proves to be a real flagship is here as well. Without impressing with the number of sensors, the ASUS Zenfone 8 impresses with the overall quality of any pictures or videos.

The camera interface on the ASUS Zenfone 8 is simple, somewhat classic for most Android smartphones left clean by the hardware manufacturer.

Screenshots from the Camera app interface on the ASUS Zenfone 8:

The Wide sensor is flagship level, although it can be left a bit behind by heavy industry. However, there are too few to blame. Intense but natural colors, balanced contrast, finely contoured details and wide dynamic range.

The Ultra Wide sensor is not bad at all either, the results being convincing, without many obvious artifacts or distortions.

There is no dedicated optical zoom sensor, but you can choose a 2x zoom mode. In this case, a 64 MP picture is captured from which the crop is made and then an algorithm processes the information well for a result that is at least satisfactory, not to say really successful.

Ultra Wide, Wide and Zoom 2x mode pictures:

The Ultra Wide sensor comes with autofocus system, which can make the subject clear from a minimum distance of about 4-5 cm. From what I noticed, however, the clearest Macro results are obtained from a distance of about 10 cm.

Examples of Macro photos taken with the Ultra Wide sensor on the ASUS Zenfone 8:

The night mode works well to very well on the ASUS Zenfone 8, but it is not at the level reached by the models in the Google Pixel range, by some Huawei or by the latest iPhone.

Examples of catches with ASUS Zenfone 8 night mode enabled (the first in the gallery is off mode for comparison with the second example):

The front camera is not bad at all, the sensor is of good quality and we can also talk about the captured photos.

Pictures taken with the front camera on the ASUS Zenfone 8 (Portrait mode off / on):

On the shooting side, I'd say the ASUS Zenfone 8 shines. We are not necessarily talking about capturing 8K resolution, although there is nothing wrong with it, on the contrary, we are talking about 4K videos that are absolutely gorgeous. Excellent contoured details, extended dynamic range, to which are added vivid colors and well-adjusted contrast, can only form excellent results.

4K 60 fps video clip shot with ASUS Zenfone 8

Autonomy

A chapter where ASUS Zenfone 8 is not a champion, but where it does not disappoint. The 4000 mAh battery does not do well on days when the phone is heavily used. In such scenarios it is difficult to catch some battery power in the evening.

A moderate mode of use, but which in the end is normal for the vast majority of the user, will lead to an autonomy of one day from morning to evening, but even then it is not a day without worries.

Charging is fast on the ASUS Zenfone 8 and can be done with a power of up to 30W via the charger in the package.

We've timed how long the upload actually takes and we have the following results:

The lack of wireless charging is not a minus for me, but for many it is. Especially since we're talking about a flagship here.

What I always appreciate about recent ASUS phones are the battery maintenance options available in the dedicated menu.

You can choose constant charging, so not fast charging, even when using the fast charger; you can set the charging to stop at 90 or 80 percent and choose a program to charge the battery (during the night, for example, with an hour when the battery is full). These are options that I would love to see implemented on any smartphone from now on.

Price

ASUS Zenfone 8– 2,950 lei on eMAG.ro in the version with 8/128 GB. The models with 8/256 GB start from 3,700 lei, and a copy like the test one, ie with 16/256 GB costs 4,400 lei.

conclusions

ASUS Zenfone 8 is not only the best compact smartphone of the moment, but it is one of the most successful in general. It is excellent in most chapters and has only small leaks in some areas, but they do not manage to spoil the good impression left as a whole.

The most important pros and cons for ASUS Zenfone 8:

PRO

VERSUS

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Tags: ASUSASUS ZenfoneASUS ZenFone 8ASUS ZenFone 8 Mini Impressionsprintsreviewviewtestsbenchmark tests

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