ASUS Zenfone 10 review

There was a period when mobile phones seemed to only become smaller, and some of us still fondly remember a time when we could easily carry our phones in our wallets or purses. If we want a flagship smartphone in this day and age, we are almost always forced to settle with a behemoth with a glass front and back. Devices such as the Asus ROG Phone 7 certainly aren't bashful about their size and weight. Asus is also releasing the Zenfone 10, which features a body that is more smaller than its predecessor and a screen that measures 5.9 inches but maintains the same level of performance. 

The phone is a joy to use and carry because to its CPU, cameras, and a large variety of color options. Additionally, the phone comes in a variety of colors to choose from. And while it is necessary to make certain concessions in order to keep things compact and pocketable, I can attest that the Zenfone 10 is an excellent choice for you if you are the type of person who values a device's ability to fit comfortably in your hand and in your pocket.

Feature	Description
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 RAM 8/16GB LPDDR5X Storage 128/256/512GB UFS 4.0 Display 5.92in 144Hz AMOLED Main Camera 50Mp, f/1.9 Sony IMX766 with OIS & gimbal-stabilisation Ultrawide Camera 13Mp, f/2.2 Front-facing Camera 32Mp Battery Capacity 4300mAh Wired Charging 30W Wireless Charging 15W

Pros

• Great performance in a small formfactor
• High refresh rate screen perfect for gaming and apps
• Freedom to customize close to stock
• Headphone jack

Cons

• Pinhole camera in screen
• Lopsided bezels with aggressively rounded corners
• Staggered launch with no US release date
• No carrier support

ASUS Zenfone 10: Design & Display

The 5.92-inch 1080p OLED fast refresh rate display shines. Asus has reduced their 144hz screen to 120 FPS for typical use. The refresh rate can be boosted to 144Hz in games that support it, but only there. It doesn't worry me that we can only use 120Hz daily. As expected, it saves some battery compared to peak use, but most users won't notice. Only the camera cutout and round corners bother us about the screen. Even if rounded corners are cute, I like the full screen. This is why we dislike camera punchouts. The Zenfone 10's bezels aren't thin because the chin is wider than the forehead. 

Asus may make the forehead broader to match the bottom bezel and fit the selfie camera above the screen, like the ROG Phone, which has clear bezels. The back has two enormous, round lenses that are distinct. One lens protrudes more. They're placed in a soft-touch rear plate that used to feel like recycled cardboard. For contrast, use a flat hue like black, red, blue, white, or this year's new green. Unlike screen sensors, the button sensor works instantly and has never failed me. The bottom bezel has a central USB-C port. Left is the sim tray, right is the down-facing speaker. The top headphone jack is my favorite feature.

ASUS Zenfone 10: Cameras

A less impressive Zenfone 10 attachment. The Galaxy S23 boasts a telephoto camera and Google's Pixel 7 offers top photo processing. It sports a 32MP selfie camera, 50MP primary camera, and new 13MP ultrawide camera. The Zenfone's photo kit is useless.  With the Zenfone 10 and Samsung Galaxy S23 in my pockets, I tested the cameras in Tom's Guide London and Marylebone. Pointing both phones' 50MP main cameras. Again, Samsung's Galaxy S23 image offers brighter, richer colors than the Zenfone. The Zenfone's contrast highlights the church's bricks and tiles in walls, grooves, and flying buttresses, which I like. As said, the Zenfone 10's 50MP main camera has no zoom lens but offers up to 8x digital zoom and a 2x pre-set in the camera interface that provides 12MP resolution as a 1x photo. Unlike the S23's 2x zoom, which uses the primary camera because the telephoto starts at 3x. 

Both shots are good, although some may prefer the Galaxy S23's brighter, crisper one over the Zenfone's darker, softer one. Zenfone 10's main camera's 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizes footage 1.5 degrees in either direction. This eliminates swaying when I use two phones to take video, making Zenfone panning smoother. This sculpture outside Wallace Collection tested Zenfone's ultrawide camera. The Zenfone 10 and Galaxy S23 struggle to snap good photos of the sculpture's dark but polished surface. Samsung's brighter photographs seem better from afar. Zooming in on the Zenfone photo shows more. The S23 shows feminine models' garment folds, while the Asus phone sharpens them. Zenfone selfie camera resolution was updated to RGBW instead of RGGB, which boosts light and reduces noise. 

ASUS Zenfone 10: Performance & Battery

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powers Zenfone 10. This year, Qualcomm made many platform modifications, resulting in a more power-efficient and faster 8 Gen 2 in almost any condition. The Zenfone 10's software is tuned to take advantage of the technology, so I didn't experience any slowdowns throughout the month I used it. As mentioned above, the Zenfone 10 is superb for gaming and has no frame rate constraints. That's fantastic for a little device, and it has all the hardware functions despite its small screen. The Zenfone 10 offers 256GB of storage by default and a 16GB/512GB variant. 

The brand benefits from standard UFS 4.0 modules in all storage configurations. I didn't see much of a difference in battery life between the Zenfone 10 and last year's 4300mAh battery. I used the Zenfone 9 for almost a day, which is good. Even on heavy use days, I never worried about the battery running out before bed. The Zenfone 10's 15W Qi wireless charging is a nice addition this year. The capability takes too long—over two hours in this case—but many customers require it, so it's fantastic to see ASUS offering it to the device. The 30W charger and software options to extend battery life are included, and the cable charging tech is unaltered.