What is happening
The $700 Asus Zenfone 9 has a tiny 5.9-inch display and the latest Snapdragon chip.
why does it matter
The Zenfone is one of the smallest Android phones currently being made and one of the cheapest phones to pack the most powerful Snapdragon processor.
What follows
While small Android phones will remain a rarity going forward, we expect the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip to be in even more Android phones in the second half of 2022.
The Asus Zenfone 9, revealed on Thursday, can offer fans of smaller phones all the specs and power of larger, more expensive flagship phones. The Zenfone 9 features the latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, a 120Hz high refresh rate display, dual rear cameras, Android 12, dual speakers and a headphone jack.
I tested the $800 version of the Zenfone 9 for a few days, which comes with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The $700 base model comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Internationally, the phone costs €799, which roughly translates to £670 or AU$1,170. A release date has not yet been announced.
The comparisons to Apple’s $729 iPhone 13 Mini are undeniable. While the Zenfone 9 is slightly taller and wider than Apple’s smallest phone, both pack the latest and most powerful processor on offer: the A15 Bionic in the iPhone’s case.
Dimensions of the Zenfone 9 versus the iPhone 13 Mini
Phone Screen Size Height Width Asus Zenfone 9 5.9 inches 146.5 mm (5.76 inches) 68.1 mm (2.68 inches) Apple iPhone 13 Mini 5.4 inches 131.5 mm (5.18 in) 64.2 mm (2.53 in) …