Following the phone’s initial announcement mid-May, this week ASUS has officially launched their new ZenFone 8 in the US starting at a price of $599. The ZenFone 8 is a bit unusual in the market as it is trying to fit itself in the niche of a small flagship device – at least in terms of performance.

ASUS ZenFone 8 Series
  ZenFone 8 Flip

ZenFone 8

SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 
1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz
3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz

Adreno 660 @ 840MHz
DRAM 6 GB LPDDR5 6/8/16 GB LPDDR5
Storage 128GB UFS 3.1
+ microSD
128/256GB UFS 3.1
Display 6.67" AMOLED
2400 x 1080 (20:9)
90Hz

200Hz Touch
5.9" AMOLED
2400 x 1080 (20:9)
120Hz

240Hz Touch
Size Height 165.08 mm 148.0 mm
Width 77.28 mm 68.5 mm
Depth 9.6 mm 8.9 mm
Weight 230 grams 169 grams
Battery Capacity 5000mAh

30W charging (PD3.0)
4000mAh

30W charging (PD3.0)
Wireless Charging -
Rear Cameras
Main 64MP IMX686
0.8µm pixels (1.6µm 4:1 16MP)

f/1.7
64MP IMX686
0.8µm pixels (1.6µm 4:1 16MP)

f/1.7 w/OIS
Telephoto 8MP
3x optical zoom

f/2.4
n/a
Wide 12MP IMX363
1.4µm pixels Dual PDAF

113° FoV ultra-wide
f/2.2
Extra -
Front Camera Flip-camera Design
Front cameras = Rear cameras
12MP IMX663
1.22µm
I/O USB-C USB-C
3.5mm headphone
Wireless (local) 802.11ax WiFi-6
Bluetooth 5.1 LE + NFC
Other Features Triple-function Power Button w/ Capacitive Fingerprint Sensor IP68
Dual Speakers
Under-screen fingerprint sensor
Dual-SIM Dual nanoSIM
Launch Price 21,999 TWD
(USD~748, EUR~626)
starting $/€599

Today’s US launch now also confirms the pricing of $599 for the 128GB variant, and $699 for the 256GB variant, lining up with the European prices (tax normalised) that were disclosed a few weeks back. ASUS’ launch window and availability seems to have improved compared to past generation ZenFones, which usually had taken several months to see wider spread availability.

We had briefly reviewed the ZenFone 8 back in May, and refer to the article for more in-depth coverage:

We found the ZenFone 8 to be an interesting device which strengths as well as drawbacks. The performance of the phone is great given the Snapdragon 888 chipset as well as the 120Hz refresh rate screen, both packing a punch for a device of this smaller form-factor. Possible deal-breakers for users are the lacklustre camera quality which hasn’t seen much improvements versus its predecessor. While the ZenFone 8 is a step-up for ASUS’s mobile portfolio, it still has troubles in terms of representing itself as a good value alternative to devices such as the $699 Galaxy S21, even at a $100 lower price point.

The official US variant ZenFone 8 can be ordered off ASUS’s own online store.

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  • webdoctors - Sunday, July 4, 2021 - link

    Pixel 3 is $150 new right now. Its a tough market to be in right now.
  • TheinsanegamerN - Sunday, July 4, 2021 - link

    The pixel 3 is an entirely different phone for a different type of user, and isnt actively produced by google. That's hardly a fair comparison.
  • AusMatt - Sunday, July 4, 2021 - link

    Pixel 3 is unsupported after late October/early November this year (it's three years are up). So not surprised at it's current price.
  • rabidpeach - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link

    uhm. "new"? that battery may or may not have been stored correctly during this time. was it 100 percent always in climate control warehouse? you might be getting 2/3 battery.
  • rabidpeach - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link

    oneplus is dead. long live asus. assssuuuuussssss .... almost sounds dirty.

    i still like oneplus btw. hope they continue to update 7-series.

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