Asus Zenfone 10 review

Introduction

Asus is keeping the flame alive - otherwise starved for options, compact phone lovers are getting another installment in the Zenfone lineup. The Zenfone 10 brings minimal physical changes to what was already a well-received design, while a mandatory annual chipset upgrade and a few subtle touches on the inside help the 10 keep up with the times.

A lot like on the outside, the changes within might be hard to spot. The bump in refresh rate from 120Hz to 144Hz is only there for you in gaming, and even then, it's hardly a game-changing development. Alongside the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, you also get faster memory than last generation, and the top-spec Zenfone 10 now comes with 16GB or RAM and 512GB of storage (up from 256GB on the 9).

A more tangible change, and one we wouldn't call positive, is the ultrawide camera's lack of autofocus - the Zenfone 9's ultrawide did have that capability, while this new one doesn't. Also gone is the AF support on the selfie camera, a 32MP unit replacing the 12MP one of the old model. With that in mind, the fact that the primary camera remains the same sounds like a positive. Okay, not quite the same - the gimbal stabilization has been improved for this generation, Asus says.

In this context of small upgrades and sidesteps/downgrades, there's still one major addition to this year's specsheet - it now has wireless charging. This seems like the primary culprit for the 3g increase in weight and the 0.3mm of added thickness, but it's not like the Zenfone has become a chonker for it, so the development is most welcome.

Asus Zenfone 10 specs at a glance:

• Body: 146.5x68.1x9.4mm, 172g; Glass front, plastic back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 5.92" Super AMOLED, 144Hz, HDR10+, 800 nits (HBM), 1100 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 445ppi; *144Hz only available in supported games.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, gimbal OIS; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.2, 120°, 1/3.06", 1.12µm.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.2", 0.7µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS, HDR; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4300mAh; 30W wired, PD3.0, PPS, QC4, 15W wireless, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; 3.5mm jack.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers.

Asus Zenfone 10 unboxing

The Zenfone 10 doesn't change much in the presentation compared to last year's model - it's the same full-size box, albeit in a different gray hue and with this year's signature triangle-style logos.

Inside the box, you'll get the usual Asus 30W adapter that Zenfones have had since the 7, and a USB-C cable to go with it. Also included is a snap-on protective case that does make the handset take up notably more pocket space, but offers what appears to be a lot of protection.