Asus Zenfone 8 review

Alternatives

The Zenfone 8 is a soothing sight for sore eyes, or shall we say - for sore hands. Compact flagship smartphones are such a rarity obviously because these devices have a limited target audience and come with an extra set of technical challenges. However, we're more than happy Asus didn't settle for the easy win here. Not only do we have a true no-compromise compact flagship smartphone but it also has an affordable price.

The Zenfone 8 strikes an unbelievable balance between flagship features, small footprint, and pricing. It literally has everything - a water-resistant body, a top-notch screen and hardware, excellent speakers and a 3.5mm jack, outstanding camera experience, one large battery with fast charging, and on top of all these - a starting price of €599.

Naturally, the first phone that we thought of was the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. It is slightly larger but offers a similar screen, performance, speakers, and it even has three cameras at the back (though zooming is done the same way - artificially). The Galaxy S21 has a plastic back, which takes away some of its flagship-ness, it omits a 3.5mm jack, and costs €80 on top of the Zenfone 8.

The Apple iPhone 12 is as small as the Zenfone 8, but it is a lot more expensive - at about €800 across different sellers. The iPhone 12 has an excellent OLED (but 60Hz), a similar camera experience, performance, and battery endurance. While not cheap, the iPhone 12 is indeed one of the few compact flagships on the market right now. And it even has a mini version that's a lot smaller than the Zenfone 8, priced at about €700 on some retailers. Don't expect much of battery life from that one, though.

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G • Apple iPhone 12 • Apple iPhone 12 mini

You may also want to consider the Xiaomi Mi 11 or the Poco F3. The Mi 11 is €150 more expensive but offers a larger and higher-res OLED, a larger battery and faster charging. Its main camera is arguably better, too. The Mi 11 omits ingress protection and audio jack, though.

The Poco F3 is priced at about €350, a lot cheaper than the Asus, and has a larger 120Hz OLED, similarly fast Snapdragon 870 5G chip, and good stereo speakers. Its camera quality is not stellar, but it's no flagship, is it? What it does provide, however, is brilliant battery life.

Xiaomi Mi 11 • Xiaomi Poco F3

The verdict

The Asus Zenfone 8 is a rare occurrence. It's a unique phone with a niche of its own, but this wasn't enough for Asus. They've built an enthusiast's smartphone with brilliant execution and a laundry list of features you rarely see all in one place, not even in larger devices. Much like with its ROG Phone lineup of gaming phones, the Zenfone 8 is a non-compromise device built from the ground up to excel in all important aspects of smartphone operation.

The Zenfone 8 is an impressive little beast. It lived up to every single promise. And with a starting price of €599, it sounds like a real bargain. We rarely get to review devices that good, and it's one of the easiest recommendations of the season.

Pros

• Compact and lightweight body, IP68-rated, GG Victus, notification LED.
• Excellent 120Hz AMOLED screen, high brightness.
• Class-leading performance and reliable sustained performance.
• Dependable battery, fast charging.
• Class-leading speaker quality.
• Outstanding photo quality across the board.
• Impressive video quality across the board.
• ZenUI is super fluid and fast, rich on customizations.
• 3.5mm audio jack, notification LED, FM radio (outside the EU), NFC, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Dual SIM, 5G.
• €599 starting price.

Cons

• The dynamic refresh rate behavior can use some optimization.
• The phone may get hot under peak load.
• No wireless charging.