Asus Zenfone 9 long-term review

11 January 2023


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Anonymous, 13 Jan 20233months into using it, short word for it is - lemon . Nev... more How can it be that there's no "endless problems" been mentioned in this long term review then? Is it lying to us?

    A, 13 Jan 2023You nailed the answer in your question. There's a huge... moreSo absolute minority has got a laptop or separate game console at home?

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      • Anonymous
      • 3qD
      • 13 Jan 2023

      3months into using it, short word for it is - lemon .
      Never saw so much bugs in software, go to zenphone web site, list of problems is endless. Going back on samsung

        • J
        • JA
        • jCP
        • 13 Jan 2023

        kmb877, 13 Jan 20232 SIMs are excellent option for international travelers. Ov... morea fair point, but it doesn't negate my comment: having a SIM tray that can double as 1 SIM + 1 SD or 2 SIMS is almost identical in size to a tray that only holds 2 SIMS...there's really no excuse for ASUS removing SD card capability.

        unless someone can show me hard, incontrovertible data showimg otherwise, i remain confident that MOST people would prefer an SD card slot over a DualSIM, or at least prefer to have the option of switching back n forth.

        SD card slot AND headphone jack are non-negotiable basics for me, otherwis why bother with ASUS? Samsung is supposedly improving the speakers on the S23 lineup, and promises MUCH longer support.

        ASUS is sn enthusiast techie brand...why amputate features that enthusiasts demand?

          • A
          • A
          • PID
          • 13 Jan 2023

          newflesh, 12 Jan 2023Ok, I'm a lover of compact phones, I've been usin... moreYou nailed the answer in your question. There's a huge, HUGE portion of people whose primary draw in buying a smartphone is how well it can run games. And if you're the kind who likes playing mobile games with pretty graphics, a large screen is 1000% better for you than a small screen, all else being equal. Just look around when you're on the street or train or bus, can guarantee you'll spot several of them. Another category are "media consumers" i.e. watch videos, read books, stream movies etc. I'm one of these people who like to read comics, manga, and novels on my phone, & watch YT vids, so I bought the Xiaomi Mi Max 3 because it's the largest phone in 2018. Had I learned about the Huawei Mate 20 X I wouldn't have bought the Xiaomi.

          The fact is, most people are not "minimalists" in terms of phone use. We use EVERYTHING in our phones; pay the bills, buy movie tickets, play games, navigation, music player, online banking, online shopping, work emails, order food, argue online, etc etc etc. More and more information is being squueeeezed into that 6-inch display; getting a bigger screen is almost always the better choice for user experience.

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            • Amitangshu
            • CbG
            • 13 Jan 2023

            If they are unhappy with their sales figures, they should have thought about releasing it in India when they launched it worldwide. They launched the Zenfone 8 a year after they launched it worldwide at the same pricing when it first came out. They learnt this technique from Samsung and they want to repeat it I guess.

              Anonymous, 13 Jan 2023I just replaced my xz1 compact with the Zenfone 9. Love it.... moreNice. But the problem is I've tried and even bought Zenfone 8 last year and found it too big for me after xz1c, had to sell it

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                • Fraidycatx
                • KZ8
                • 13 Jan 2023

                Wait after 1 year, it may inherit Zenfone 8's wifi/hotspot not working with only solution changing motherboard but your warranty is over. Tough luck!

                  Regarding the reviewer's take on limiting battery charge.
                  I think it's very simple.
                  While you're doing mundane things and are close to a charger (office, driving) you can limit to 80% and have the same battery life as a Samsung.
                  But when you're out on a hike, or a citybreak or whatever situation requires extended battery life, you have it readily available.

                  Plus, you should use this feature for the first year or so.
                  Afterwards your phone would still have battery life than a brand new Samsung.

                  Another quick mention for the other readers: don't forget to do a full battery cycle every other month or so, to keep it calibrated.

                  So I see it as being very useful and a total win all around.
                  It should be a part of stock Android

                    Ocramavaf, 12 Jan 2023It's not meant to compete with any of the phones you m... morewhile the phone you are referring to is slightly cheaper or the same as Zenfone but they provide a lot more.
                    Glass back, telephoto cam, wireless charging, longer software support and more.

                      • R
                      • RZ
                      • Stp
                      • 13 Jan 2023

                      I was super excited when zenfone 9 was introduced and traded my S21 to the most powerfull z9 with 16gb as soon as it was available. So for now, I'm around 5 month user of zenfone. It's a good phone, but probably I'll go back to samsung with s23 when it will come out. Firstly, the durability of z9 is awfull - after 5 months it looks like it was used for 2 years, the back plastic panel rubbed of totally, the sides and screen also has scratches (I used s21 with the same intensity for 1.5 years and it looks better). Secondary, I don't like z9 thickness and bezels - it feels like a phone from the past :)) Sometimes there are small sw bugs but those are minor issues compared to durability and how it feels in my hand...so I tried, but that's probably the end of my experiments with asus :)

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                        • Anonymous
                        • rv8
                        • 13 Jan 2023

                        Some like it big, some small!

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                          • Anonymous
                          • Ibx
                          • 13 Jan 2023

                          newflesh, 12 Jan 2023Ok, I'm a lover of compact phones, I've been usin... moreI just replaced my xz1 compact with the Zenfone 9. Love it. The call quality and signal started cutting in and out on my Sony so I figured it was time to replace it with another small form phone. Loving my Asus so far!

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                            • Anonymous
                            • f{t
                            • 13 Jan 2023

                            I get the feeling whoever reviewed this really doesn't like small phones.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • XMr
                              • 13 Jan 2023

                              Say this again and again, it's not that people don't buy smaller phones. It's because manufacturers strip their specs down (basic camera, small battery, basic optics, basic screen etc etc) and stuff those in a gigantic phone so they have better profit margin. The statistics are skewed.

                                • k
                                • kmb877
                                • B$G
                                • 13 Jan 2023

                                JA , 11 Jan 2023ASUS keeps coming sooo close to my ideal one, but then skip... more2 SIMs are excellent option for international travelers. Overseas, you can put the 2nd local SIM and do cheap calls and cheap internet.

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 3v@
                                  • 12 Jan 2023

                                  I've had the ZenFone 9 since it came out (September 2022) and I had a Samsung S20 before. while I really miss some features of the Samsung like the camera, no the battery life on the ZenFone is the clear winner for me here. No point having a phone with a great camera if you constantly have to worry about charging. Also I won't buy a Samsung again until they deliver the same specs in Europe as they do in the rest of the market.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 3Tx
                                    • 12 Jan 2023

                                    I have this phone for a month, it is great, not perfect, but I don`t ask for perfect.
                                    Never felt this good carrying any phone after Galaxy Alpha, it was also not perfect, but it was great to have.

                                    Oh and install GCAM, it will make your pictures much better.

                                      • L
                                      • Luk
                                      • arS
                                      • 12 Jan 2023

                                      I preffer small flagship and galaxy s is the only one with telephoto. I have ultra as well (business phone) and really preffer vanilla. Dying species (me and vanilla)

                                        • o
                                        • observer
                                        • vaS
                                        • 12 Jan 2023

                                        Hazet, 12 Jan 2023> "But also because everyone on the Internet...seem... moreYeah, this was supposed to be a long term review on the phone. However positively/negatively a phone is received by people does not alter the phone's actual performance. Why bring any of that up? Clearly the reviewer can't help but lash out (basically everywhere in this review) because that person really hated doing this part of the job- using a phone this size when that person totally preferred bigger.

                                        I think it's about time the main author should be credited on these reviews (along with other minor contributors, if any) just like on their news articles, for the sake of accountability and transparency.

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