5.92", 120Hz 1080p OLED screen
Qualcomm SDM888 processor
8GB RAM
256GB storage
4MP + 12MP rear cameras
4000mAh battery
Good for Android users who want a small phone but flagship specs.
128GB version available for $799.
Asus Zenfone 8 5G 256GB (Obsidian Black) $879 + Delivery ($0 to Selected Areas/ C&C) @ JB Hi-Fi
620
prhino on 16/09/2021 - 12:16 jbhifi.com.au (1662 clicks)
Last edited 16/09/2021 - 13:37 by 1 other user
Last edited 16/09/2021 - 13:37 by 1 other user
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Expensive for a tiny phone.
5.92" is "tiny" now? lol
Asus phone? Don't waste your money.
I've never owned one, but what's wrong with them? From reading the reviews, it seems like a great phone.
I've owned Asus phones in the past.
There was nothing wrong with them despite their camera performance - battery life probably the best i've had on any phone, and it basically ran stock android.Sounds like the cameras seem to be pretty capable in this format.
Not many phones this size either.
I've owned some and had my family members purchase them too. They were all great up until the 2 year mark, then all died within the next 2 months.
Only get one if you expect to upgrade before the warranty is up.
Lol im still typing away on my zenfone 5z.guess I'm the odd one? All these bs…
Ok well this ruins my plans of choosing this phone and expecting it to last me more than 5 years.
My current phone Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 still going along after 4 years but it is starting to show its age.
Apps are starting to freeze and stuff takes longer to load.
Battery is definitely degraded but still usable.
I can get about 5 full hours of good usage that is unplugged from the wall at 5pm then head out and about to die when nearing 10pm so some days have to recharge it at work.
Some days it makes to 7-8 hours but only if I don't abuse the hell out of it and allow it to standby discharge slowly.
Yeah I need a new phone I think by the end of the year or consider uninstalling some apps and making some more some how but I'm already downsized.
but what's wrong with them?
I have the ZenFone 7 Pro. The support is lacking and ever since they released the ZenFone 8 they've basically disregarded the ZenFone 7 series now. The 7 series wasn't even a year old when the 8 was released. I'll never buy an Asus phone again. Only bought the 7 Pro cos of the flip cam tbh. High chance of the 8 being disregarded too once they release the 9.
I think I have heard about this somewhere else damn this is sad such a good phone but no support is a death sentence.
Samsung looking a lot more desirable now.
@AlienC: Yeah I'm on the Zentalk forums, and they basically ignore every Z7 issue but reply to every ZF8 thread. We already feared this was going to happen before the 8 was released. Confirmed when it was :/
Oh and they even release updates and fixes for the 8 camera, but don't release it for the 7 even though it's exactly the same hardware -_-
This one has a Snap Dragon so it'll probably be fine.
Honestly this ticks a lot of boxes imo
- reasonable size
- good battery
- recent and fast soc
- good build, water resistance
- 120hz oled
- headphone jack
- decent camera
- software seems pretty close to stock android
Seems like a a nice device, takes me back to the days of small droid flagships (xperia compact, s10e, etc…)
Yeah who'd want a phone of this spec :)
I just noticed but the OLED would worry me with the potential for screen burn in.
I do sometimes leave my phone on my side table screen on while plugged in just for the hell of it or for light or whatever.
Static image burned into a screen would mean more money for screen replacement which is not desirable.
If it weren't for Pixel 6 being around the corner, I would have pounced on this. Although, Pixel 6 is likely to be much more expensive…
I'm kind of the same, though the screen is probably a little small for my liking. Would prefer 6 - 6.4
I know the pixel 6 wait is killing me. First the telstras day S21 now this thinking I am going to regret waiting… Pixel sounds to be what I want but justifying the price over these deals will be tough
Two major updates if that matters to anyone https://9to5google.com/2021/05/17/asus-zenfone-8-android-upd…
oh thats a bit rough for a $1000 phone now that both Xiaomi and Samsung have upped their promise to 3 and pixel upping theirs to 5 with the 6 (rumour) given I still use my LG G6 being stuck 3 versions behind does definitely somewhat hurt my enjoyment of it (Though suppose lineage OS is always an option)
I bought it at 1049$ :(
And how do you like it? Pros/cons?
My previous phone was galaxy s10+ ,compared to it
Pros
* reasonable size
* recent and fast soc but you can buy other phones with same soc
* 120hz oled
* software seems pretty close to stock android
Cons
* Mediocre battery: though s/w updates have increased battery life.
* Bad camera: when I first got the phone the camera was pathetic, now after a few updates it is just usable.
* Night mode on camera is comparable to my older oneplus 6,launched in 2018, so is the Pro camera mode, S10 was a lot better.
* No SD card :(.oh and it has a headphone jack, if you still use wired headphones, that could be a pro.
Xiaomi didn't setup a camera development centre in Finland for nothing. A little better than the usual hack, copy and paste attack approach.
At least until they collect the sourcecode and close it down ;-)
@resisting the urge: Are you saying Xiaomi phones are good in the camera department now?
Typing this on my Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and honestly the camera is better than average it does the job for a 4 year old phone but don't expect anything to get to insta.
@AlienC: I've no idea. But they were unable to get the software side to a competitive level for a very long time and ended up setting up R&D in Finland (not sure how long for though)
@AlienC: Can't say. I guess it depends what matters to you. Chinese phones should/could be just as good as any, but trusting the device to keep your PII relatively safe is hard enough when buying far more expensive brands.
@resisting the urge: Always beware at least OnePlus, Huawei and Xioami, etc:
https://www.bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/lithuania-wa…
This or the ROG 5? I've been eyeing up both but can't seem to make up my mind. I think I like the ROG solely for it having a bigger ram
They seem to the pretty different phones targeted at different demos. Not to mention ROG is like $400 more expensive.
ROG 5 is a focused gaming phone with a much bigger screen, super high refresh and touch sampling rate and a massive battery - all to support gaming.
Zenfone 8 is kind of a lower cost, great value, compact android with average to above average specs across the board. It's not really aimed at gamers.
If you're a gaming enthusiast then go for ROG 5. If you just want a solid phone that you can game a little on, I think the Zenfone is better value.
Thanks! I don't really do much hardcore gaming on phone but I just really like high specs phone for some reason?? I was going with the S21 at first but the AU models don't have Snapdragon.
Thus is probably a dumb question now, but do you think this will go cheaper during Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales or should I just bite the bullet and get it now?
Personally, I wouldn't go near the ROG 5 if I wasn't a big time gamer. It is a BIG phone. It is quite a bit taller and thicker than the iPhone 12 Pro max and the S21 Ultra, both of which I consider too big for my liking but each to their own. That's not to say you can't get it for it's big battery, great screen and 16gb of ram, I just think it's overkill and the size of the phone is reflective of that.
As for pricing, if I'm not in a rush to pick it up, I probably would wait but the current price of this is pretty good so I wouldn't mind picking it up at this price either.
@phxsun: I just went to suss it out in person, wasn't actually a fan of the base ZenFone as it was too small for my liking. The flip would've been great but it lacks the headphone jack :(
@Ueki23: I stopped caring about headphone jack after moving onto bluetooth headphones. So over wires!
@phxsun: I wouldn't care too but my car is old and has an aux cord and for our dance studio as well hahahaha
@Ueki23: My old car didn't have bluetooth connection so I bought a bluetooth radio transmitter and sounded perfect, auto-connects perfectly almost every time and again, no more wires! They are fairly cheap nowadays
ROG5 imo. Everything is better except camera and not waterproof. But if you take a lot of selfies, ROG5 might not be the best. AliExpress generally has ROG5 ~$800 AUD
Ah yeah, my other concern is that ROG5 might be too big and heavy to fit my hands comfortably. I am a small person so I have small hands lol
This.
I am tempted to get a gamer phone but the weight and size means I will be hitting it more at work and it will probably destroy my already pretty rugged cargo work pants.
5.5" fits nicely in my pocket and doesn't feel like it's going to fall out or rip my pants. Also can fit other stuff like keys and etc while my phone is still in there.
165g is such a good weight. Doesn't feel brittle or too heavy or cumbersome honestly my current phone size and dimensions is perfect and it even has a case on it so it is probably close to 200g all up.
This is exactly what I was looking for! Small formfactor and high-end hardware. Boom!
If I hadn't bought an Oppo X2 Pro recently I'd likely grab this one. The specs on the important stuff (to me) are close enough, and while I'm finding the Oppo a great phone, the only downside is that it is just a tad too big to be a neat pocket size, and for using in one hand.
Is 5.92" considered 'small'?
Yes.
time travel-y small
Asus phones are quality ✔️
Stock Android + great hardware = Speed.Pixels, Asus and Oneplus are far snappier than the other bloated Android skins.
I think this is pretty amazing value. Also love the compact measurements. When phones nowadays are like 6.4-6.8" average screen size, this is considered compact but with the higher end specs across the board. If I had a re-do and had to choose between picking up a Pixel 5 and this, I probably might have gone with this.
No flip camera? No deal.
I do believe the flip version is also on sale
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/asus-zenfone-8-flip-5g-25…If that had a 6.4 display I'd be all over it
Oh my god, and locally!
This might actually get me to put my blackberry down.
Might.
If onwardmobility dont announce something this months; asus it is.
No wireless charging on this or the Flip variant is infuriating.
The problem with wireless charging is that you need a thicker separator between the anode and cathode layer to facilitate the low resistance needed to accept a wireless charge. Basically; wireless is weak.
What this means is that you have a choice between huge battery OR wireless charging (usually a 300-500mah difference).
For the $6 of putting a sticker on the back
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/114081599657
ill take the larger battery, personally.Thats cool if its not for you; i like long battery life over easy but more frequent charging.
The fact that you can buy a $6 copper strip to do the job suggests that putting a wireless charging coil in, despite whatever separators might be needed between the battery layers, is just a conscious decision that ASUS made, far more likely to cut costs than for any apparent technical weaknesses.
you can have a big battery and wireless charging - the Samsung Galaxy S20 and S21 Ultras have 5000mah batteries. Heck, the Z Fold 3 has a 4400mah battery and folds in half (and has two screens, to boot). The Z Fold 2 before it had an even bigger battery, at 4500mah.
Putting all of that to one side, the Zenfone 8 only has a 4000mah battery. I'm not sure where that leaves your argument - 4000mah is not "huge" by anyone's estimation.
I'm not sure where that leaves your argument
It just leaves it as factual.
Just like your examples are batteries which are a little thicker.
Yep, it means ASUS chose this form factor over thicker, but with wireless; and thats fine. They own their company, not us.
This has been covered in depth by Asus if you've been in any of their development chains; email or teleconference (even just as an 'observer' not allowed to comment).
@MasterScythe: Alright, how about a closer comparison then - the S21 is 1mm thinner than the zenfone 8 yet also includes wireless charging and a 4000mah battery.
No argument that ASUS is their own company and they do what they like (although this is a defeatist position really - how dare we criticise companies for making products that they want us, as consumers, to buy!) - but none of the zenfones have sold well at all, and if ASUS want to keep features like wireless charging out of their phones, they can expect to enjoy the same mediocre sales as they always have.
Which will likely lead to them leaving the market (like LG did) - which is bad for consumers in general.
the S21 is 1mm thinner than the zenfone 8 yet also includes wireless charging and a 4000mah battery.
But the battery is 3mm longer, isn't it?
Thats my mistake, I should have said 'greater area' rather than just 'thickness' Usually the difference is exclusively made up by thickness, but clearly, there are exceptions.
Also, the raw cells seem to be different, with the ASUS battery having a nominal 4000mAh, and the Samsung having a maximum 4000mAh.
You've gotta take into account the SAMSUNG cells are made by SDI; they're not really like for like at all.
If Samsung want to licence their battery chemistry TO Asus, then sure, but right now, Samsung are using their own SDI cells.although this is a defeatist position really - how dare we criticise companies for making products that they want us, as consumers, to buy!
Assuming the consumer had literally ANY input into the devleopment, I agree.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of 'single consumers' who want to criticise, who aren't even their customers, let alone trained in ANY field of design (from electrical, to purely aesthetic). Mobile phone producers are some of the most open to customer interaction assuming you have even the slightest proof of design background.
If you've ever worked in the mobile field, the amount of whinging from non-customers is laughable. Latest market research suggests less than 5% of people who claim "I'd but it if only….. XXXXXX" follow through.
Which will likely lead to them leaving the market (like LG did)
I'm not so sure there.
If you've been folowing their investment into APU development, even as a loss-leader, keeping the ASUS name a common household brand is invaluable. Something LuckyGoldstar stopped being able to do LONG before their mobile division came into play.@MasterScythe: I can only speak from my own experience - but if the first flippy camera Zenfone had wireless charging, i would absolutely have bought it. I have however since moved on (have a Z Fold 3 myself now). of course, proving a negative is always very difficult, if not impossible. fair to say those customers who say "if only it had X feature" aren't using a piece of string and two tin cans - they bought something that best fit their needs (in this case, likely something that included wireless charging, like the S21).
I guess ASUS can just ignore the market research that they might or might not do, and keep pumping out phones like this, that nobody will buy.
i really find your position perplexing. the logical extension of your argument is that we shouldn't bother having reviews or consumer critiques of consumer electronic devices at all, unless those reviewers or criticisers are in the privileged position of being able to influence product development (which most of us arent).
i really find your position perplexing. the logical extension of your argument is that we shouldn't bother having reviews or consumer critiques of consumer electronic devices at all
Somewhat Correct.
We shouldn't give credit to opinionated reviews; because everyones will be entirely unique.
Reviews and critiques about how well the features function are of great value. These allow you to amke your own opinion.
The second a reviewer starts telling me what they think (and, importantly, try to present it as a product fact… which is common…), rather than speaking product fact, is the second I stop trusting.unless those reviewers or criticisers are in the privileged position of being able to influence product development (which most of us arent).
Incorrect.
All I'm saying is that people who's only impact on the market are a single sale, should have the same amount of impact on the companies decision making.
If that person has no training in design (electrical or otherwise) then, where is the faith coming from? Why should their opinion should lead a multi billion dollar companys decisions in the slightest?
It's not like they're silent about it anyway, the ASUS forums, and mailing lists have been buzzing for YEARS about features and product development, and wireless charging was seldom even mentioned (it was, but the extra cost for branded cells was less compelling). ASUS absolutely gave the common joe a way to have their say.
The ones who didn't have their say, are obviously not enthusiastic about supporting ASUS.
They're likely willing to 'jump brand' at the next available product.
Those people are not the type you'd normally base decisions around.
Is it close to stock android or filled with bloatware?
If the older zenfones are to be used as a basis; it should have zero bloatware. Vanilla as hell, with an asus tool or two; similar to moto. (Imo, they see moto as a key competitor)
I own the ZenFone 6 ,2 years up and still going strong. Great pictures, one of the best camera for selfies.
~Great Battery
~Security updates every 2 months minimum
~No lag till now.
~ Really good speakers.this or the poco x3 pro?
If it's a dual-sim, it'll be a great buy for me. The deal killer for the s21 on Telstra day is that s21 is only nano sim and e sim but not dual nano sim.
So this one is not dual sim?
it's dual sim
Would love to get the ZenFone 8 flip, does anyone know if these have volte or vowifi enabled in Australia over Telstra or Optus network?
That's the 1 drawback, no VOLTE or VOWIFI, they promised it awhile ago, but nothing yet.
Yeah, these are prerequisites for me too.
Only seen one report of VOLTE working on voda on the whirlpool thread so far.
That's a shame, great phone and the only one that fits my criteria(top tier chip + micro SD). But no vowifi is such a deal breaker.
Hi guys,
I had Zenpone 5 and it was incredible. Upgraded to Samsung A71 and it is not even close to performance/build quality/audio quality. As previously mentioned, battery would last around 2 years and that was it :(most underrated mobile on the market. It out performs in speed and battery life of flagships twice the price and twice the size. It is amazing.
Thanks, Pro tip: buy using shopback for an extra 3% off as well ;) , use 2 x $400 and 1 x $75 voucher, total cost $852.75
just got this phone. amazing. so smooth. it is pretty much almost stock android. only thing that is noticeable is the game genie when you open up gaming apps. i upgraded from a huawei mate 10 to this. and this feels like heaven. plus i really like that the phone is less than 6 inches in size. i initally bought the nokia 8.3 as a replacement and first impression was 'this phone is big'. lucky enough the wifi on that was faulty and i returned it.
been eyeing this for awhile and finally 20% off. extremely happy now. and yes this phone is dual sim. if anyone has recommendation for phone casing please do let me know
Thanks OP!! Excited for it to arrive. Free express shipping!
Literally just broke my P20 pro this morning and in desperate need for a phone.
Ironically, hubby sent this to me a few days ago and I said, no. Cos I didn't know Asus made phones.
gah this would've been a perfect replacement for my s10e, but there's no microsd slot… i really hope a phone comes out EXACTLY like the s10e but basically faster SOC and faster display
what's wrong with your s10e?
I posted this deal, didn't buy it, and am now regretting it :)
hows the camera on this thing?