Forget iPhone 13 mini — Asus Zenfone 8 promises big performance in a small frame

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Forget iPhone 13 mini — Asus Zenfone 8 promises large operation in a small frame

(Prototype credit: Tom'due south Guide)

We may presently have a new challenger in our list of the all-time pocket-sized smartphones. Asus has shared an invite to its launch event for the Zenfone 8 with the intriguing tagline of "Big on Performance. Compact in Size."

The company has also created a page on its site repeating the mantra with a countdown clock to the event, which will kick off on May 12 at x a.one thousand. PT or ane p.k. ET. After the lackluster reception to the acclaimed iPhone thirteen mini, we'll be intirgued to meet whether Asus can make smaller smartphones appeal in the face of bigger handsets like the Samsung Milky way S21.

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How compact is "compact?" Well, Asus has left little to the imagination, by including a screen protector with the invite with the dimensions of 148mm x 69mm (5.8 10 2.71 inches). That's pretty modest by current phone fashions, but is still a scrap bigger than the iPhone 12 mini, which has screen dimensions of 131.5mm x 64.2mm (5.xviii x ii.53 inches).

Even so, fans of small phones tin can be pretty excited by this evolution. Meaty Android handsets have been out of mode for some time. Indeed, it's fascinating to note that the original Samsung Galaxy Annotation phablet had a 5.3in screen, which is dwarfed by almost every handset you can buy in 2021.

Where compact Android handsets practice be, they tend to be lower specced, and so it's reassuring that it seems Asus won't exist scrimping on parts here. Indeed, a Geekbench listing for an Asus phone emerged before this month packing the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 bit and a overly generous 16GB RAM, significant the Zenfone 8 should be a match for the lightning performance of the Samsung Milky way S21 Ultra and OnePlus 9 Pro.

(Image credit: Asus)

Asus Zenfone 8 outlook

Of course, quality and sales are 2 very different things. And it's off-white to say that while Asus is a huge proper noun in the calculating infinite, its entries to the smartphone world haven't actually gear up the globe alight in terms of market share.

In that respect, it makes sense for the company to target a neglected section of the market: compact handsets with top-tier internals. But that strategy isn't without its risks, given the well documented problems Apple has had shifting the iPhone 12 mini. Indeed, sales of the atomic handset have obviously been so far below expectations that Apple was rumored to be discontinuing production.

But that could merely reflect a dividing line in the differing wants of iPhone and Android buyers. Asus' gamble is that a small-scale Android flagship tin can secure a sizable niche in the market place, and we'll see how likely that plan is to pay off when the company unveils the full specs of the handset on May 12.

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Freelance contributor Alan has been writing virtually tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the spider web and in the occasional mag too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, yous'll probably find him tackling his e'er-growing games backlog. Or, more probable, playing Spelunky for the millionth fourth dimension.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/forget-iphone-13-mini-asus-zenfone-8-promises-big-performance-in-a-small-frame

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