The Asus Zenfone range is receiving another addition for fans of small phones. The Asus Zenfone 10 makes just minor aesthetic changes to an existing popular design, but an annual chipset upgrade and a few tiny inside tweaks help the 10 stay current. The changes inside could be hard to see, much like the changes on the surface. The increase in refresh rate from 120Hz to 144Hz is only available to you if you play video games, and even then, it hardly constitutes a game-changing innovation. You also get speedier memory than the previous version along with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage as optional. The ultra-wide camera’s absence of autofocus on the Asus Zenfone 10 is a more noticeable change that we wouldn’t call beneficial. The Asus Zenfone 9’s ultra-wide had that feature, but the new one does not. The selfie camera’s AF functionality is also gone, while a 32MP sensor has replaced the 12MP one from the previous edition. With that in mind, it seems sense to view the primary camera’s continued use as a plus. Asus claims that the gimbal stability has been increased for this generation, so it’s not exactly the same.
There is still one significant addition to this year’s spec sheet despite all the little upgrades. It has wireless charging. This appears to be the main cause of the increase in weight of 3g and thickness increase of 0.3mm. Similar to last year’s model, the Asus Zenfone 10 is packaged in a full-size box, but with this year’s signature triangle-shaped branding and a new shade of gray. A USB-C cable and the standard 30W Asus adapter come in the box. There is also a protective cover available, which increases the size of the phone in your pocket but gives what seems like a lot of protection.
In-Depth Technical Details Of Asus Zenfone 10
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Body | 146.5×68.1×9.4mm, 172g; Glass front, plastic back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant. |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G. |
| Display | 5.92″ Super AMOLED, 144Hz, HDR10+, 800nits (HBM), 1100nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 445ppi. |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm). |
| Memory | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0. |
| OS | Android 13 (1st Release). |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7. |
| Bluetooth | v5.3. |
| Rear camera | Wide (main): 50MP; Ultra-wide: 13MP. |
| Front camera | 32MP. |
| Battery | 4300mAh; 30W wired, PD3, QC4, 15W wireless, 5W reverse wired. |
| Others | Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers. |
Conclusion
The Asus Zenfone 10 follows in the steps of its predecessors and packs a ton of performance into a small, convenient design. The Snapdragon CPU isn’t overly concerned by the small shell, its small size doesn’t prevent it from having outstanding battery life, and there was room for both the traditional headphone port and wireless charging. All of that is fantastic, but the Asus Zenfone 10 doesn’t provide a ton of novelties, and those that do tend to grate on our nerves. We’re not sure if the 144Hz refresh rate on the display, which is solely for gaming, counts, and we’re not too happy about having to downgrade on the camera section heading with no autofocus.” While it is understandable that a phone this compact would not include a zoom camera, this excuse falls short when compared to rivals that have functional triple-camera systems. We think it will continue to be one of a select few phones designed for those who place significant importance on compactness.