Asus Zenfone 9, review: the small, powerful Android with a good camera that we were waiting for

A new contender for the throne of the most contained and powerful mobiles enters like an elephant in a china shop, and that is small: the Asus Zenfone 9 is just the phone to recommend for those who want a mobile as manageable as possible . It surprises in all areas, even where it least seemed that it was going to surprise.

Mobile phones have risen in screen dimensions to almost look like handheld cinemas. Precisely, multimedia content prevailed in the rise in inches; It is not in vain that watching movies, cinemas and playing games supposes a large part of the habitual use . Now, what happens if someone happens to look for a mobile that doesn’t get too big? There is very little to choose from, I can attest. Fortunately, not all brands have surrendered to the moles: Asus is that irreducible village that resists the invasion of the inches.

Asus Zenfone 9 technical sheet

Design: size is one of its main values

Have you ever asked the Kings for a powerful Android mobile, with a good camera and content in its dimensions and weight? Well , the Asus Zenfone 9 is just the answer to those wishes , it will be my recommendation every time someone asks me for a mobile phone that is governed by these three premises. It has made me reconcile with manageable sizes.

It’s so small, compact and so light that it’s hard to believe everything it houses inside. And as far as the exterior is concerned… The truth is that it is undeniable: it looks like an iPhone 4 seen from the side. Regarding its rear face, Asus changes the glass and metal to bet on a pleasant touch finish that closely resembles rubber .

iPhone 4 outline, anti-slip addition and noticeably protruding lenses

The rear face of the Asus Zenfone 9 offers a kind of texture with a certain touch of very soft sandpaper that not only facilitates grip, but also avoids any type of fingerprint. It reminded me of the OnePlus “sandstone” covers (even the first OnePlus One). The finish can retain stains, even colors: if I wear it on my jeans, my Asus Zenfone 9 has a faint blue tint around the edges .

The body of the phone is made of aluminum and has different sections to house the relevant antennas (the upper one is just above the end of the call receiver, it does not fit into the design). In a matter of buttons, they are all located on the right side of the mobile; with the ignition in the center, very elongated and perfect to reach with the thumb . One of Asus’ maxims with the Zenfone 9 is to make using the phone fully viable with one hand. From my experience, it does.

The power button not only has that function, it is also the capacitive fingerprint reader (the Asus Zenfone 8 had an optical scanner under the screen). This reader works like a charm, unlocks the phone instantly and I find it terribly easy to use, much more so than under-display scanners . In addition, Asus turns it into a multifunction key: it allows you to execute actions even by making gestures on the button. With another customizable extra: it includes double tap on the back of the phone. And facial unlocking with the front camera (less secure than with the fingerprint scanner).

The always welcome headphone jack on the upper edge, absolute cleanliness on the left side (except for the antennas) and lower area where the dual nano SIM tray is housed (there is no space for SD card), USB C and one from external speakers. The mobile offers IP68 protection against dust and water and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus glass.

Accustomed as I am to huge phones, spending a few weeks alone with the Asus Zenfone 9 has meant that I rethink my preferences. In fact, I’m going to have a hard time going back to my Google Pixel 6 or iPhone 12 Pro Max: now they seem gigantic to me. Long live small mobiles!

Screen: contention does not imply reducing quality

If the dimensions of the phone are very small, it is clear that the screen has to fit the packaging provided by the phone. And it is appreciated: the 5.9 inches of the Super AMOLED panel that the Zenfone 9 mounts are enough and are left over to offer the best Android experience. And they make good use of the front of the mobile (90.02% according to Asus); pity that the hole for the camera seems larger than usual due to the contained diagonal .

The screen looks great, even in direct midday summer sun. Full HD + resolution that maintains great sharpness and detail (445 PPI), very high contrast, the response to the touch is immediate and offers a high refresh rate of up to 120 Hz (60/90/120 Hz). It does not include an LTPO panel, it could be the icing on an excellent visual cake that I do not find more drawbacks than a certain saturation (despite the fact that it is customizable from the settings , I did not finish finding a 100% natural coloration ) and certain jumps in displacement menu vertical.

The Asus Zenfone 9 has IP68 protection

The screen flows like silk in the transitions, it gives an extreme sensation of speed, the automatic brightness adapts perfectly to the lighting of the environment and the minimum brightness becomes slightly annoying in complete darkness . For the rest, it is a perfect screen to consume all kinds of multimedia content: the reduced dimensions do not have to detract from its visual appeal. It also goes to taste, of course.

Sound: a premium range full of quality and possibilities

Don’t let the size deceive you: the Asus Zenfone 9 is a premium range with all of the law. Top-level hardware, an enviable construction, a screen that lives up to high expectations and a sound that rounds off the outstanding multimedia, expanding the possibilities of the phone without losing quality along the way . It is surprising so much capacity in a mobile so small in dimensions.

Having a headphone jack is not common in its range, it denotes the care that the brand has put into the device. Not only does it allow you to keep your old wired headphones, it also offers a host of software add-ons to personalize your listening. And it has two drawbacks: it does not offer analog audio output through USB C (headphones with an external DAC are needed) and it does not output video through that port (screens or TVs cannot be connected using the cable).

The sound when listening to music with headphones is of good quality, although it lacks a certain presence. The treble is somewhat marked and perhaps it lacks some bass reinforcement. With Dirac customization, certain aspects of the listening can be adjusted, such as the balance of treble and bass or equalization.

Wireless listening offers very good audio quality, even somewhat better than with cables (for the test I used a Bose Bose 700 NCH and a Google Pixel Buds Pro). Very high volume, detailed sound, balanced in bass and treble and sufficiently well balanced. And it comes standard with extensive Bluetooth codec support : SBC, AAC, LDAC, and Qualcomm aptX (Audio, HD Audio, Adaptive Audio, and TWS+ Audio).

Finally, it’s time to review the audio with the external speakers. The Asus Zenfone 9 has two and stereo audio: one in the lower part of the phone and the other in the call earpiece, above. They are very powerful, they reach 86 dB , they do not distort excessively until they reach around 80% (beyond they are annoying) and the resonance chamber transmits too much vibration to the back of the phone: it can be slightly annoying when playing if the volume is high (or when watching a movie, for example).

Small, but sound killer: both for possibilities and for the average quality using it as a multimedia support. And what about its power, it is a beast.

Performance: the David capable of beating a Goliath

Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 marked the first half of 2022 in terms of high performance, with the improved version of this SoC, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, brands like Asus have taken the opportunity to further boost the top range of their catalog by taking advantage of the greater efficiency that Qualcomm’s “plus” grants . I could already see how well both the processor and the Asus optimization work, the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro left me with very good feelings. The Zenfone 9 maintains that “gamer” soul.

The performance of our analysis protagonist is fabulous, at all times. It doesn’t matter whether you start games with high graphic capacity or move between desktops showing animations with total fluidity: the Asus Zenfone 9 is super fast, it looks like that and you can’t fault it when it’s running . The apps start up so fast that it’s nice to load half an app drawer into memory: it doesn’t slow down one iota. I did notice some jump in vertical scrolling within apps that require scrolling.

From left to right, GeekBench, 3D Mark, and PC Mark

Below you have the Asus Zenfone 9 pitted against some of its peers in benchmarks, both for power and size.

The power is beyond doubt. But what happens when you have to put that performance against the thermometer? Well, the balance is cool enough: although it gets hot during long gaming sessions or charging, the temperature does not become excessive . Passive dissipation is very good. And the back face helps to reduce the sensation of warmth.

Apart from the processing power, and the speed in execution that reaches both the memory and the available space (16 and 256 GB the phone has, respectively), the Asus Zenfone 9 arrives loaded with the connectivity inherited from the ROG family. For example, it can connect to both WiFi bands at the same time to take advantage of all the available bandwidth (I had never seen a device obtain upload and download metrics at that level), it includes compatibility with WiFi 6E networks, it is suitable for networks 5G SA/NSA (on both nano SIMs), includes the relevant NFC for mobile payments and dual GPS. You can not ask for more.

Battery: and it seemed small…

If the bottle is small, the content must go accordingly, that’s the theory. Although another thing is the performance that is extracted from said content, something in which our protagonist has specialized: the autonomy of the Asus Zenfone 9 has surprised me for good . Although I must emphasize that the thickness also matters, I cannot say that the mobile is thin.

The 4,300 mAh battery goes a long way thanks to the optimization of the system and the screen is smaller than usual. With automatic settings, and running most of the time at 120 Hz, the phone has lasted me a day and a half even with heavy use . More than an hour with Genshin Impact, music, Netflix, lots of photos outdoors and with 4G/5G. What is reduced use? With the screen off, energy consumption is minimal, it lasts more than two days of moderate use.

The Asus Zenfone 9 offers different performance modes with a battery saver (Long-lasting and Ultra-long-lasting) that manages to squeeze the last 5% without losing hardly any functions on the phone . In addition, the mobile allows you to run the High Performance mode with which to thoroughly squeeze the capabilities; losing more battery along the way, of course.

In terms of fast charging, the Asus Zenfone 9 receives up to 30 W of power through the charger included in the box ( it also includes a case adapted to the design of the rear face ). It is one of the drawbacks compared to other competitors in its range: it takes more than an hour to reach 100%. Of course, its category rivals tend not to include the charger, I’m glad that Asus has not considered it.

The charging times of the Asus Zenfone 9 are as follows:

• 5 minutes of charging : 11% battery.
• 10 minutes of charging : 24% battery.
• 20 minutes of charging : 44% battery.
• 30 minutes of charging : 59% battery.
• 50 minutes of charging : 83% battery.
• Total : 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Software: Google Pixel, is that you?

It is not that Asus dispenses with giving the touch to the phones with its relevant layer, but it remains so light and parallel to the vision that Google has of Android that using the Asus Zenfone 9 gives off sensations similar to those that the Google Pixel gives me 6 . And this seems to me to be a notable advantage, especially for the fact that it offers extra features despite the fact that it maintains the halo of “pure Android”.

Zenfone UI in its version 9 arrives based on Android 12 and with a minimum of apps added to Google’s own. Facebook services are included, applications like LinkedIN or Instagram, Asus duplicates key services like the phone and not much else. Much of these add-ons can be uninstalled or disabled .

Asus includes a complete system analyzer with different automatic optimizations, it allows you to customize the behavior of the power button/fingerprint reader, it includes a very powerful gaming mode (inherited from the ROG Phone and loaded with possibilities) and Zenfone UI allows you to duplicate applications for use multiple accounts at the same time.

The layer makes it remarkably easy to use with one hand (it even adds a gesture at the bottom that lowers the screen), offers double back tap to execute actions (very customizable), speeds up the launch of apps thanks to OptiFlex mode… In my opinion, the Asus Zenfone 9 skin adds a lot of usefulness without cluttering the native Android look.

Photography: the gimbal stabilizer makes the difference

That multimedia capture is important in the Asus Zenfone 9 is reflected in the phone by its two large rear bumps where the main and wide-angle camera lenses are housed. Taking into account that the mobile is not exactly thin, protruding to such an extent destabilizes the device when putting it on the table and it is also easier for the glass that protects the lenses to take bumps or scratches.

Let’s get into the raw features of photography. The Asus Zenfone 9 forgets about filling cameras to bet on a couple that covers most situations . Asus commented that they do not include a third camera because there is no physical space on the mobile to add it; in this way they save a dedicated macro sensor that would have little to add to the phone, for example (although a good telephoto lens would not have been bad either).

Let’s see what specific features the Asus Zenfone 9 cameras offer.

• Sony IMX766 50 megapixel main camera . f/1.9 aperture, 1/1.56-inch sensor size, 84.6º angles of view, 1.0/2.0 μm effective pixel size (Quad Bayer), EIS, six-axis OIS gimbal stabilizer, and 2×2 OCL PDAF focus.
• Sony IMX363 12 megapixel wide angle camera . f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.55-inch sensor size, 113º viewing angles, 1.4μm pixel size, Dual PDAF focus, and support for 4cm macro capture.
• Sony IMX663 12 megapixel front camera . f/2.45 aperture, 1/2.93-inch sensor size, 76.5º viewing angles, 1.22μm pixel size, and Dual PDAF focus.

A priori, the photograph of the Asus Zenfone 9 starts with an advantage at the start, but it tends to lose time in the race due to the processing carried out by Asus. As a general rule, the photos are at the height of a high range; It suffers from a tendency to a warm color temperature and HDR tends to over-emphasize contrast.

During the day, the main camera works with ease, offering a good dynamic range for an automatic HDR that does not usually have difficulties balancing the light between dark and light areas. The processing tends to eliminate detail from the background , sometimes even some watercolors can be seen without zooming in on it (I burned the photo even if it was at night), it was not excessively moved.

The wide angle performance is correct with a corresponding decrease in detail of the .

Let’s go with the video recording. This is where the six-axis gimbal integrated into the main camera is particularly useful : shooting mobile handheld is a delight. Even walking: despite the fact that the swaying of the steps is noticeable, the gimbal maintains such stabilization that it completely removes the trepidations. Also at full resolution.

The Asus Zenfone 9 allows you to record up to 8K with gimbal stabilization activated (without EIS, it does not offer ultra stable mode) and 30 fps. The 4k maintains gimbal stabilization by upscaling the frames per second to 60; always without allowing HDR in the recording. And with 1080p, much of the phone’s potential is unleashed: ultra-stable recording (OIS + EIS) and up to 60 fps (without HDR, it is only available in 30 fps). The Asus Zenfone 9 includes time-lapse and slow motion recording up to 480fps in HD (and 120fps in 4K).

Asus Zenfone 9, Xataka’s opinion

Perhaps constantly highlighting its size does not do justice to the great category that the mobile exudes for every millimeter, but it feels fabulous to have the Asus Zenfone 9 in your hand and feel that the upper diagonals do not make much sense beyond offering greater support to watch videos or play games. Without these two aspects falling short in the new Zenfone, it is perfectly suitable for multimedia enjoyment.

It is powerful and with a consumption as cold as content. A little thick, the cameras protrude a lot , I find the panel somewhat saturated, it does not process the images as well as it could and the resonance chamber of the external speakers vibrates too much at a somewhat high volume. These drawbacks are minutiae that fail to tarnish the motto of the phone: to achieve the most compact and powerful model possible so that using it with one hand is not only easy, but also comfortable. The Asus Zenfone 9 is the most manageable phone that has passed through my hands in months.

With the Asus Zenfone 9 I confirmed the mistake of always betting on the biggest: there is no need to suffer just because we are looking for maximum power, excellent autonomy or a tall camera, everything fits in a superlative phone in everything except size . The price walks in the opposite direction, although without being exaggerated given the current canons of the premium range (it is expensive, it is undeniable). It will cost me a lot to return it.