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Zenfone 8 review: Asus’ small but mighty phone is a winner
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CNET Senior Editor Sareena Dayaram (@sareenadayaram) reviews the new Asus Zenfone 8, which is being billed as “the ultimate compact Android phone.”
Asus didn’t get rid of its cool flipping camera entirely — an upgraded version features on the Zenfone 8 Flip , but that device will likely not see a US release.
See the Zenfone 8 here 👉
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#Zenfone #review #Asus #small #mighty #phone #winner
Beauty with the beast
Thanks Dayaram 😂
This review says nothing about sound or call quality experience.
Damn I just bought an iPhone XR 2 weeks ago. No problem with this but should I know this before, I would have brought this.
I love you Sareena
This is what Pixel 5 should have been
This looks like a exceptional Phone, for headphone jack alone it’s worth it.
I would have no problem snagging this if my iPhone XR wasn’t still a beast
ZenUI is perfect..clean and smooth
This one doesn’t flip, but there is a Zenfone 8 Flip model coming up too
You should really cover the speakers and the DAC. These are a big part of the appeal to this phone.
Any idea whenever this phone get released in the US?
Very troubling are the Asus support and service that lurks behind. During 2020 and 2021 they were the worst I have ever experienced, in any industry and for any product. Timeline:
- Jan 2020: I buy new Zenfone.
- Aug 2020: Phone no longer charges, on any charger including Zenfone’s supplied charger. The charging port in the phone is not working.
- Aug 2020: Still under warranty, I mail the Zenfone to the ASUS repair center in Grapevine, Texas. This is an unnecessarily complicated process. For example, Zenfone’s support keeps assuming I purchased a laptop, and tries to communicate with me about laptop repair.
- November 2020: I receive the Zenfone, apparently repaired. (But the data on my phone has been wiped out.)
- March 2021: My Zenfone stops working completely. No power, no blue screen, nothing.
- March 2021: ASUS assures me I will be charged only a diagnostic fee of $85, to have the phone assessed and then repaired.
- March 2021: ASUS then tells me I’m no longer under warranty, which ended in Jan 2021.
- March 2021: ASUS then tells me I am still under warranty, which was extended because of the previous problem with the Zenfone in 2020.
- April 2021: I again mail the Zenfone to the ASUS repair center in Grapevine, Texas.
- April 2021: ASUS then tells me I’m in fact not under warranty any more.
- April 2021: ASUS then tells me actually I am under warranty, which was extended for an additional 3 months.
- April 2021: ASUS then tells me I’m in fact not under warranty, which supposedly expired “2 December 2020”.
- April 2021: ASUS then tells me my warranty in fact expired on “8 March 2021”.
- April 2021: I ask to escalate the issue. (At this point, ASUS Customer Service is already the worst I have experienced, ever, for any product in any industry.)
- April 2021: ASUS maintains that my warranty is expired, but offers me a “20% discount” off their fee to repair the dead phone, which is $289. I ask to get a better deal, given what I’ve had to go through in owning this ASUS product. ASUS tells me they will check with their Corporate dept.
- April 2021: ASUS calls me back, telling me they can take 30% off the fee, to repair the dead phone.
- April 2021: ASUS then sends me an invoice for the full amount of $289, with no discount. Also, the invoice description of the problem is wrong, as it says “Hangs on ASUS logo” (instead the phone does not respond at all). I call ASUS and ask them to correct the invoice.
- April 2021: ASUS then sends me a new invoice for this repair, for an even higher fee of $362. The invoice also states a completely different problem: it includes a $97 item (plus tax) and a $243 item (plus tax) both for “abnormal appearance (deformation/scratches/damage/paint removal/dirt/rough edges)”. I call to tell ASUS it should be lower, as we had discussed. And to tell ASUS my phone was not physically abnormal or damaged in any way, when I had sent it to their repair center. And that this new invoice is completely different from their prior invoice. (At this point, it is becoming apparent to me that what is happening at ASUS here is not merely total incompetence, poor training and poor management, but possibly something worse.)
- April 2021: ASUS contacts me to say they erred, and should have sent me an invoice for $231. I then correct them again, saying no that would be only a 20% discount off the repair fee. ASUS had told me my discount was 30% off (for $216).
- April 2021: During these interactions, I keep having to tell ASUS that my phone is to be repaired at the discounted rate, but nevertheless ASUS keeps sending me e‑mails stating that my phone will be sent back to me unless I pay the (undiscounted, incorrect) invoice amount within 5 days of the invoice date. Repeatedly ASUS assures me that my phone will not be sent back to me, that it is on track to be repaired at the rate they had agreed to, and that I will no longer receive these e‑mails pressuring me to pay within 5 days. Yet, the e‑mails are not stopped, they keep coming.
- May 2021: ASUS sends me another invoice for the incorrect, higher amount ($362) and the incorrect problem: “abnormal appearance (deformation/scratches/damage/paint removal/dirt/rough edges)”.
— May 2021: I contact ASUS, escalate the issue, and ASUS tells me they will have someone contact me in 24–48 hours. 24–48 hours pass by, with no call from ASUS. Meanwhile, ASUS continues to send me invoices, and a payment deadline, for the incorrect rate of $362.
- May 2021: I contact ASUS again, escalate the issue. ASUS assures me that they will stop sending me e‑mails asking for payment of $362, and will contact me about correcting it.
- May 2021: ASUS “Proactive Care” sends me an e‑mail stating that an internal failure to correct the invoice “has triggered the return of your device unrepaired”. The e‑mail also states that once I receive my unrepaired Zenfone, I can re-create the return, ship the phone BACK to ASUS (at no shipping cost to me) and “continue this process”. (I’m thinking, Uh… no thanks.)
- May 2021: Sure enough, I then receive the Zenfone, returned to my home by ASUS. Unrepaired and dead.
To all: enjoy your ASUS experience.
“are small phones here to stay?” My pockets say “they better damn well be”
Hi I am struggling to choose between s20fe 5g and asus zenfone 8. I mainly use it for watching youtube, taking call, use as GPS in my car and taking pictures/videos. They are similarly priced here in Australia. I want one with good cameras, and has decent battery to last me the whole day(s20fe has a larger battery, but a bigger screen to power, whereas the asus has a smaller screen, and a newer processor). S20fe comes with 6gb of Ram here in AU, and asus with 8gb of Ram. I have an Asus Max Pro 2, at the moment. The battery is fine, but after sales software updates is a concern for the Asus, and hoping it would be better with Samsung. The OS is clean for Asus, so it’s a plus, but samsung comes with its security and other perks. Can you please help me choose? Please remember the camera and the battery life.
between this and Z Flip 3, which would you recommend?
4:47 black tongue
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I can’t use a big phone
Man, the only thing making me hesitate on buying one, is the lack of an SD card slot!
no sd card storage, what a disappointment
I sent one to India and it worked fine, bought it from My World Phone.