Asus Zenfone 10 Review: A Compact Flagship with a Few Flaws

Are you looking for a flagship Android phone that doesn't compromise on performance, battery life, or display quality, but also doesn't take up too much space in your pocket or hand? If so, you might want to check out the Asus Zenfone 10, the latest and greatest small phone from the Taiwanese company.

The Zenfone 10 is the successor to the Zenfone 9, which was one of our favorite small phones of last year. The Zenfone 10 retains the same compact design and 5.9-inch OLED screen but upgrades the chipset, refresh rate, memory, storage, and wireless charging. It also improves the gimbal stabilization of the main camera, which is still a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor.

However, not everything is perfect with the Zenfone 10. The phone loses some features from the previous generation, such as autofocus on the ultrawide and selfie cameras. The charging speed is also slower than most flagships, and the software support is limited to two years. And while the main camera is capable of taking great shots in good light, it struggles in low light and with dynamic range.

So, is the Zenfone 10 worth buying? How does it compare to other small phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 or the Google Pixel 7? And what are its strengths and weaknesses? In this Asus Zenfone 10 review, we will answer these questions and more. Read on to find out everything you need to know about this compact flagship.

Asus Zenfone 10 Design and Display

The Zenfone 10 looks very similar to the Zenfone 9, which is not a bad thing. The phone has a sleek and minimalist design, with a glass front (protected by Gorilla Glass Victus), a plastic back, and an aluminum frame. The phone comes in five colors: Midnight Black, Starry Blue, Aurora Green, Eclipse Red, and Comet White.

The phone measures 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4mm and weighs 172g, making it one of the smallest and lightest flagships on the market. It's also IP68 rated for dust and water resistance, which is a nice bonus. The phone feels comfortable and solid in the hand, and easy to use with one hand.

The Zenfone 10 has a side-mounted fingerprint reader that doubles as a power button. It also has a volume rocker on the right side, a SIM tray on the left side, a USB-C port on the bottom, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. The phone has stereo speakers that deliver loud and clear sound.

The highlight of the Zenfone 10 is its display. The phone has a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The screen has thin bezels all around, with no notch or hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera. Instead, the phone uses an under-display camera that is barely visible when the screen is on.

The screen supports HDR10+, has a peak brightness of 1100 nits, and has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 144Hz (120Hz outside of games). The screen delivers vibrant colors, deep blacks, sharp details, and smooth animations. The screen also has an always-on display feature that shows useful information when the screen is off.

The under-display camera does not affect the quality of the screen much, except for some slight pixelation or distortion in some scenarios. However, it does affect the quality of the selfies, which we will discuss later.

Asus Zenfone 10 Performance and Battery Life

The Zenfone 10 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is one of the most powerful processors for Android phones. The chipset is based on a 4nm process and has an octa-core CPU with one Cortex-X3 core clocked at 3.2GHz, two Cortex-A715 cores clocked at 2.8GHz, two Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.8GHz, and three Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. The chipset also has an Adreno 740 GPU that supports ray tracing and variable rate shading.

The Zenfone 10 comes with 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The phone also has a microSD card slot that supports up to 2TB of additional storage.

The Zenfone 10 delivers excellent performance in both everyday tasks and gaming. The phone handles multitasking, web browsing, social media, streaming, and productivity apps with ease. The phone also runs demanding games like PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9, and Genshin Impact at high settings and frame rates without any lag or stutter.

The Zenfone 10 runs on Android 13 with Asus' ZenUI 9 on top. The software is clean, smooth, and customizable, with several useful features and enhancements. Some of the features include:

- Game Genie: A gaming mode that optimizes the performance, battery, and network for gaming. It also offers options to block notifications, record gameplay, adjust touch sensitivity, and more.

- Smart Key: A customizable button that can be used to launch apps, take screenshots, activate Google Assistant, or perform other actions.

- One Hand Mode: A feature that shrinks the screen to a smaller size for easier one-handed use.

- OptiFlex: A feature that speeds up the app launch time by keeping frequently used apps in memory.

- ZenMotion: A feature that allows you to perform gestures on the screen or the fingerprint reader to perform actions like launching apps, taking screenshots, turning on the flashlight, etc.

The Zenfone 10 also supports some Google features like Digital Wellbeing, Nearby Share, Live Caption, etc.

The Zenfone 10 has a 4300mAh battery that supports 30W wired charging with PD3.0, PPS, and QC4 standards. It also supports 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

The battery life of the Zenfone 10 is impressive for a small phone. The phone can easily last a full day of heavy use or two days of moderate use on a single charge. The phone also has several battery modes that can help you extend the battery life further.

The charging speed of the Zenfone 10 is decent but not very fast compared to other flagships. The phone can charge from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes and from 0% to 100% in about an hour and a half with the included charger. The wireless charging speed is slower but still acceptable.

Asus Zenfone 10 Cameras

The Zenfone 10 has a dual-camera setup on the back and a single camera on the front. The main camera is a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor with an f/1.9 aperture, a 24mm equivalent focal length, a multi-directional PDAF system, and a gimbal OIS system. The ultrawide camera is a - 13MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, a 120-degree field of view, and a fixed focus system. The selfie camera is a 32MP sensor with an f/2.5 aperture and a fixed focus system.

The main camera of the Zenfone 10 can take great photos in good lighting conditions. The photos have plenty of detail, accurate colors, balanced exposure, and good dynamic range. The camera also supports HDR, night mode, portrait mode, pro mode, and 8K video recording.

The ultrawide camera of the Zenfone 10 can take decent photos in good lighting conditions. The photos have good detail, color, and exposure, but some distortion and noise around the edges. The camera also supports HDR, night mode, portrait mode, pro mode, and 4K video recording.

The selfie camera of the Zenfone 10 can take good selfies in good lighting conditions. The selfies have good detail, color, and exposure, but some softness and noise in low light. The camera also supports HDR, night mode, portrait mode, and 1080p video recording.

The main weakness of the Zenfone 10's cameras is low-light performance. The photos taken in low light tend to have less detail, more noise, and weaker colors. The night mode can help improve the brightness and sharpness of the photos, but it also introduces some artifacts and oversaturation.

Another weakness of the Zenfone 10's cameras is the lack of autofocus on the ultrawide and selfie cameras. This means that you have to be careful with the distance and angle of your shots to avoid blurry or out-of-focus results. This also limits the versatility and creativity of your shots.

The Zenfone 10's cameras are not bad by any means, but they are not as good as other flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23 or the Google Pixel 7. If you are looking for a small phone with a great camera, you might want to consider those options instead.

Asus Zenfone 10 Verdict

The Asus Zenfone 10 is a great small phone that offers flagship performance, battery life, and display quality in a compact and durable design. It also has some nice features like wireless charging, stereo speakers, a headphone jack, and an under-display camera.

However, the Zenfone 10 is not perfect. It has some drawbacks like slow charging speed, limited software support, and mediocre low-light camera performance. It also faces some tough competition from other small phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 or the Google Pixel 7.

If you are looking for a small phone that doesn't compromise on performance, battery life, or display quality, but also doesn't break the bank, then the Asus Zenfone 10 is a good choice for you. But if you are looking for a small phone that has a better camera, faster charging speed, or longer software support, then you might want to look elsewhere.

Asus Zenfone 10 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Compact design

- Powerful performance

- Excellent battery life

- Superb display

- Wireless charging

- Stereo speakers

- Headphone jack

- Under-display camera

Cons:

- Slow charging speed

- Limited software support

- Mediocre low-light camera performance

- No autofocus on ultrawide and selfie cameras

Asus Zenfone 10 Review: Rating

Design: 9/10

Performance: 9/10

Battery life: 9/10

Display: 9/10

Cameras: 7/10

Software: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Overall: 8.3/10

Asus Zenfone 10 Review: Conclusion

- The Asus Zenfone 10 is a compact phone that offers powerful performance, excellent battery life, and several smart software enhancements to Android.

- The phone features a 5.9-inch OLED display with a 144Hz adaptive refresh rate, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and wireless charging.

- The main camera is a 50MP sensor with gimbal stabilization, while the ultrawide camera is a 13MP fixed-focus lens. The selfie camera is a 32MP fixed-focus lens.

- The phone costs £749/€799 for the base model, which undercuts some of its competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Google Pixel 7.

- The main drawbacks of the phone are the limited cameras for a premium phone, especially the lack of autofocus on the ultrawide and selfie cameras, and the shorter-than-average software support window of two years.

Conclusion: The Asus Zenfone 10 is an impressive phone for fans of compact handsets, but it could also appeal to users who want a flagship-level phone with a spec sheet that covers almost everything. However, it may not be the best choice for photography enthusiasts or those who want longer software updates.