Asus has officially announced its latest ZenFone 7 flagship series and this time in comes in two models. It retains the same unique flip camera mechanism and it runs on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 series processors.
ZenFone 7 Pro
The top of the line model is the Asus ZenFone 7 Pro. It features a 6.67″ Full HD+ AMOLED display that pushes a 90Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, it runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and it has 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. If you need more, the device still supports microSD card expansion of up to 2TB.
In the camera department, the flip camera now features a triple-camera setup. It consists of a 64MP main camera that utilises Sony’s IMX686 sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle shooter that supports 4cm macro photography and an 8MP telephoto camera that does 3x optical zoom. Both the main and telephoto cameras also get 4-axis OIS. Since the camera module flips towards the front, you’ll be using the best cameras for selfies.
The ZenFone 7 Pro is capable of shooting 8K videos at 30fps as well as 4K videos at 60fps. The Pro camera mode supports RAW format and it supports long exposure of up to 32 seconds.
In terms of connectivity, the new ZenFone supports 5G in both SA and NSA architecture as well as 802.11ax WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. There’s also dual-frequency GPS and NFC support. Instead of a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, the ZenFone 7 series now uses a side-mounted unit for instant unlocking.
Also retained is its huge 5,000mAh battery which supports both QuickCharge 4.0 and PD fast charging protocols. Asus has included a 30W charger in the box. Unlike the previous ZenFone 6, the new model now lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack and audio is pushed through its USB-C port.
ZenFone 7
Asus has also introduced a cheaper ZenFone 7 which looks identical except for a number of changes under the hood. It still gets a 6.67″ Full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate but it runs on a Snapdragon 865 (non-Plus) processor. The device is available in either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and it comes with 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage which is still expandable via microSD card.
The triple-camera array on the flip mechanism is similar to the Pro model. It still gets a 64MP main + 12MP ultra-wide-angle + 8MP telephoto combo, however, it lacks OIS. The rest of the specs remain unchanged and this also includes the 5,000mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging via USB-C.
Pricing
The ZenFone 7 series is now available in Taiwan and below is the official pricing:
ZenFone 7
6GB RAM + 128GB storage – TWD 21,990 (about RM3,121)
8GB RAM + 128GB storage – TWD 23,990 (about RM3,405)
ZenFone 7 Pro
8GB RAM + 256GB storage – TWD 27,990 (about RM3,972)
Overall, it is significantly more expensive than the ZenFone 6. When the previous flagship was launched last year, it had a starting price of EUR 499 which is about RM2,456. Meanwhile, its gaming-focused ROG Phone 3 was recently launched with a starting price of EUR 799 (about RM3,933).
At the moment, it isn’t clear if the ZenFone 7 series will come to our shores. Asus Malaysia hasn’t been introducing new ZenFone models for our local market and the ZenFone 6 was never released officially in Malaysia.
