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00:00It's so funny. Asus right now basically make the biggest phone you can buy.
00:03This is the ROG Phone 7 and the smallest phone you can buy or one of them.
00:07This is the new Zenfone 10.
00:09Will they make something in between?
00:10A Zenfone Pro or Plus or Pro Max or something at some point?
00:13We shall see.
00:14But for now, we're talking about this guy.
00:16The new Zenfone 10.
00:17Is this little compact flagship level phone actually worth buying?
00:21Well, maybe.
00:23I do love this thing.
00:24There's a lot to like, but also there's a couple of issues I do have with it.
00:27Anyway, we'll come to that.
00:28Firstly, let me give you a little bit of a size comparison.
00:30So here on the left, we have the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
00:34On the right, an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
00:36And then in the middle, the positively cute Asus Zenfone 10.
00:40But don't let its small size fool you.
00:42This is a bit of a beast.
00:44So why would you want to buy one of these?
00:46Well, essentially, it is all about the size.
00:48The compact 5.9 inch screen, while also packing in some pretty impressive,
00:52mostly flagship level specs.
00:54And also for good measure, we've got a headphone jack as well.
00:57There's just something refreshing about using a smaller phone,
01:00where you don't have to do finger gymnastics to reach the top.
01:02It will comfortably fit in any pocket or cross body bag or clutch bag,
01:07or whatever it is you use.
01:08But of course, it's not alone.
01:09It does have some small competition.
01:12The smallest phone really you can buy is the iPhone SE,
01:15which itself is noticeably smaller.
01:17But the problem with this is the battery is pretty terrible.
01:19It's actually too small for most people.
01:21And also not everyone wants to be on iOS and the Apple ecosystem.
01:25In terms of Android competition, you've got maybe the Pixel 7a.
01:29It's more affordable, a little bit bigger, 6.1 inches versus 5.9.
01:33Although actually, the new Pixel Fold's front cover screen is 5.8 inches,
01:37so it's technically a little bit smaller than this.
01:39And maybe also you could wait for the Galaxy Flip 5, perhaps.
01:42So there are alternatives,
01:43but there's still something about the Zenfone 10 that I just really like.
01:48Now, compared to last year's Zenfone 9, and here is one I made earlier,
01:52the design is broadly similar.
01:54The two big camera lenses are slightly less pronounced.
01:57The back also has a new material that feels more like,
02:00how do I put this, scratchy recycled cardboard, maybe?
02:03It reminds me of the Pixel 5a, if you remember that.
02:06And I do like it.
02:07It's a more sustainable polycarbonate material.
02:09It doesn't pick up smudges or fingerprints, and it is nice and grippy.
02:12And it retains the headphone jack, the dual speakers,
02:15the IP68 dust and water resistance, the dual SIM,
02:18although still no microSD, sadly.
02:20And also, once again, the power button on the side doubles as a fingerprint reader.
02:24Now, they were actually kind enough to send over two review units of the Zenfone 10.
02:28This is the Eclipse Red, I believe, as well as the Comet White.
02:32Both lovely colours, but certainly the red's a lot more striking.
02:35And these are in addition to the Aurora Green, Starry Blue, and Midnight Black options.
02:40I also quite like how this aluminium frame around the side can be a different colour as well.
02:44So we've got red and black here, and white and silver here.
02:48So fairly subtle design changes then, going from the 9 to the 10.
02:51The big upgrades really are on the inside.
02:53And the headliner really is the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip.
02:57We also have faster RAM and faster storage,
02:59a slightly longer battery life in the order of 10 to 15%.
03:03More exciting though is we do now get wireless charging.
03:06It is just your basic 15 watt Qi, but it's better than nothing.
03:10We also get a much improved 32 megapixel selfie camera,
03:14along with even better stabilisation,
03:15courtesy of the 6-axis hybrid gimbal that's built into the main camera.
03:19The Full HD AMOLED screen now also supports a 144Hz refresh rate,
03:24although frustratingly it is only available in games that support it.
03:27And we also get a handful of new software features, a couple of new colour options,
03:31and this design and the packaging are a lot more environmentally friendly this time around.
03:35So a nice little upgrade over Zenfone 9.
03:38And I think considering the, as I say, mostly flagship specs,
03:42the price is pretty reasonable as well.
03:44Now technically they have increased the price.
03:46Last year this started at £699 here in the UK.
03:49Now it starts at £749.
03:51But that's because they've bumped up the storage from 128GB to 256GB
03:55as the new entry model, along with 8GB of RAM.
03:57You can pay £70 more, so £820 if you want to double the storage
04:02and double the RAM to 16GB and 512GB,
04:04which is a pretty impressive spec for £820,
04:07although I reckon the base model is all you're going to need.
04:10Kind of sits between, say, a OnePlus 11 and a Pixel 7 Pro in that lower flagship tier.
04:16The most significant upgrade though is that new chip, the 8th Gen 2.
04:20And while we're long past the point where new chips have any real impact in day-to-day scrolling,
04:25for demanding games or if you're video editing, it is quite a bit faster.
04:28Firing up the 3DMark Extreme Stress Test, the Zenfone 10 is 33% faster.
04:34Even the lowest loop score is still 20% higher than last year.
04:37And if we scroll down, despite the higher performance, it actually used less battery.
04:41The only downside is it did get a bit hotter.
04:44And I have noticed while gaming, the Zenfone 10 can get quite warm.
04:48Not uncomfortably so, but it is noticeable.
04:51I am very happy to see they have improved the battery life.
04:54Not a crazy amount, and in fact, this does use the same size cell as last year.
04:58It's still 4300mAh.
04:59But in my real-world test versus last year, when this kicked the bucket,
05:03when this ran out of juice, the Zenfone 10 still had 8% of its battery left,
05:07which is about 45 minutes or so, depending on what you're doing.
05:10Easily enough for a full day of use, but maybe not a whole lot more beyond that.
05:14Heavy gaming will obviously drain it faster.
05:16And speaking of which, you can see some of that ASUS ROG pedigree creeping in here with the Zenfone.
05:21We do now have that 144Hz refresh option.
05:24And while you're gaming, if you swipe in from the corner, it'll bring up their Game Genie,
05:28where you have a wealth of options and modes to play around with.
05:31But equally important to good hardware is good software.
05:34And I think ASUS's ZenUI is fantastic,
05:37as you can choose between what is basically just stock Android 13,
05:41or you have their own ASUS optimized version, which is what I've chosen to go with here.
05:45And it adds some nice extras like edge panel for quick app shortcuts.
05:48I quite like how on the display settings, you have access to the animation speeds,
05:52which are usually hidden away in the dev menu.
05:54And I do find switching everything to 0.5x makes the phone feel even snappier.
05:59The power button is also a smart key that can bring down the notification bar,
06:03or even fast forward and rewind videos now.
06:05And even the back of the phone is a customizable button,
06:08with a double tap opening the camera or taking a screenshot, whatever you like.
06:12And if you are looking at this thinking,
06:14I like it, but it's still just a bit too big for me.
06:16Well, you're in luck, because they do still offer a one-handed mode,
06:19which you can turn on and then swipe down from the bottom to shrink the screen.
06:23So the software is nice and fast.
06:25Very little in the way of bloatware.
06:26It's lovely.
06:27The problem is ASUS only offered two years of Android updates with this,
06:32which is way behind the three and four years that most competitors now offer.
06:35And it's a bit disappointing.
06:37And finally, let's talk about this camera system,
06:40because surprisingly, not a whole lot has actually changed here.
06:43Well, here on the back, at least.
06:44Same resolution, same sensor, same apertures,
06:47basically the same dual camera system as we had last year.
06:50However, despite very similar hardware, ASUS do say they have improved the cameras,
06:54thanks to some tuning and benefits from the new Snapdragon chips ISP.
06:58Photos are a touch sharper,
06:59and some of the light trail modes that used to require a tripod can now be done handheld.
07:04And also, we have the second generation of their six axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer,
07:09which, to be fair, is genuinely really good.
07:11And this year we get real time adaptive EIS for video,
07:15which means it automatically and in real time
07:17picks the best field of view while maintaining the smooth video.
07:20Whereas last year you had to pick the different modes yourself
07:23before you started shooting.
07:24So that is very helpful.
07:28And in terms of stabilization,
07:31it absolutely keeps up with the iPhone 14 Pro
07:34as I walk over these cobbled stone streets.
07:36And this is shot at 4K 60,
07:38plus we do have the option of 8K 24.
07:41The problem is the quality just isn't as good.
07:44You can see colors are more washed out.
07:46It really struggles with the bright highlights on Mrs. Tech Chap's t-shirt there.
07:50And it's noticeably less detailed.
07:52Fair enough, the iPhone is more expensive,
07:54but I did expect a bit more out of this.
07:57For example, I actually wanted to start this review
08:00with this little video which I shot on the Zenfone 10,
08:02but as good as the stabilization might be,
08:05the quality just wasn't good enough.
08:07It's underexposed and a bit slow to focus.
08:10Switching to photos,
08:11and I must admit when I took these shots
08:13and then looked at them back in the gallery app on the phone,
08:16I was quite impressed.
08:17But now I've taken them off the phone
08:18and I'm looking a bit more closely,
08:20I'm not so sure.
08:21The skin tones are off.
08:23I mean, here my face is just red.
08:24There's very little texture or detail.
08:27And yet somehow it also has that over-sharpened look to it.
08:30As always, lighting makes all the difference.
08:32And some shots I actually do quite like,
08:34but genuinely I found colors just aren't quite right
08:37or maybe they're oversaturated.
08:38And obviously there's no telephoto lens here either.
08:41Portraits can sometimes be okay
08:43and then other times it looks like I photoshopped myself into the scene.
08:46Even if it is marginally better than the Zenfone 9,
08:49I still find the camera just a little bit disappointing.
08:52The good news though is the selfie camera is a lot better this year.
08:55They've moved to a new RGBW sensor,
08:58which lets in 67% more light
09:00and they've also reduced the noise by 50%.
09:02So the selfie camera is a big upgrade,
09:04except for the fact that it no longer supports autofocus,
09:07which it did on the Zenfone 9,
09:08which is a bit bizarre and disappointing.
09:10And also it is still limited to 1080p30
09:13for a 2023 flagship phone.
09:16Hmm.
09:17Although what I do like is this little LED light
09:19Although what I do like is this little LED light
09:21that surrounds the selfie camera,
09:23so you and your friends know where to look.
09:25So where does that leave us?
09:27Well, I've written a little list here of the downsides of the Zenfone 10.
09:30Firstly, no LTPO screen.
09:32It is either 60, 90, 120 or 144 hertz
09:35and actually the always-on display is still stuck at 30 hertz,
09:38which obviously isn't great for the battery life.
09:40It's also not the brightest.
09:41This tops out at 1100 nits peak.
09:44Most phones, especially this price point,
09:45can go up to 1500, 1600 nits,
09:47so it is not the brightest.
09:49The 15 watt Qi wireless charging is a very welcome upgrade,
09:52but it's still not very fast,
09:53nor is the regular 30 watt wired charging.
09:56Again, no change there compared to last year's Zenfone 9.
09:58Still no telephoto camera.
10:00I still think the camera quality itself is a bit average,
10:03even though I do like the gimbal stabilizer
10:05and I do appreciate the improved selfie camera.
10:08So the Zenfone 10 is not perfect,
10:09but for 750 pounds,
10:11I do still think it's definitely worth considering,
10:13particularly if you do want a smaller phone.
10:16And while it is a decent step up over the Zenfone 9,
10:18I reckon if you can find this on a good deal,
10:21there's not that much of a difference between these guys,
10:23particularly if you're not going to miss,
10:24say, wireless charging,
10:26that this may not actually end up being a better value option.
10:28Let me know what you make of this
10:30and if you have any questions in the comments below.
10:32If you did enjoy this review and want to see more from me,
10:34a cheeky like and subscribe would be very much appreciated
10:37and I'll see you next time right here on the Tech Chat.