I’ve been using an old phone that is everything a large part of the mobile-buying public said they wanted, but presumably didn’t end up buying.
This likely, at least partially, resulted in the company that made it exiting the smartphone space entirely.
It’s 2023’s Asus Zenfone 10 and the thing is, it has been fantastic, and proof not only that we don’t need yet more massive smartphones, but also that 2026’s latest-and-greatest all seem terribly bloated in more ways than one.
Calling my time with the Zenfone 10 an awakening would be over the top though, as it wasn’t without problems, but it did help put a lot of today’s phones and their features into context.
Wonderful compact dimensions
So usable
The Asus Zenfone 10 is a few millimeters smaller in height and width than the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Apple iPhone 17, and it makes it one of the most convenient to carry flagship smartphones to be released.
That’s right, a flagship smartphone. It has a top (for the day) Qualcomm chip, a 5.82-inch Super AMOLED screen, IP68, Gorilla Glass Victus, and a camera with specs comparable to those found in some of the competition at the time.
Using it reminded me why I like compact folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. They don’t take up space in your bag, never get caught in your pocket, and are easily used with one hand. This is the Zenfone 10, and I practically forgot it was there.
The vast majority of phones I’ve reviewed over the last year have had screens measuring at least 6.5-inches. While I love them, the resulting hardware is usually big and heavy. This comes with ergonomic downsides, which are removed from phones like the Zenfone 10.
There was a time when people were vocal about wanting a compact flagship phone, especially after the demise of devices like Sony’s Compact series.
People may have accepted they’re not going to get such a thing anymore, but using the Zenfone 10 and enjoying its small size and low weight, highlights how unfortunate this is.
I really appreciated the high refresh rate
A surprising benefit
I always notice when a phone screen is running at a 60Hz refresh rate, and find high refresh rates far easier and less fatiguing to look at, even for just a short time.
Accepted wisdom says high refresh rates are more noticeable on larger screens, but this hasn’t been the case with the Zenfone 10.
The 120Hz refresh rate gives the 5.82-inch Super AMOLED screen a beautiful smooth appearance, and it’s visible throughout the operating system and all social apps I’ve used.
I don’t know if it’s the type of panel Asus chose, its ability to reach 144Hz in some games, the processor, Android 15 (which I haven’t used in a while), the smaller dimensions, or a combination of all these, but the Zenfone 10 has a slickness in its operation that I didn’t see in the last phone I used, the Honor Magic8 Pro.
Combined with the phone’s size, it made the Zenfone 10 so comfortable to use.
No AI features
Except the only app you need
Although June 2023 isn’t all that long ago, the Zenfone 10 came out just before the mobile world went AI mad, and the phone is almost entirely free of barely useful AI features for us all to mostly ignore.
It makes the phone so light. There’s no side button to call up an AI feature, there’s no menu in Settings listing a dozen or more AI features, and I’ve never once had repeated notifications telling me to turn on an AI feature I’ll almost certainly never use, like deepfake recognition.
However, the phone’s not so old that it doesn’t actually have helpful AI features.
Circle to Search is called up from the Home screen, and Gemini is available either by voice or through the app.
I don’t really need much else from my mobile AI, and returning to a phone without the many AI distractions we see in modern flagships only highlighted the problem we’re now facing.
Most of the performance you want
None of the bloat
This relative lack of power-hungry, pre-installed AI features has a knock-on effect of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor providing more than enough performance, without any of the overheating or throttling issues we’ve seen in some of the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones.
I’ve already written about not personally being a “power user,” which means the 4,300mAh battery is sufficient for a day of use for me, and the relatively slow 30W wired charging does not really matter as the phone is charged up overnight.
I’ve had the Zenfone 10 connected to the Google Pixel Watch 4 without any obvious impact on battery life.
Add together acceptable battery life, wonderful compact dimensions, software free of bloat and gimmicky AI, plus a smooth, slick overall software experience, and you’ve got a phone which could still be considered something of a benchmark today, 31 months after its original launch.
Was it all good?
The camera disappoints, but that’s not the problem
My time with the Zenfone 10 wasn’t a 100% positive experience.
The camera wasn’t its strong point when it was released, and it hasn’t got much better. It’s usable enough, but lacks genuinely useful features. The Zenfone 10 is not one for camera fans.
However, far worse than the camera, and the aspect which kills the phone as a genuine prospect today is the software update commitment.
When I reset the phone to be ready for use, it restarted with Android 13 onboard and no automatic update in sight.
A check online revealed an update to Android 15 was available, and luckily, Asus made it available on its website for manual installation.
It was an easy process and has been reliable, but regular people shouldn’t have to go looking for an update file like this.
Software update policies matter
This kills the Zenfone 10
Far worse is that Android 15 is the final, scheduled update for the Zenfone 15. For a phone released in 2023, only two major version updates is woeful support.
While Android 15 runs really well, and the software doesn’t feel too out of date now, it will by the end of the year once Android 17 is out.
The short update commitment effectively kills the Zenfone 10 off as a used purchase today.
Credit: Asus Zenfone 10 (left) and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Modern smartphones are so capable and have such incredible performance, no one should accept anything less than seven years of major software updates on their new phone.
Shorter commitments don’t serve you or the phone, only the manufacturer wanting to encourage new device sales.
If the software had been up-to-date, and there was at least one or two more updates on the horizon, then the Zenfone 10 may have been a great second-hand purchase in 2026.
It gets the fundamentals right, isn’t overflowing with silly AI, and still has a fresh, fun design.
Unfortunately, and despite all its goodness, a short-sighted business decision at launch has prematurely killed it off. We should be sad, because in almost every aspect, it’s probably going to be the last of its kind.
