The Asus Zenfone family had a pretty solid reputation over the years for delivering affordable flagship phones. 2019's Zenfone 6, however, marked a high point for the company.
Between the flipping camera mechanism, high-end power, huge battery, and $499 price, it's clear that the Asus Zenfone 6 was one of 2019's best purchases. But how could the company build on that success with a follow-up? This is our Asus Zenfone 7 wishlist.
Keep the flipping camera mechanism
The Zenfone 6's flip camera setup was one of the coolest features of last year, allowing you to use the 48MP+13MP ultra-wide cameras as both the primary and selfie shooters. The mechanism was motorized too, allowing you to take panoramas without moving the device.
Read: We asked, you told us — The Zenfone 6's flip camera is the best motorized design
We'd love to see this feature return on the Asus Zenfone 7, along with the addition of a telephoto camera. The new camera would obviously be used for shooting other subjects rather than for selfies. One major challenge with this camera mechanism is water-resistance, but hopefully the firm is able to implement splash resistance instead.
Faster charging
The Asus Zenfone 6 offered a massive 5,000mAh battery, making for one of the biggest batteries we've seen in a smartphone this year. Our own testing revealed that the phone could've done a little better in terms of endurance though, but it still delivered good battery life for a flagship.
Probably the biggest disappointment in this regard was its charging speed though, taking over two hours to hit 100% via its 18W charging solution. This decision was even more perplexing after Asus released the ROG Phone 2 a couple of months later, packing a bigger battery (6,000mAh) and faster 30W charging. So the second item on our Asus Zenfone 7 wishlist is 30W charging or an even faster solution.
OLED screen
Another compromise made by the Asus Zenfone 6 was the decision to go with an LCD screen in lieu of an OLED panel. That means you missed out on better power efficiency and deeper blacks. It didn't help matters that we thought the Zenfone 6's screen could've been much brighter.
Hopefully the Asus Zenfone 7 delivers an OLED display then, falling in line with the Redmi K20 series, OnePlus phones, and other affordable flagships. A higher refresh rate would be a welcome bonus, offering a smoother experience on paper.
An OLED screen would also allow Asus to adopt in-display fingerprint technology, but we wouldn't mind a rear fingerprint scanner anyway.
Stick to an affordable price
Probably the biggest Zenfone 6 drawcard was its $499 price tag, making it comparable to other affordable high-end devices. This meant you could get two Zenfone devices for the price of a traditional premium flagship.
An affordable price tag is one of the top entries on our Asus Zenfone 7 wishlist then, be it at $499 or thereabouts. Then again, I wouldn't mind a slightly more expensive price tag if they implement an OLED screen, higher refresh rate, and some measure of water resistance. It could even go the other way in theory, with the company offering a slightly cheaper price tag and only minor upgrades (e.g. chipset and software).
Keep the headphone jack
The Asus Zenfone 6 was one of a few high-end phones to retain the 3.5mm port in 2019, joining the likes of the Galaxy S10 series, Redmi K20 Pro, and Realme X2 Pro.
Read: Was ditching the headphone jack a good idea?
Here's to the Zenfone 7 retaining the headphone port, allowing you to listen to music via legacy accessories or with the aid of an aux cable. It's also ideal if you're like me and don't want to deal with yet another device in need of charging (Bluetooth accessories).
Speaking of retained features, we'd definitely like to see the older phone's customizable shortcut button on the new phone. This way, your favorite apps and features are a button-press away.
Better availability
It's all well and good releasing a quality smartphone, but what's the point if buying the device is a challenge? This was certainly the case for the Zenfone 6. The phone was announced in May 2019, but was only released in the US in August.
The 2019 phone also made its way to the likes of Europe and India, but expanding to other markets (e.g. Middle East and Africa, and Australia) would be a welcome move too. A carrier deal (in the US and other markets) could also help make the device more accessible to people.
That's our Asus Zenfone 7 wishlist, but what would you like to see from the device? Give your wishlist below!
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