Asus 8Z India launch confirmed FINALLY! No signs of ZenFone 8 Flip though

Asus 8Z has been confirmed to launch in India on February 28. The Asus 8Z was the company's 2021 flagship.

Asus 8Z launching in India on February 28.  (Asus)

Asus 8Z is coming to India FINALLY! One of the most awaited Android phones of 2021 is making its way to India after almost a year. Asus had originally wanted to launch the Asus ZenFone 8 Flip under the Asus 8Z series in India around April 2021 but the COVID-19 second wave saw the company out it on hold at the time. Asus never revealed the reasons why the launch was delayed but the 8Z is finally making it to our markets. Asus is yet to speak about the Asus 8Z Flip, the proper Asus flagship that features the Flip Camera arrangement.

The Asus 8Z will be announced via a livestream event on February 28 at 12 pm on YouTube. The teasers only show the Asus 8Z, which is the more conventional variant of the Asus ZenFone 8 Flip. Asus is yet to hint at the prices of the Asus 8Z. Given that the phone is based on the Snapdragon 888 platform, we expect the phone to be presented as the rival to the likes of the Xiaomi 11T Pro, Realme GT, and iQOO 9.

Asus 8Z launching soon in India

The Asus 8Z is expected to be a renamed version of the Asus ZenFone 8 from last year. That means we can expect the phone to have the same Snapdragon 888 chip underneath. Buyers can spec it up internationally with up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, although India could get the reserved 8GB variants to keep the prices low.

The Asus 8Z will also get the same 5.92-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. The display has a Gorilla Glass Victus protection and a refresh rate of 120Hz, peak brightness of 1100 nits and a 240Hz touch sampling rate.

The ZenFone 8 drew attention for its smaller 4000mAh battery with 30W fast charging support and it remains to be seen how it holds up in the real world. At it launch, it ran on Android 11-based ZenUI 8 but Asus could launch it with Android 12 in India.

Lastly, for the cameras, the Asus 8Z will have a 64MP Sony IMX686 primary camera sensor with OIS and a 12MP ultrawide camera, which can also take macro photos. With no Flip Camera arrangement, the front 12MP camera sits in the hole-punch cutout.

Other miscellaneous features includes an IP68 certification for water and dust resistance, 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and more.