Asus pushes back launch of Zenfone 8 series in India due to Covid-19

The launch of the Asus Zenfone 8 has been pushed back until “the current scenario improves”.

Asus Zenfone 8 launch in the country has been pushed back till the Covid-19 situation in India improves.  (Asus)

Asus India has announced that they will be pushing back the launch of the upcoming Asus Zenfone 8 series in the country given the current Covid-19 situation on the ground. The announcement was made by The business head of commercial PC and smartphone for Asus India, Dinesh Sharma, on Twitter yesterday. Sharma mentioned in his post that the launch has been deferred till “the current scenario improves”.

While the world is excited for the launch of our new smartphone, we at ASUS India have consciously decided to defer the launch till the current scenario improves. Our thoughts n prayers are with those affected with Covid #stayhomestaysafe, n emerge stronger! #IndiaFightsCOVID19

— Dinesh Sharma (@sharmadinesh) May 10, 2021

Asus India has also decided to cancel all upcoming PC and ROG launches including the upcoming ROG line-up – ROG Flow X13, Zephyrus 15 Duo SE, Zephyrus 15, and Zephyrus 14, which was scheduled to launch on May 12. The company has said they will share a revised timeline for these launches soon. 

Asus India joins other companies like Realme that have taken the decision to postpone launches and events till matters improve in the country. Realme was scheduled to launch a number of devices on May 4 but announced a week before the date that they were pushing back their plans. Realme hasn't announced a new date for its launches yet.

The launch of the Zenfone 8 series, which includes the Zenfone 8 and the Zenfone 8 Flip, is still going to be held on May 12/May 13 in other countries. The entire spec sheet of the Asus Zenfone 8 leaked last week so we know that this smartphone, that's also known as the Zenfone 8 mini, will come with a 5.9-inch Samsung E4 AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass protection, and an under-display fingerprint reader. The handset will run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 processor coupled with up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage, and it will pack a 4,000mAh battery with 30W fast charging support.

According to the leaks, the Zenfone 8 mini will offer a 64-megapixel primary sensor on the back along with a 12-megapixel wide-angle sensor and a macro sensor. On the front, Zenfone 8 will have a 12-megapixel selfie camera. The phone has also been tipped to offer EIS on both cameras along with 8K and 4K slow-mo at 120fps.

12MP front
EIS on both cameras
8K
4K slow-mo at 120fps
Hi-Fi audio playback via headphone jack
USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack
dual speakers
5G, BT 5.2, Wifi 6, FM
ZenUI 8 on Android 11
linear vibration motor#Asus #asuszenfone8

— Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) May 7, 2021

Further, the Asus Zenfone 8 is also going to feature Hi-Fi audio playback via the headphone jack, dual-speakers and will come with a linear vibration motor. The smartphone is also rumoured to come with OZO audio support. Connectivity options on the phone are USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, 5G support, Bluetooth 5.2, and Wi-Fi 6.

On the other hand, the Zenfone 8 Flip, as the name suggests, will come with the flip camera design we've seen on the Zenfone 6 and Zenfone 7 series. This smartphone too is going to feature the Snapdragon 888 under the hood support 30W fast charging. Both the Zenfone 8 and the Zenfone 8 Flip will run Android 11 out-of-the-box.