The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip is a striking smartphone, because the rear cameras can rotate forward to be used as a high-quality selfie cam. You can read how this works and whether the Zenfone is worth buying in this Asus Zenfone 8 Flip review.
Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
Recommended retail price From € 799,-
To colour black, silver
OS Android 11 (ZenUI 8)
Screen 6.7″ amoled (2400 x 1080, 120 Hz)
Processor 2.8GHz octa-core (Snapdragon 888 5G)
RAM 8GB
Storage 256GB
Battery 5,000 mAh
Camera 64, 12 and 8 megapixels
Connectivity 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, WiFi 6e
Format 16.5 x 7.7 x 1cm
Weight 230 grams
Other dualsim, rotating camera
Website www.asus.com
7 Score 70 
- Pros
- Smart camera system
- Battery life
- Clean Android Version
- Negatives
- Update support needs to be better
- No audio port
- Little working memory for price range
The rotating camera makes the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip an innovative, but above all striking appearance. The concept is not new. The Zenfone 6 introduced the same rotating camera system, at a time when smartphone makers were innovating with mechanical solutions to hide the selfie camera. For example, manufacturers did not have to place large screen edges or ugly screen notches and awkward camera holes in the top of the screen. Unfortunately, the concepts did not catch on, so they still resorted to camera holes and screen notches.
Fortunately, the concept of the rotating camera that Asus introduced with the Zenfone 6 has remained. The camera island that rotates forward has three sensors and, in addition to the best selfies, also offers a privacy advantage: you know when an app addresses the selfie cam. For example, Snapchat cannot be used without the camera facing you – even if you are not taking photos and videos.
Return of the Zenfone
The Zenfone 8 Flip was released simultaneously with the Zenfone 8, which is considerably cheaper and does not have a rotating camera. The Zenfone 8 Flip is not an affordable device with its suggested retail price of 800 euros. Asus returns to the Dutch market with the Zenfone 8 series, the release of the Zenfone 6 in the Netherlands fell into the water two years ago due to a patent dispute with Philips. Because of this, Asus was not allowed to sell its smartphones in the Netherlands. Apparently this patent dispute has been settled, so that the Zenfone 8 can be sold again.
Giant smartphone…
In addition to the innovative camera system, the Zenfone 8 Flip stands out due to its size. The smartphone is big, thick, heavy and not water resistant. Definitely something to keep in mind. The build quality is very sturdy. Nevertheless, a case is definitely recommended. Also because the glass back is very sensitive to fingerprints.
Despite the fact that the format offers plenty of space, Asus goes with the herd to remove the audio port for no reason, just like Apple. Because the entire front, with the exception of the thin bezels, is used for the screen, Asus could not get rid of its notification light. This is placed in the edge at the bottom (next to the usb-c port). Completely illogical and it makes the notification light pretty useless in this place.
… Thanks to a huge screen
The Zenfone 8 Flip is equipped with a large display, which explains the device size. The screen has a diameter of 6.7 inches, a Full HD resolution and a higher refresh rate of up to 90 hertz. This refresh rate can be adjusted automatically to protect the battery.
The Zenfone 8 Flip has an OLED panel, which is fine in terms of color reproduction. The maximum screen brightness could have been a little higher; The screen is sometimes difficult to read in sunlight. A fingerprint scanner is placed under the screen. In practice, I often need several attempts to unlock the device. It is a pity that this technology still lags behind physical fingerprint scanners on the device.
Internal
One of the big pluses of the Zenfone 8 Flip is the high battery capacity. The smartphone has a 5,000 mAh battery. That is enough to get through almost two days with a charged battery. Depending on your use of course. The screen uses a relatively large amount of energy. Especially if the 90 hertz refresh rate is used.
The Zenfone 8 Flip is equipped with the Snapdragon 888 chipset, which is powerful and supports 5G. The smartphone also has 8GB of RAM. Although that is enough to make the smartphone run smoothly, this could have been a bit more in this price range. Furthermore, the Zenfone 8 Flip offers 256GB of storage, which you can expand with a memory card if desired.
Android 11 with ZenUI
Asus has equipped the Zenfone 8 Flip with its own Android skin called ZenUI. In itself, the skin leaves a lot of the Android base intact, so you don’t run into bugs and the system works smoothly. It is also nice that Asus is expanding the settings menu, so that you can adjust the phone more to your liking. Only Asus thought it necessary to load the phone with bloatware from Facebook; those are by no means the most reliable apps.
A clean Android version and enough computing power also open the doors to decent update support. This would allow Asus to distinguish itself from the thousand and one smartphone manufacturers and to take a good example of market leaders Samsung and Apple, who are increasingly working on longer update support. But unfortunately Asus doesn’t dare to do that. You get two Android version updates and two years of security updates. Asus doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to update policies and update rollout speed. The manufacturer will really have to go a bit further to justify the price of 800 euros also in the software area.
flip camera
The rotating camera, dubbed ‘flip camera’ by Asus, is a striking camera system that I personally am very excited about. From a privacy point of view (apps can’t unwittingly tap into your front camera), from a practical point of view (no camera holes and notches) and from a photographic point of view (your selfies are taken with the best camera on board). The turning system is also smooth and the construction sturdy. The last advantage is the possibility to automatically take panoramic photos, whereby the rotating system itself rotates for the panorama.
The camera system has three sensors: a zoom lens, a wide-angle lens and the regular camera. It is striking that the quality differences between the three are not so great. With other smartphones, you often notice that the wide-angle and zoom camera are inferior to the regular camera. With the Zenfone 8 Flip, those differences are somewhat smaller.
The Zenfone 8 Flip doesn’t take the best photos in its price range. For that, it has to give priority to brands such as Apple and Samsung. It is the versatility of the rotary camera that appeals. Especially when you zoom in on photos, you see that a lot is corrected by the software, so that some parts seem to be made of plastic. This is especially amplified when the lighting conditions in front of the camera become challenging.
The three zoom levels of the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip: the further you zoom in, the more ‘plastic’ the leaves appear.
Alternatives to the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip is a beautiful smartphone, with an innovative camera system. The price tag of 800 euros makes the smartphone a competitor for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and the iPhone 12. That is a battle that Asus does not win. Both alternatives are a better choice for the long term thanks to their update support and deliver better photos and videos. It is really only the rotating camera that the Zenfone 8 Flip manages to counteract as an asset.
However, do you have the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, the Oppo Find X3 Neo 5G or Xiaomi Mi 11 on your list? Then this Zenfone 8 Flip is definitely worth considering. Maybe even a smarter choice.
The regular Zenfone 8 is also worth considering. This smartphone offers better value for money. But without a rotating camera.
Asus has to step up its game to get the update support in order.
Conclusion: Buy Asus Zenfone 8 Flip?
The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip stands out for its smart camera system, which certainly works well (and solidly) in practice. There is little else to criticize about the device itself, the screen, the cameras, the software, the computing power. It’s all right. Only the smartphone seems just a bit too expensive, so that competitors Asus mainly trump on camera quality and update support.
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