ASUS Zenfone 10 Review: Small but mighty

By Dylan Crismale

Last updated 06 November 2023

ASUS Zenfone 10 Review: The Verdict

A zippy little pocket rocket the Zenfone 10 is a slight improvement over its predecessor and an interesting addition to the competitive Android market.

What we love

Small and portable
Great battery life
Fun design

What could be improved

Pricey
Okay cameras
Not much of an upgrade on last year's model

The essentials

Performance: Great performance. No lag or overheating when gaming
Battery: Excellent. Expect over six hours of screen time per charge
Screen: Bright and responsive 5.92-inch display
Camera: Good. Gets the job done but has no wow factor

80/100

$1,299

Personally, I’ve always opted for larger model phones. Not for any particular reason other than that bigger is usually better. Better battery life, better processor, better camera system, or so I thought?

The Zenfone 10 proved me wrong. It's the latest flagship phone from ASUS and another challenger for the coveted title of best Android smartphone in an already competitive market. It's also one of the smallest new handsets this year. ASUS’s approach is to eschew bulk in favour of a compact but no less powerful device.

It punches well above its weight and is a handy pocket phone for mobile gamers. Although, there’s still some room for improvement considering its fairly high price point.

I'm convinced, small phones rule

As we’ve seen time and time again in recent years, phone manufacturers can do some crazy stuff. There are phones that flip, that fold, phones that can measure the temperature (weird flex Pixel 8 Pro), and phones that can pack a whole lot of power into pocket-sized frames, as is the case with the Zenfone 10.

The Zenfone 10 is far from the only small phone in the market. The Google Pixel 7a, iPhone 15, and Samsung Galaxy S23 are all only slightly bigger with 6.1-inch displays. But thanks to its narrower frame the Zenfone 10 - with its 5.92-inch display - certainly feels a lot smaller.

In a word, the Zenfone 10 feels dense. I don’t mean that pejoratively - it’s simply a lot of power. On an ordinary work day, the Zenfone easily lasts the whole time. If you’re a fairly light user you can expect to get comfortably by on a single charge for at least one and a half days. I became guilty of not putting it on the charger because it didn’t really need it.

When playing more demanding games I did chew through the battery life a bit faster but not an unreasonable amount. You would still get through the day on one charge but will definitely want to remember to charge overnight. The Zenfone 10's battery life shines where it's usually a weak spot on other small phones like the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S23.

When it comes to performance the Zenfone 10 is no sloth, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor keeps things nice and zippy. When playing games I never experienced any lag and the device remained consistent temperature-wise. The only time the temperature spiked was when I had to install updates for Genshin Impact but that's to be expected.

I’m no serious gamer but those who indulge will love ASUS’s “Game Genie” which is available with a single gesture. You can quickly swipe down from the corner and have quick access to performance enhancements, check real-time data including CPU and GPU usage and more in a fun overlay, all without leaving your game. Things like “navigation blocking” which temporarily disables gestures so you don’t risk opening something else while trying your best to win are handy. Many of these options are present within your phone settings but having them all together, close at hand is really useful.

The only thing that I found difficult about using a smaller, narrower phone was adjusting to the keyboard. Android lets you resize it, but I don't think I ever really adjusted. Otherwise, it actually fits your pockets well and the display is still big enough to have enough apps on your home screen and the like.

A retro throwback

A lot about the Zenfone reminds me of the previous decade. Small phone in a big phone world aside, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack which simply conjures nostalgia on a flagship phone in 2023.

The Zenfone 10 comes in a fun range of not-quite pastel colours and opts for a bio-based polycarbonate material on the back instead of the familiar back glass we see on many phones in this price range. ASUS says that the material helps reduce the use of petrochemicals by 50%. It’s a tough texture to describe, it's slightly rough but not unpleasant. "A cross between cardboard roll and well-dried playdough" doesn't quite nail it. But it stays fairly clean and offers better protection than glass. I found it to be nicely scratch-resistant. If you don’t like the feeling then you can put a case on it (ASUS handily provides a simple plastic one in the box).

In another pseudo-throwback, you do get a charging cable and power brick in the box. That's always a welcome surprise on an over-thousand-dollar phone these days. Although, it doesn't charge particularly fast. It takes around an hour to charge from a flat battery back to 100% whereas other phones these days can get the job done in between thirty to forty minutes. It does have 15W wireless charging (much requested by fans after the Zenfone 9) although that is similarly slow and could take up to twice as long).

A lot of the overall design of the Zenfone 10 has a playfulness to it. It reminded me a little bit more of a handheld console than a mobile phone. Nothing quite cemented that thought than when it came to cameras. Where other premium phones skew towards part mobile phone and part digital camera the Zenfone 10 falls very slightly short.

The Zenfone 10 only has a two-camera rear setup, a 50MP main camera and a 13MP secondary lens, not much of a change compared to last year's model and similar to the cheaper Pixel 8. However, the 32MP front camera is a big upgrade over the 12MP on the Zenfone 9. It generally shoots well but I found the contrast in some shots to be underwhelming. Not all my pictures were as sharp as those I can take on a more mid-range phone like the Pixel 7a.

ASUS Zenfone 10 camera samples

For a better idea of what the ASUS Zenfone 10 cameras can do take a look at these samples samples. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.

ASUS Zenfone 10 - Final Thoughts

The Zenfone 10 is a great small phone with a lot going for it. While other manufacturers are focusing on large screens and thin displays the ASUS' focus with the Zenfone 10 is on compact power. If gaming is your jam then it's a great choice especially if ASUS' more expensive ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate are out of your price range.

Against the recently released Google Pixel 8, the Zenfone 10 certainly fares better on battery life but Pixel is winning when it comes to the camera game - even without the AI spectacle. If photography is not your concern and you want a go-getter then the Zenfone 10 is one to reach for. I certainly won't be giving smaller phones the snub ever again.