An unconfirmed report early this month recommended Asus was pulling again on its smartphone plans, however the firm declined to remark on the time. Asus chairman Jonney Shih has now confirmed the wind-down of its smartphone enterprise throughout an occasion in Taiwan. As a substitute, Asus will deal with AI merchandise like robots and sensible glasses.
Shih addressed the corporate’s future plans throughout a 2026 kick-off occasion in Taiwan, as reported by Inside. “Asus will now not add new cell phone fashions sooner or later,” mentioned Shih (machine translated).
So don’t anticipate a brand new Zenfone or ROG Telephone from Asus in 2026. That mentioned, only a few telephone patrons have been holding tabs on the most recent Asus telephones anyway, which might be why Asus is dropping out. Shih isn’t saying Asus received’t ever launch a brand new telephone, however the firm will take an “indefinite wait-and-see” strategy. Once more, this can be a translation and may very well be interpreted in a number of methods.
The Zenfone line won’t be missed—its declare to fame was being barely smaller and cheaper than competing units, however Asus’ assist and replace coverage have been lightyears behind the market leaders. The ROG Phone line has been distinguished within the gaming telephone area of interest, providing the most recent chipsets with lively cooling, a number of USB-C ports, recreation controller equipment, blinking lights, and even a headphone jack. Nonetheless, ROG Telephones are much more costly than Samsung’s flagship units, with the latest ROG Telephone 9 Professional beginning at $1,200. Apparently, the market of those that aren’t completely happy gaming on the most recent iPhone or Samsung Galaxy is miniscule.
Present Asus units ought to proceed to get updates, however Asus by no means took the lead there. The lavishly costly ROG Telephone 9 Professional is just assured two OS updates and 5 years of safety patches. The latest Zenfones are additionally solely eligible for 2 Android model updates, however they get simply 4 years of safety assist.
A troublesome enterprise
Shih’s feedback suggest that Asus received’t get again into the telephone recreation except one thing modifications, and that’s not going. Asus isn’t the primary OEM to drop telephone plans, and this can be a continuation of a pattern that has been underway for years as individuals improve telephones much less typically.
