Waiting for a new iPhone mini? The leaked Asus Zenfone 10 could be a good alternative

Asus Zenfone 9
The Asus Zenfone 9 (Image credit: Future)

With there being no iPhone 14 mini and no rumors of an iPhone 15 mini, it seems Apple has abandoned high-end, small-size phones. But not every brand has, as the Asus Zenfone 10 is launching soon with a 5.9-inch screen, and leaked images have given us a good look at the likely design.

These images, shared by leaker Roland Quandy via WinFuture, are apparently official marketing pictures, and they certainly look high-quality enough to be.

They show a similar design to the Asus Zenfone 9, with two large lenses on the back, a fairly plain finish, and a flat screen, with a punch-hole camera in the top left corner, and slightly bigger bezels than the priciest of phones. 

It's shown here in red, black, off-white, blue, and green shades, and there's also notably a headphone port on the top edge.

The design, then, is fine but doesn’t excite, and it’s worth noting that Asus itself has previously shown off the front of the Zenfone 10, so it’s only the back and sides that are unconfirmed.

Still, the Asus Zenfone 10’s main selling points aren’t its looks, but rather its high-end specs in a compact size. That 5.9-inch screen size we mentioned has already been confirmed by Asus, proving an early rumor of the Zenfone 10 having a 6.3-inch screen wrong.

High-end power and a 200MP camera

Asus has also confirmed that the phone will have a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This is the chipset you’ll find in the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the OnePlus 11, too. Plus, it will support wireless charging (which the Zenfone 9 doesn’t).

Previous leaks, meanwhile, point to a choice of 256GB or 512GB of storage, up to 16GB of RAM, water resistance, a 5,000mAh battery with 67W charging, and a 200MP primary camera (up from 50MP on the Zenfone 9).

So, the Asus Zenfone 10 is shaping up to be an extremely capable little phone, perhaps even one of the best small phones. It won’t be cheap, but it shouldn’t cost more than other comparably spec’d phones, with a promotion from Asus – spotted by Android Authority – suggesting that the starting price will be $749 (around £590 / AU$1,120).

If you’re interested in the Asus Zenfone 10, there isn’t long to wait, as the handset is being unveiled on June 29, and you’ll be able to watch the launch on YouTube. In fact, the live stream page is already up.

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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