ASUS Unleashes 4 New ZenFone Smartphones & NovaGo Notebook At MWC 2018

With MWC 2018 in full swing, the mobile space has had a bevy of big name announcements.  Earlier this week we reported on both ZTE’s hyper affordable smart phone and Qualcomm’s steadfast drive to push 5G technology.  Also, who could have missed the world’s largest smartphone maker, Samsung, announcing its Galaxy S9?  When the Mobile World Congress meets in beautiful Barcelona, we’re always treated to announcements in the mobile market from manufacturers that fall everywhere on the spectrum from giants to startups.

One company not always associated with smartphones (though it should be) is ASUS.  Announced just this morning, ASUS’ charismatic CEO Jerry Shen, with help from Qualcomm’s CEO Christiano Amon, unveiled his company’s all-new ZenFone 5 series of smartphones, including the ZenFone 5, 5Z, 5Q, and Max M1.  Also announced was the ASUS NovaGo, the world’s first Gigabit LTE-capable laptop.

At their hearts, the ZenFone 5 and 5Z are powered by Qualcomm’s ubiquitous and powerful silicon, using the Snapdragon 636 and 845 respectively.   Both smartphones boast a 6.2-inch screen and dual-cameras and are the first ZenFone models to harness the power of AI, powered by Qualcomm.  The 5Z comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage while the 5 is listed as either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, as well as 64GB of storage.  Both come with dual SIM slots as well as one MicroSD and supports up to 2TB of additional storage.  Not to be outdone by Apple and Samsung, both models also provide users with live-animated avatars called ZeniMojis.

ASUS ZenFone 5 6.2-inch Smartphone

ASUS ZenFone 5Z 6.2-inch Smartphone

ASUS ZenFone 5Q 6-inch Smartphone

The 5Q ZenFone focuses more on the photographer on the go, offering a 6-inch screen and what ASUS is calling a “premium true four-camera system” that features fully independent high-res and wide-angle camera at both the front and rear of the camera.  With a 20MP front camera and 16MP at the rear, the 5Q offers high-resolution capturing as well as a second camera on either side that offers 120 degrees of image capture for wide-angle shots.  Powered by, you guessed it, Qualcomm, the 5Q has Snapdragon 630 silicon inside.

Rounding out the mobile phone announcements is the ZenFone Max M1.  With a smaller 5.5-inch display, the M1 provides ASUS with a next-gen smartphone that sports a smaller footprint and at a lower price-point.  Powered by a Qualcomm MSM8917 1.4GHz quad-core processor, it’s the only smartphone in today’s announcement that is not powered by the venerable Snapdragon architecture but still has enough under the hood, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, to keep it competitive with other smartphones at comparative pricing.  The M1 also comes with dual SIM slots and one MicroSD slot that can be used to expand storage up to 256GB.

ASUS ZenFone Max M1 5.5-inch Smartphone

The last product announced was the NovaGo, an ASUS laptop that is the culmination of work done by ASUS, Qualcomm and Microsoft.  Featuring Snapdragon-powered LTE connectivity, it’s the first laptop in the world to offer an always connected computing experience using this technology.  The NovaGo offers users up to 22 hours of battery life, runs Windows 10 S, and is powered by a Snapdragon 835 mobile processor.  While no powerhouse, the NovaGo hasn’t been engineered to be one.  The 13.3-inch notebook has been designed for people on the go who need something light with superior battery life and connectivity.  In that, the NovaGo looks to be promising.