Is Asus ZenFone 8 An iPhone 12 Mini Doppelganger?

Most smartphone makers are now launching phones with big displays, as content consumption on phones has gone mainstream. However, with the launch of the iPhone 12 mini, Apple wanted to cater to those, who want a small but powerful smartphone. However, the device didn't do well in the box office in comparison to the other iPhone 12 models.

With the latest ZenFone series, Asus is now trying to the same by offering flagship specifications in the compact form factor on the Asus ZenFone 8, which might have been inspired by the iPhone 12 mini. How does the ZenFone 8 stack up against the iPhone 12 mini? Here is a comparison between the same.

Small Screen, Small Battery

The Asus ZenFone 8 is a compact smartphone by today's standard, however, the device does have a 5.9-inch edge-to-edge AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The screen on the ZenFone 8 does look similar to most Android flagship smartphones of 2020, especially with a punch-hole cutout.

Under the hood, the Snapdragon 888 SoC powers the ZenFone 8, which is Android's equivalent of the A14 Bionic that powers the iPhone 12 mini. The ZenFone 8 does offer more RAM (up to 16GB) and 256GB of fast UFS 3.1 based storage. Just like iPhone, you can't expand the storage on the ZenFone 8 too.

The camera module on the ZenFone 8 has two cameras, no namesake portrait or depth sensor. Just like the iPhone 12 mini, the ZenFone 8 has a wide-angle and an ultra wide-angle lens, albeit, higher-resolution sensors, capable of shooting 4K videos. There is also a 12MP selfie camera at the front with support for face unlock and the phone also has an in-display fingerprint sensor.

The ZenFone 8 has a 4000 mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging and the device does missout on wireless charging. Nonetheless, the ZenFone 8 is IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. Last but not the least, the ZenFone 8 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is something that we don't see on most flagship smartphones.

Is ZenFone 8 As Good As iPhone 12 Mini?

The ZenFone 8 comes very close to the iPhone 12 mini in most scenarios. Yes, the iPhone does have a couple more advantages like Face ID, wireless charging, and a slightly faster processor. However, the ZenFone 8 also has a few advantages over the iPhone 12 mini like a 3.5mm headphone jack, a higher refresh rate display, a 64MP camera, and more. Not just that, the ZenFone 8 is likely to cost less than the iPhone 12 mini, at least in India.

If you wanted a phone like iPhone 12 mini but with Android OS, then, the ZenFone 8 is probably the only smartphone that you can consider. Most Android smartphones offer at least a 6-inch screen, and won't offer a great experience for single-handed use like the iPhone 12 mini and the ZenFone 8.

The base model of the ZenFone 8 costs 599 Euros in Europe, and we can expect the phone to cost less than Rs. 50,000, given, the ROG Phone 5 also costs less than Rs. 50,000 in the country. The ZenFone 8 was slated to launch in India alongside the global launch. However, due to the 2nd wave of COVID-19, the launch has been postponed and there is no confirmation on when the phone is coming to India.