The ASUS Zenfone 9 is a brilliant small smartphone, with an obvious focus on performance at the cost of camera quality.

Smaller phone than the rest of the Android phone market, top-end processing power, not much bloatware.

The camera is quite bad, no wireless charging, size may be unattractive to some.

The Asus Zenfone 9 is probably the best small “pocket rocket” phone for demanding buyers. It’s not overpriced, is very powerful, it looks distinctive, and Asus uses high-quality camera hardware across the board.

Small footprint, Top-tier processor, Very high quality camera hardware, Has a headphone jack, The Asus Zenfone 9 is a classic pocket powerhouse Android phone , combining a small frame with top-tier power, advanced camera tech and quality components throughout.

The finish does not seem hard-wearing, Charging is a little slow, Camera image processing lags behind the best, While the phone performs well in almost every area , a few finer points like camera processing, charging speed and its thickness are small disappointments

The Zenfone 9 is a full-force flagship in a small size, and with remarkably few compromises for it. The design is distinctive, the battery lasts well over a day, and performance is solid – albeit limited by the phone’s cooling skill. Undoubtedly the best small flagship Android about.

Distinctive, compact design, Fantastic battery life, Strong specs, Excellent low light photography

Overheating issues, Only two Android updates promised, No mmWave support

The Asus Zenfone 9 has a lot to like, but it’s ultimately disappointing. It has an easy-to-use small form factor and 3.5mm headphone jack, but its screen is too small to justify the powerful processor, the camera experience is mixed and the price is just too high for what you’re getting.

Easy to use one-handed, Neat navigation tricks, 3.5mm headphone jack

Price too high, Only two rear cameras, Unnecessarily high-end specs

The Asus Zenfone 9 is the compact phone of choice, making few compromises to deliver a flagship experience in a smaller package. There's plenty of power and performance, with good cameras only marred by the lack of telephoto.

Compact build, Waterproofing, 3.5mm headphone socket, 30W charger included, Great performance, Few compromises in going small

No telephoto camera, Only two years of software support, Software bloat is irksome

“The Asus Zenfone 9 is small enough to be used with one hand, but still has all the power of a massive flagship phone. While this compromises battery life and camera features, it'll be an acceptable trade-off for some.”

Compact and easy to handle, Powerful processor, Neat, lightweight design, Strong audio features, Main cameras take good photos

Gimbal disappoints, Screen doesn’t get bright enough, No wireless charging

The Asus Zenfone 9 is available unlocked from Amazon starting from $705 , for example.

very compact, bright OLED panel, good battery life, good 3.5-mm audio port, powerful SoC, very good video stabilization

massive throttling, only USB 2.0, lowlight performance, fairly thick bezels, only 2 years of updates

Unboxing the Asus Zenfone 9 was like meeting someone new and learning that you like the same obscure movies or went to the same high school. I could tell immediately we’d get along. “You’re IP68 and you have a headphone jack? No way! I love headphone jacks!”

Compact and easy to use with one hand, Impressive gimbal-like camera stabilization, Great screen and smooth overall performance, Better-than-average built-in speakers, Good all-day battery life for a small phone

Doesn’t work on Verizon, Only two years of updates, No wireless charging, No telephoto camera

Though it has a relatively small form factor, ASUS was still able to pack a decent sized 4,300mAh battery into the Zenfone 9. To evaluate battery life, we employed the PCMark for Android Work 3.0 test, with screen brightness calibrated and wireless connectivity enabled to keep the playing field...

This phone is amazing. Battery life is great, it's fast. There's no bloatware. It's not the size of a curiseship. Best phone I've had. The only con is that it's harder to find a case due to it not being a major phone, however it does come with a case in the box. I've had it for about a month so.