The ASUS Zenfone series of smartphones hasn’t really been a mainstay in the tech market. In fact, Malaysia hasn’t seen a Zenfone release since the Zenfone 5. However, the series has been making waves in recent years thanks to ASUS’s dedication to making it a rather compact flagship. That said, it looks like ASUS might be ending the Zenfone altogether.
According to a report from Technews.tw, the company has already inched closer to ending the Zenfone lineup with some internal restructuring. The internal restructuring has resulted in layoffs in the mobile phone department effectively shutting down the Zenfone division. The same report indicates that the mobile phone department is split into two divisions – ROG Phone and Zenfone. It seems like the ROG Phone lineup should stay its course for now. However, if reports of the shutdown of the department shutdown and layoffs are true, the recent Zenfone 10 from ASUS could mark the last Zenfone flagship ever.
In its heyday, the Zenfone series had more than just its numbered entries. ASUS had the Zenfone GO as an affordable option as well as the Zenfone Max and Zenfone Live for those who wanted the larger screen and live streaming respectively. The numbered Zenfone series rounded out the series with higher-end, flagship-class specifications. It was also one of the most experimental series with ASUS introducing features like the flip camera in the Zenfone Flip.
The Zenfone series seems to be a casualty of the ongoing restructuring at ASUS which was first reported sometime in June. While we are optimistic the company will come out better on the other end of it, it’s hard to say whether the Zenfone series will be the last casualty.
