Given the growing pains of the Pixel 6, I am considering selling it if the January update doesn’t fix the most annoying things. I have been looking for alternatives and landed on Zenfone 8. It sounds like a good phone on paper except the not so great camera and the battery. This surprises me because a phone like this should have received more attention, yet I barely heard of it — and I usually keep up with what is going on in the phone world.
Zenfone 8 users out here, what has your experience been like? Have you ever used a Pixel? If so, what features do you miss?
What is Zen UI like? I am told it is close to stock, but does it have any unique features. The ASUS page about Zen UI is pretty barebones to be honest.
Also, what is the support situation like? Does it get regular security updates? What about repairs? Given that ASUS is barely present in the US when it comes to phone, do they have service centers? Or do they just send you to uBreakFix like Google?
What about Android 12? Has it been updated yet? Does it use Material You? I absolutely hate MY.
Any other pros or cons? Anything else I should know about?
And lastly, what does the US carrier support look like?
I know that is a lot of question, but it is not available offline — meaning I can’t walk into a Best Buy to check it out — and ASUS has a punishing return policy if you don’t like the phone — as opposed to defective ones. So indirect opinions and thoughts are the only way to go for me.
