2018 was a great year for the smartphone division of Asus. The company launched phones in every price segment, and all were great value for money. We got phones like the Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Max Pro M2 in the mid-range market with superb specifications, Zenfone 5Z with flagship specifications and the Asus ROG Phone that is a gaming smartphone aimed at the gamers and power users. But, with the CEO of the company, Jerry Shen, resigning, it looks like we may see very few ‘Zenfones’ next year as the company just changed its mobile strategy.
With this change in the strategy, there were rumors of the end of ‘Zenfone’ series. But, the company has clarified that –
With regard to the doubts raised by some on the continuation of the ZenFone brand, we confirm that we will continue to develop the ZenFone series, while also aiming to expand the gaming smartphone market. We will focus on perfecting solutions for gamers and power users-strategy.
According to a report from Engadget, the company is now going to focus more on the power users and the gamers, which means we may see only a few budget or mid-range phones under the popular ‘Zenfone’ brand next year. The company will focus on the high-profit market that is, at the moment, the gaming market.
So, we may see more phones from Asus next year with flagship specifications for gamers and fewer phones in the mid-range and the budget segment. This is because in a competitive market like India where there is a tough competition in the sub Rs 20,000 segment, the companies have to reduce their profits to sell their budget and mid-range phones at a lower price.
This is what Xiaomi has been doing for all these years. The Poco F1 is so cheap because the company is getting very few (almost negligible) profits be selling it.
It is big news that Jerry Shen is stepping down as the CEO of the company because he has been the CEO for the past 11 years. In these years, we saw Asus launching ZenFones, ZenBooks, and more interesting series of devices. But, his resign doesn’t mean that he completely left Asus since he still owns a 30-percent stake in the company. Jerry Shen will focus on his new startup, iFast, that focuses on AI.