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The future of the Zenfone line has become uncertain following Asus's announcement. Photo: Digital Trends . |
Asus has officially confirmed recent rumors about not launching a smartphone in 2026. The company calls this a "strategic pause," but Digital Trends suggests the issue may be more serious.
According to rumors from early January, Asus has essentially frozen its entire product development process. This means there will be no ROG Phone 9, no Zenfone 12 Ultra, or any other phones launching for a considerable period.
Asus is shifting resources previously used to build pocket phones to the less glamorous but highly profitable world of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and enterprise-oriented technology.
According to Digital Trends , Asus uses safe language for confirmation, but the reality of the smartphone manufacturing industry shows that the issue is not that simple.
A company can't just "pause" smartphone development for a year and then immediately return. The process of perfecting a mobile device line takes 12-18 months. Therefore, if research doesn't begin now, the future product will be far behind.
Given this reality, many analysts predict this is a quiet withdrawal from the smartphone market. Asus used to create phones that attracted attention. The Zenfone was considered the "king" of compact Android phones, and the ROG Phone was the most outstanding device in the mobile gaming field.
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One of the most popular gaming phone lines has also had its production temporarily suspended. Photo: Digital Trends. |
Tech experts rave about them, and fans shower them with praise. But ultimately, those glowing reviews can't cover the costs if Asus doesn't sell millions of units like Samsung or Apple.
The smartphone market is becoming increasingly fierce. Apple, Samsung, and Chinese brands like Oppo and Vivo dominate almost the entire market, relentlessly squeezing out competitors. Furthermore, the cost of manufacturing phones, especially RAM and storage, has skyrocketed. For a smaller manufacturer like Asus, profit margins are no longer sufficient to cover these costs.
Meanwhile, Asus is experiencing strong growth in the AI server, data center, and robotics sectors. This is the direction the industry is heading in, both currently and in the future, and offers high profitability potential.
For Asus phone users, they aren't immediately abandoned. The company promises continued support with software updates and security patches. However, when a business stops producing new hardware, the support period for older products will gradually shorten.
Source: https://znews.vn/se-khong-con-dien-thoai-asus-post1621315.html
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