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Asus Zenfone 9

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Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#231
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing. People do that all the time - there is a huge community for aftermarket custom ROMs at places like xda-developers. However, I would guess that is like less than 1% of users since custom ROMs a) are not popular b) require some courage and technical knowledge c) often void the official warranty.

D) Are highly unlikely to support relocking for new keys in secure boot, or are limited to a very small number of models. The attacks sold to governments fighting such evils as journalists and pro-democracy youth haven't yet been shown to include persistency across reboots, AFAIK, but relatively small percentages of politically active people using insecure boot could encourage them to build those features to more pas…

This is why I opened this thread. Such a critical feature for hardware to have these days.

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#232

The only problem with Asus phones in general, which is also apparent in their ROG phones, is the lack of updates. Their hardware is top-notch, literally; I've never seen faster phones. But, they don't update them consistently enough, unlike Google and Samsung which have pledged multiple years of software support through Android releases.

How good is the Lineage OS support on Asus phones? Do they lock it down including the camera modules or are they fairly open?

Running Zenfone 8 with official builds by LineageOS 19.1 (Android 12) for about 6 months now, very flawless and updates almost every Friday.

Unfortunately I do not know anything about the camera modules. I only know that it works.

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android 12 has me swearing off updating my phone honestly. It's backwards in every single way. I don't use my phone for anything critical so I am more than willing to trade security for usability.

Do you check your email on that phone? If so, and I pop your phone, I'll have your email credentials, and with that I can probably reset the password of any other account you have. Email is critical.

yeah best way is to create a new gmail account for every phone. Or a phone only email which has the associated photos.

Other option is a yubikey

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#235

On a scale of Samsung to Google, how bad does Asus load up their Android with crapware?

Having had a Samsung phone and vowing to never buy another despite how amazing the hardware was (S8) and now having a Google Pixel 5 - I love this scale

I did S7 > Pixel > S20 and while there's still a few default apps (I counted 9) I'm not using, the bloatware is less invasive than it used to be. My stock apps live in a Samsung folder I never open and haven't bothered me once since I got it.

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#236

The only problem with Asus phones in general, which is also apparent in their ROG phones, is the lack of updates. Their hardware is top-notch, literally; I've never seen faster phones. But, they don't update them consistently enough, unlike Google and Samsung which have pledged multiple years of software support through Android releases.

I own the Zenfone 8 and it has consistently received updates large and small. It came with fairly clean Android and I get the feeling it's not far behind a Google phone when it comes to updates. That includes major updates (got upgraded to Android 12 too). It's a really great phone. The only thing I would improve is the fingerprint sensor, but apparently that's been addressed in the next iteration.

It seems like that phone will get 2 major updates (Android version upgrades?) and 2 years of security updates. Nothing more than any other brand will give you.

https://www.androidauthority.com/phone-update-policies-16586...

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own the Zenfone 8 and it has consistently received updates large and small. It came with fairly clean Android and I get the feeling it's not far behind a Google phone when it comes to updates. That includes major updates (got upgraded to Android 12 too). It's a really great phone. The only thing I would improve is the fingerprint sensor, but apparently that's been addressed in the next iteration.

That phone came out a year ago, it hasn’t even had time to prove it’s supported. Check back with us in 5 years.

I own the older Zenfone 6 from 2019, i.e. 3 years old.

I has received frequently updates until now, including the change of the major version of Android, from the one with which the phone had been initially delivered.

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure where it is sold or what countries it works in, but remember seeing a couple reviews on this one that were actually pretty positive. https://www.gsmarena.com/balmuda_phone_unveiled_with_49_disp...

That was discontinued after just under two months due to poor reviews and some sort of regulatory issue in japan.

Its sales was suspended due to certification issue, but is now sold again. Initial price was too expensive but finally it's available at $270. https://iosys.co.jp/items/smartphone/balmuda/softbank/balmud...

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own the Zenfone 8 and it has consistently received updates large and small. It came with fairly clean Android and I get the feeling it's not far behind a Google phone when it comes to updates. That includes major updates (got upgraded to Android 12 too). It's a really great phone. The only thing I would improve is the fingerprint sensor, but apparently that's been addressed in the next iteration.

That phone came out a year ago, it hasn’t even had time to prove it’s supported. Check back with us in 5 years.

It might be just me - but my phone battery degrades so significantly after 3 years that the phone isn't worth using anymore, so I'm not that bothered about not receiving updates past that window.

Re: Asus Zenfone 9

#240
Asymetric punchhole

No updates compared to 4-5 years at other brands

Buggy unoptimized softare

Unoptimized camera

Removed SD card

and most importantly horrible built quality

At least it seems they improved horrible battery life from Zenfone 8 which was also victim of their bad software optimization.

This company just can't do (optimizd/stable) software and (reliable) hardware, but their paper specs are sure nice.

So sadly while I like the specs (especially dimensions) I can't afford to waste my money on Asus phone, because I want phone which works and it's available and not in repair at least once a year.

If you are looking for smaller phone your current options with decent cameras are pretty much only Samsung S22, Xiaomi 12/12X and Xperia 10 IV each with own set of compromises (Sony horible SoC (for the price) with unoptimized camera, Xiaomi no jack/SD, same goes for Samsung plus price).

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