The Zenfones mainly carved out a following because they're the smallest flagship-tier Android phone on the market. Asus has terrible support, but if you want a smallish device they're the only game in town.
ASUS Zenfone 8. One of the very few relatively small Android phones with 5G connectivity, good camera and a flagship CPU (Snapdragon 888) and not way too expensive.
I still have the Zenfone 3 after 5 years and I have no love for Asus as a phone manufacturer, the updates stopped after 1 year and the support is on the low side. Also the prices of the Zenfone series increased a lot more than the inflation, while the value did not.
I have had always mixed feelings about Zenfones. On one hand I was one of those people complaining about the lack of small-factor Android phones. On the other hand I'm one of those people who never bought a Zenfone. I could just never justify their price.
Currently one can get a huge chinese flab for $250, with decent HW specs that will be still decent in 3 years (and also horrible SW support). Why can't anyone create such a phone, but small? Maybe from a brand that has at least some breadcrumbs of reputation?
Sony seems to do the same. They have a couple of small Xperias, but they cost more than a top of the line iPhone... I guess they will exit in a year or two also. Not that I'm happy about it. Just not sure who these manufacturers are targeting.
I switched to the Zenfone series (around 6 or 7) after the HTC ones died a death. I like that they have an SD card and dual SIM. Happy with the Android version too; it's been fine from my perspective. I found them reliable and will probably upgrade my 8 flip at some point soon for this one (or a flip version), if only to try to vote with my wallet to keep Asus making more; we need more competition in the phone space.
I could shill more but that's probably enough for one evening.
I got an Asus Zenfone 8 mostly because it was one of the smaller Android phones available. It's mostly stock with a few UI changes, and I don't think it had any bloatware apps preinstalled that I can remember.
Got an Asus Zenfone 8 and it's the best decision I could make. It has great specs and it's so convenient. The only downside is the camera which isn8as good as the camera you get in iphone or Galaxy devices, it's fairly good but not outstanding.
I've never had an Asus phone but i like their direction in nerd-ish niche (maybe not so niche after all?). Having an under 150mm phone with 120hz screen AND a 3.5mm audio jack? If I hadn't bought Xperia 5 iii not so long ago, I'd definetely consider Zenfone 9.
I have asus (rog) pc headphones and mouse and they're both well thought out and functional devices. Same with Asus Zypherus laptop I was looking at recently - 2k 120 hz screen, quite slim, sodimm ram slots, 180 degrees fold so you can use it with other monitor. Hopefully other dumbass vendors are going to compete with Asus
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