It's Sunday: Pixel Fold reviews, Asus Zenfone 10, and Spider-Man
Catching up on some of the stuff that caught my eye this week, including some truly "amazing" iPhone cases.
Welcome to 4th of July weekend, everyone. If you aren’t from the United States, you’re probably unfamiliar with just how spectacular this holiday is. For that, I point you to History.com.
For everyone else, we’ve got a four-day weekend ahead of us, and I’m taking full advantage of it. Before I dive head-first into all the festivities, I wanted to jump back into your inbox and share some of the stuff the tech world’s been talking about this week.
Google Pixel Fold reviews are out
You probably heard that Pixel Fold reviews went live. Many of my tech buddies have review units, and they all seemed to like it, but only to an extent. Certain hardware quirks like a crackling hinge (and, in some cases, dead pixels) have convinced reviewers it might be worth waiting until the next geernation before buying a foldable Made By Google, while others can’t help but obsess over its fast performance and excellent cameras. It’s a mixed bag for a lot of folks, especially since it costs the same as a Galaxy Z Fold 4 at $1,799.
I’m still waiting to get my review unit, although now that my good friend Jason Cipriani has published his review at the same place I planned to publish mine (CNN Underscored, which you should go read after you’re done here), it might be a little while before my unit hits my doorstep. Alas, I look forward to eventually getting my hands on it. I’ve longed for a foldable Pixel phone for quite some time, and now that there’s one out in the wild, I’ll do everything I have to to get one in my possession.
Wish me luck.
In the meantime, here are some more reviews from my friends and folks I watch/read regularly:
(If you’re a tech reporter and I missed your review, let me know! DM me on Twitter and I’ll update the list. I’d love to feature as many folks as possible!)
The compact Zenfone makes a return
In the midst of all this foldable talk, a phone with no hinge or flexible screen managed to grab everyone’s attention: the Asus Zenfone 10.
The Zenfone 9 from last year generated a ton of buzz, primarily thanks to its size. Asus gave it a 5.9-inch screen that, by today’s standards, is basically unheard of. Coupled with flagship specs, reliable battery life, decent cameras, and clean software, the phone was received well by both critics and general consumers alike.
There’s a far cry out in the distance from folks who want a compact flagship phone, and it looks like Asus wants to be the one to give it to them. Apple tried and failed with the iPhone mini series, while Google’s Pixel 7a remains the closest thing you can get to a high-end compact phone. The Zenfone is quintessentially a flagship phone in a small body, and for another generation, plenty of people will perk up when they find out about it.
You’ve got it all in the Zenfone 10. The 5.9-inch OLED display has a 1080p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate (which peaks at 144Hz when gaming), 1,100 nits of brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Under the hood is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, backed by up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The battery is still 4,300mAh and supports 30W fast charging, and—to the delight of many—there’s still a headphone jack on the bottom.
Asus carries over the 50MP f/1.9 camera from the Zenfone 9, which can produce decent-quality photos but nothing that’ll blow you away. (Shout-out to Ron Amadeo at Ars Technica for pointing out it’s the Sony IMX766 sensor, which was used in the OnePlus 9 in 2021.) It’s coupled with a 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide with a 120-degree field of view, while a 32MP selfie shooter graces the front.
The Zenfone 10 has an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, and it’ll work on AT&T and T-Mobile but not Verizon (for… whatever reason). It’s powered by Android 13 with Asus’ light customizations on top, and the company says it’s promising two years of software upgrades (not great at all, but what are you gonna do).
There’s a lot to like about the Zenfone 10, but you have to wonder who’s gonna buy it. Asus isn’t exactly the most popular smartphone brand in the United States, let alone in the rest of the world, accounting for 0.26 percent of the global smartphone market. It’ll be a diamond in the rough for those who want a phone under 6 inches that runs Android, and for everyone else, they may never even hear of it.
We’ll get to see how well the U.S. responds to the phone when it launches in the coming months (it’s launching first in Europe by the end of July). It’s expected to be priced somewhere around $872 if its €799 price point is any indication.
Something fun
CASETiFY hooked me up with some of their new iPhone and AirPods cases featuring everyone’s favorite web-slinger, Spider-Man. I just saw Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse this past Monday, and I’ve been on a bit of a high thinking about how good the movie was, so it was awesome to get these a few days later in the mail (in such a cool package, nonetheless.)
It’s an understatement to say I’m a fan of these cases. Not only will they protect your phone well (CASETiFY has a solid reputation when it comes to durability), but you get to show off your love for Spidey in a really cool way with these reflective designs. The AirPods case is equally as dope and will help protect your buds from accidental drops (something I’ve recently discovered I’m very prone to).
This isn’t sponsored or anything, by the way. These cases were simply too cool not to plug.
If you wanna pick one up for your iPhone, you can grab them on CASETiFY’s website. For a full breakdown of all the new Spider-Man accessories in the company’s lineup, Rikka Altland has a great piece up on 9to5Toys.
Shameless plug
My review of the quirky-but-cool ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 from Lenovo:
