According to Digitimes, Asustek CEO Jerry Shen has predicted that the company’s smartphone shipments will see a quarter-on-quarter growth of between 25% and 35% during the second quarter of 2018, driven by sales of recent additions to its product mix, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone Max Pro.
ZenFone 5 was the best-selling smartphone in Taiwan during the second half of April, having launched earlier in the month. The device runs Android 8.0 and features AI technology, as well as a 6.2″ LCD screen with a 1080 x 2246 resolution, an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and 402 pixels per inch.
It’s powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor, with options for 4 or 6GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage, expandable with a microSD card up to 400GB. It also features a 12+8-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel internal camera.
Asus’ ZenFone 5.
Meanwhile, the ZenFone Max Pro is now available in India, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets, but won’t launch in Taiwan until early June, according to Shen. The handset runs Android 8.1, featuring a 5.99″ LCD display with a 1080 x 2160 resolution, an 18:9 aspect ratio and 402 pixels per inch.
Processor, RAM and ROM specs are identical to the ZenFone 5, except the Max Pro is also available in a cheaper edition with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. In terms of the device’s camera, the Max Pro comes with a 13+5-megapixel dual lens rear camera and an 8-megapixel internal camera, except the 6GB RAM model, which features a 16+5-megapixel rear camera and a 16-megapixel internal camera.
Asus’ ZenFone Max Pro.
Shen also revealed that demand for the ZenFone Max Pro has been higher than anticipated in India and Indonesia, indicating that production would be ramped up in time for the third quarter now that the company has secured a healthy supply of key components for the device. He also commented that the company will be revealing a high-end gaming smartphone at this year’s Computex exhibition, which takes place in Taipei, Taiwan between June 5th and 9th.
Asustek’s smartphone shipments are also expected to grow further with the release of the ZenFone 5Z, a higher-specced version of the ZenFone 5 with a Snapdragon 845 processor and up to 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage.
