Asus Zenfone 11 Compact Wishlist: Things we want to see

Asus stuck gold with the Zenfone 8 back in 2021. It was compact, it sported a flagship processor, and it was relatively affordable. Then things got even better with the Zenfone 9. Asus added a cool gimbal-like camera stabilization and even cooler design and materials. The Zenfone 10 added wireless charging for what was one of the most complete compact Android packages on the market. Praised by behemoths such as MKBHD, by the way.

So, instead of a rehashed ROG phone, we would love to see the Zenfone 11 Compact go back to its innovative and compact roots. We want a small footprint and some exotic materials on the back, like faux leather or wood (kudos to Motorola for being brave enough to try this).

The two huge camera rings from the 9 and 10 series should morph into something different, we would love to see something in the style of the LG Velvet.

Asus normally includes a charger in the retail box, as well as a back cover, so there are no complaints on that front.

Moving to the display, we hope for a sub-6-inch panel, just like with the previous generations. A flat 5.9-inch AMOLED should be perfect, and actually, when launching the Zenfone 9 and 10, Asus showed an elaborate study to prove that this was the perfect size. Well, get back to it, then!

We're into the LTPO era now, and a variable refresh rate is a must, especially on a flagship phone. We know that high refresh rates are Asus' forte, thanks to the gaming division, so we don't see any problems getting a 1-144Hz LTPO panel on the Zenfone 11 Compact. And given the fact that the Zenfone 11 Ultra stands in the top 3 of the brightest phones we've ever tested, we wish the compact version would retain that, too.

In terms of biometrics, the Zenfone 9 and 10 have the fastest side-mounted fingerprint scanners we've ever tested on a phone. We don't know how Asus did this, but it's almost surreal, and sometimes it feels like the phone unlocks before your finger touches the scanner. We want that on the Zenfone 11 Compact!

Well, let's be greedy and ask for a triple camera system. The Galaxy S24, for example, has three cameras on its back and is only marginally bigger than the Zenfone 10 (a couple of millimeters here and there).

There's nothing wrong with the sensors Asus has been using over the years, they are Sony, and some of them have even been used in iPhones. Asus should, however, focus on post-processing algorithms and getting up to speed with AI (as it's the rage nowadays).

We would like a nice 50MP main camera with a large aperture (or, why not, a variable one?). We could do with a 12MP ultrawide, but if we're getting a dedicated telephoto, let it be at least 48MP and 3x optical. We know a periscope system on a compact phone is nonsense, but a regular one could also do the job.

This is a no-brainer. If there's a Zenfone 11 Compact tucked away in some secret lab, it must have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 onboard. There's a good point in favor of the latest 8s Gen 3, as it's more energy efficient and not so slow (some compare it to the Gen 2, some to Gen 1).

12GB of RAM should be enough, but if Asus decides to go ballistic and offer a 16GB/1TB version, we'll be more than happy to use such a model.

The Zenfone 9 and 10 both kept the headphone jack, so we would expect the Zenfone 11 Compact to have one as well. We don't buy the old excuse that there's no space for such a port, as we've seen one on the LG G3 way back in the day, and this phone is only 8.9 mm thick. We can do without a microSD card, though, as onboard and cloud storage are more than enough nowadays.

As Elon Musk once said, you can break the laws of society, but you can't break the laws of physics. The Zenfone 10 comes with a 4,300mAh battery, which is quite big for its size. However, manufacturers (such as Honor, for example) now use silicon-carbon batteries to expand the capacity even further, and we have 5,600mAh batteries on a very thin flagship phone. We wish Asus would explore this technology and give the Zenfone 11 Compact a 4,600mAh battery, or even bigger.

Who wouldn't buy such a nice compact flagship? Well, it really depends on the price, doesn't it? If the Zenfone 11 Compact costs $1000, nobody will touch it. Conversely, if the phone mimics the price of the previous compact flagships of the company, say, landing at $799 or even $699, it will be an absolute bargain.

But first of all, Asus - please make the Zenfone 11 Compact, will you? What do you think about it? Would you buy the Asus Zenfone 11 Compact?