The news about the Zenfone 4 launch being delayed came our a week or two ago. At first glance this may seem like a big problem. However when you consider the previous Zenfone series release dates vs. announcements, perhaps the news isn’t so bad.
According to Asus executives, a shortage of supplies has resulted in them having to push back the Zenfone 4 release date. The original release date was going to be April or May, but now it’s going to be released in June or July.
Here’s the thing. Asus was not going to be release the Zenfone 4 prior to the big Computex 2017 show which is essentially the last week of May, first week of June. Often Asus has their event on June 1. So unless Asus was going to bring out the Zenfone 4 prior to Computex 2017, then the schedule is not that far off from previous years.
With Computex being the unveiling show for Asus, that usually meant pre orders would begin in Taiwan who get to buy the new phones a month or months ahead of all other markets. So I think the headline of the Zenfone 4 delay is more directed to their Taiwan release date. Of course there could be a trickle down effect so if Taiwan is delayed, then each other market will be delayed down the line.
The question we are asking is whether the North American market will be sitting idle though the Spring and Summer and getting their pre orders in September with models being sold in around October. The Zenfone 3 rollout to North America was tedious according to many consumers who were eager to get their hands on the new Zenfone 3 series.
So ultimately if you ask people living in North America, the Zenfone 3 release date was delayed. If anything, the North American market can hope for a quicker release date than last years Zenfone 3. With Asus being on record as saying they are focused on sales with the Zenfone 4, then they certainly need to come in during the summer months and not the fall months.
Asus may have a better idea with the Zenfone 4 in terms of what models are going to sell out and they can ensure a more reliable supply of materials. Asus CEO Jerry Shen stated that with the Zenfone 3 Deluxe, the company didn’t have enough materials because they didn’t expect their most expensive and premium model to be in such high demand.
[source: China Post, Taipei Times]
