This is just breaking and we will have full details within hours. Digitimes is reporting that the Zenfone 4 launch or unveil will be happening at the end of July. Taiwan would be the first market to get the Zenfone 4, with other Asian countries to follow.
The delay of the Zenfone 4 was largely due to “design overhaul and efficiency upgrades” according to Asus CEO Jerry Shen. We aren’t so sure but wasn’t the supply shortage and processor shortages part of the delay?
The Digitimes article states that the Zenfone 4 “will come with competitive prices”. This is an interesting suggestion. The article goes on to suggest the 5.5-inch model is going to have a price of below NT$15,000. We will have to look at the Zenfone 3 launch and the original pricing tiers to see if the Zenfone 4 is actually going to be priced the same or will it be lower. The fact is Asus has been quite adamant about not playing the race to the bottom game in terms of pricing.
Update: We looked back to the Zenfone 3 launch prices in Taiwan, and the flagship mainstream model was announced for NT$9,990. So the Digitimes article to suggest competitive prices and then mention NT$15,000 seems a bit contradictory at this point. Yes, they say “price of below” but NT$15,000 was the Taiwanese launch price of the Zenfone 3 Deluxe. At this point we can’t put a lot of trust in the pricing that Digitimes is reporting.
Apparently Asus will initially release a 5.5-inch model with other models to follow after that. We know about the Zenfone 4 Max (ZC554KL) but so far no details or leaks have emerged about the rest of the line-up. That is about to change.
An interesting nugget from the article is that Jerry Shen mentioned the Zenfone 5 possibly showing up at MWC 2018. That would be a first considering Computex is “the” show for Asus and their hardware showcase.
Shen shared the price of the Zenfone AR in the Taiwan market. It will cost NT$25,000. Do no simply convert this price into USD because that is not going to be accurate for the US pricing.
[source: Digitimes.com]