Asus has postponed the India launch of its upcoming Zenfone 8 series due to the current surge in COVID-19 circumstances in the nation. The series was supposed to launch in India alongside worldwide markets on May 12. While the worldwide launch timeline remains unchanged, Asus will launch its next gen flagship phone(s) in India when the present circumstance improves.
“While we have been very excited to launch our new smartphones at same time as global, Asus India’s top priority in these challenging times is the safety of our customers, partners, employees and all other stakeholders in the fight against the virus,” Dinesh Sharma, Business Head, Commercial Computer and Smartphone, System Business Group, Asus India stated in a statement.
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Asus had been releasing most of its smartphones in India at the very same time as worldwide markets more than the last handful of generations. It had launched the ROG Phone 5 series in the nation in March similarly. That Asus was arranging to launch the Zenfone 8 series in India comes as a surprise even though, given that the Zenfone 7 series was not launched in India.
“We have consciously decided to defer the launch until the current scenario improves. On behalf of the entire Asus India family, we urge you to stay indoors, practice social distancing and help each other combat this crisis until we emerge stronger and in a safer environment,” Sharma added.
Sources privy of the matter told TheSpuzz Online that the Zenfone 7 series (which consisted of Zenfone 7, Zenfone 7 Pro) was not launched in India for the reason that it would have competed against the ROG Phone 3 in a lot of the specs (aside from the cameras) which is why Asus chose to not bring it to the nation at all. With the upcoming Zenfone 8 series, Asus has a more differentiated spec sheet to supply and therefore it ought to make more sense for this increasingly competitive industry.
Although not explicitly highlighted by the brand, the Zenfone 8 series will have each a normal flagship and one that would employ the brand’s one-of-its-type flip camera strategy, according to many reports. The Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 6 series only had “flip” solutions — the latter was launched in India as the Asus 6Z.
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