Asus Zenfone 9 is now receiving the Android 13 update

Back in November Asus unveiled its official Android 13 update timeline, and the first device slated to get it was the Zenfone 9, which was supposed to receive the new software in December. That has now happened today, with multiple reports coming in from Zenfone 9 owners from a bunch of countries over on Reddit.

We can also confirm that the rollout is underway, as one of our review units has already been updated. Unlike other companies, Asus stages its rollouts by serial number, not by country or territory, so it's basically all luck of the draw - you can't really anticipate when yours will get it. It might help to manually check, however, since that's how we got it. There was no notification but once we did manually check, we were instantly updating.

Asus Zenfone 9 running Android 13

The new build is labeled WW_33.0804.2060.65, and it includes the December 5, 2022 security patch level. Can't get more current than that. Asus' ZenUI has remained very close to stock Android, especially in looks, though it does offer some handy additions of its own here and there. Nothing too custom, though, and the overall feel of the UI is eerily similar to what you'd get on a Pixel.

The changelog is miles long so we won't bore you with it here. We will however mention that after updating you'll get offered a quick tutorial mentioning some of the new features. This seems to have been made by Google, but it's impossible to tell for sure.

Android 13 tutorial

It highlights the new notification permission, cross-device copy and paste, increased privacy when it comes to apps' media access, the new media player with a dancing playback bar and full display album artwork, and the ability to assign different languages to different apps.

The next Asus devices in line to receive the Android 13 update are the Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip, which will get it next month.