Our Zenfone 8 Flip video review is up

Unlike some companies Asus knows the value of making a phone available right after announcing it, before the excitement from the launch event cools off. The Zenfone 8 Flip should be available in multiple countries across Europe as of today. At least the Black color is, the Silver one is coming at the end of the month.

Of course, it’s always prudent to check out reviews before you hit the Buy button. Our written review of the Flip went live yesterday, now you can watch Will explain the ups and downs of the phone on video too.

Speaking of, ups and downs are the favorite party trick of the triple camera – it can come up to shoot high quality selfies with the main camera and can switch to the ultra wide module when you’re in a big group.

But how good are those cameras? The 8 Flip brings only a few hardware changes compared to last year’s model, the biggest being the Snapdragon 888 (replacing the 865). That offers more number crunching power for image processing, but the cameras use the same image sensors as the Zenfone 7. Like it (and unlike the 7 Pro) there’s no OIS on the main cam. At least there’s an actual telephoto lens, unlike the smaller Zenfone 8.

The Zenfone 8 Flip has a €800 price tag, which is a pretty good starting point, but launching this late means there is already a lot of S888-powered competition in this price range. None of them have a flip-up camera, of course.

And few keep the Android experience as clean as ZenUI. Asus did load a good deal of additional software, but that mostly plugs holes in Android’s stock experience. For example, you have elaborate controls over battery life and charging (or you can let the phone figure it out by itself). Asus has committed to two OS upgrades.

However, the Zenfone 8 runs the same software on the same Snapdragon 888. You can even get more RAM, up to 16 GB. The vanilla model just feels more premium with things like 120 Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus (vs. GG6), plus IP68 dust and water resistance. And it has room for a 3.5 mm headphone jack (though not a microSD slot).

Asus Zenfone 8 Flip next to the petite Zenfone 8

Keep in mind that the Zenfone 8 (also available as of this week) starts at €600 and has the appeal of a more compact (if not exactly small) phone. The Zenfone 8 Flip is quite a capable flagship, but as Will explains there are a few things you need to keep in mind.