End of an era: Asus to quit making smartphones, focus on PCs and AI instead

You read the title right — and this isn’t a rumor or speculation. It’s confirmed: Asus will not be releasing any new smartphone models moving forward, at least temporarily. The announcement came from Asus Chairman Jonney Shih during the company’s year-end employee gathering at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre.

Asus to Shift R&D Resources to PCs and AI

With its smartphone business winding down, Asus plans to refocus its efforts on commercial PCs and the emerging realm of Physical AI. This includes developing intelligent systems such as smart machines, robotics, and edge computing devices designed to operate with minimal human intervention.

ROG Phone 9 Series and Zenfone 12 Ultra Could Be Asus’ Final Smartphones

That said, the gaming-centric ROG Phone 9 series, along with the Zenfone 12 Ultra, may be the last smartphones released by the Taiwanese tech giant. Launched in late 2024, the ROG Phone 9 and Phone 9 Pro remain among the few flagship gaming smartphones on the market, competing with Nubia’s RedMagic series.

Beyond the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset under the hood, the ROG Phone 9 series features gaming-focused hardware such as LTPO AMOLED displays with up to 185Hz refresh rates, capacitive shoulder triggers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s even a mini-LED matrix display hidden in the back cover, capable of showing essential information and running mini-games.

For users seeking a “cleaner” flagship experience, Asus released the Zenfone 12 Ultra in early 2025. It retains the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and headphone jack, paired with a 144Hz LTPO AMOLED display.

Around the same period, Asus also introduced the more budget-friendly ROG Phone 9 FE, which sacrifices the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a slightly smaller battery, and a reduced AniMe Vision back cover micro-LED count, offering a more accessible entry point into Asus’ gaming ecosystem.

The End of an Era

Asus’ decision echoes similar exots by once-prominent smartphone players such as LG, which officially left the smartphone market in 2021, and Nokia, which has struggled to remain relevant in the smartphone market after its decline. Like LG before it, Asus leaves behind a legacy of experimentation and differentiation — from gaming-focused hardware to features other brands abandoned long ago.

While this move may disappoint longtime fans of the ROG Phone and Zenfone lineups, it reflects a broader industry reality: surviving in the smartphone market has become increasingly difficult without massive scale.

For Asus, the pivot toward AI, robotics, and intelligent computing mirrors the path taken by other tech veterans that chose to evolve rather than compete in an unforgiving smartphone landscape. The smartphone era may be closing for Asus, but its next chapter — much like LG’s reinvention beyond phones — is only just beginning.

[ SOURCE, VIA ]

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