- Asus confirms no new phones for 2026 – leaving Zenfone and ROG lines frozen indefinitely
- Smartphone profits are falling as users upgrade more slowly, and hardware gains feel marginal
- Chinese brands are squeezing margins, making annual phone launches risky for smaller brands
Asus has confirmed that it will stop producing new smartphone models, effectively freezing both the Zenfone and ROG Phone product lines.
The company’s CEO Jonney Shih made the statement during a recent company event in Taiwan, clarifying that no new mobile phones are planned for 2026 and beyond.
Said, “Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future,” Shih avoided calling it a permanent exit, but its language points to an indefinite stop rather than a temporary delay.
The market realities behind the decision
Asus has not outlined any specific conditions under which smartphone development would resume, leaving the future of its mobile division uncertain.
The smartphone industry has reached a stage where annual hardware improvements rarely justify the cost of constant redesign and manufacturing.
Rising unit prices have slowed replacement cycles and consumers are holding on to phones longer than before. For brands without dominant scale, this creates ongoing profitability problems.
Operating outside the core volume leaders, Asus faces intense competition from Chinese brands that release devices frequently and at lower margins.
Under these conditions, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain an annual release schedule.
Asus is not the first company to step back from smartphones under financial pressure. LG followed a similar path after years of losses, reducing releases before shutting down its mobile division altogether.
No Android manufacturer that has paused smartphone development has successfully returned to scale, as when brand visibility declines and software support weakens, regaining consumer trust becomes costly and uncertain.
Zenfone devices focused on compact designs and modest prices, but fell behind competitors in software support commitments.
ROG phones catered to a gaming-focused audience with advanced cooling, advanced processors and distinctive accessories.
These devices were expensive, with prices exceeding mainstream flagships, while serving a relatively small customer base.
Limited update guarantees further reduced their appeal, especially for users seeking long-term reliability or business phones with predictable support lifecycles.
Asus reported revenue growth, mainly driven by its AI server business, which has grown rapidly over the past year.
The company now plans to concentrate on AI tools, including servers, robotics and smart wearables.
This shift reflects a calculation that continued investment in business phones yields weaker returns than emerging AI infrastructure markets.
Whether this strategy remains sustainable will depend on how crowded and competitive these AI segments become over time.
Via Arstechnica
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