An unconfirmed report earlier this month suggested that Asus was scaling back its smartphone plans, but the company declined to comment at the time. Asus Chairman Johnny Shih has now confirmed the closure of its smartphone business during an event in Taiwan. Instead, Asus will focus on AI products like robots and smart glasses.
Shih addressed the company’s future plans during a 2026 kick-off event in Taiwan, Inside reports. “Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future,” Shih (machine translated) said.
So don’t expect a new ZenFone or ROG Phone from Asus in 2026. That said, very few phone buyers were eyeing the latest Asus phone anyway, which is probably why Asus is postponing it. Shih isn’t saying Asus will never release a new phone, but the company will take an “indefinite wait and see” approach. Again, this is a translation and can be interpreted in many ways.
The Zenfone line can’t be ignored – its claim to fame was that it was slightly smaller and cheaper than competing devices, but Asus’s support and update policy lagged behind the market leaders. The ROG Phone line has been prominent in the gaming phone sector, offering the latest chipsets with active cooling, multiple USB-C ports, game controller accessories, blinking lights, and even a headphone jack. However, ROG Phones are more expensive than even Samsung’s flagship devices, with the latest ROG Phone 9 Pro starting at $1,200. Obviously, the market for people who aren’t happy gaming on the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy is very small.
Existing Asus devices should continue to receive updates, but Asus never made headway there. The extremely expensive ROG Phone 9 Pro is guaranteed with only two OS updates and five years of security patches. The latest Zenphones are also only eligible for two Android version updates, but they only get four years of security support.
a tough business
Shih’s comments imply that Asus won’t get back into the phone game unless something changes, and that’s unlikely. Asus isn’t the first OEM to drop phone plans, and it’s a continuation of a trend that’s been going on for years as people upgrade phones less frequently.
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