A news report late last year indicated that Qualcomm is partnering with Asus to deliver Qualcomm-branded gaming phones. The US chip manufacturer indicated to us at the time that it was only a reference platform. Now it looks like the phone in question popped up online.
China’s TENAA regulator has released images showing an Asus Snapdragon smartphone (h / t: XDA developer), see above on this page. One of the pictures shows a phone with the Asus logo at the bottom on the back and the Snapdragon name and logo in the center. It also looks like the phone includes a back fingerprint scanner, though the file explicitly lists an in-display sensor.
The regulatory filing also lists several specifications, including a 6.78-inch OLED screen, a 2.84 GHz octa-core processor (allegedly the Snapdragon 888), a 3,840 mAh battery capacity (which given the display size seems small), 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of permanent storage. You also get a triple rear camera setup with a 64 MP camera and a 12 MP selfie snapper in the front. Interestingly, it also looks like there is a 3.5mm port on board according to the specs listed.
Read more: All Qualcomm Snapdragon processors explained
The TENAA list also shows a model number Asus_I007D, and XDA developer says this matches a device code-named VODKA referenced in the ROG Phone 5’s firmware. VODKA wasn’t the only device code name discovered at the time, as the point of sale says two devices called the SAKE and PICASSO were also discovered. However, the website states that the latter two devices launched as the Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip.
It’s worth noting that some of the specs are largely the same as the Vanilla Zenfone 8, such as the obvious inclusion of a 3.5mm port, a battery roughly the same as the Zenfone 8’s 4,000mAh pack, and the resolutions the main and selfie cameras. On the other hand, the Zenfone 8 had a dual rear camera system and a much smaller screen compared to this phone’s triple sensor layout. In any case, this is a very interesting listing.
Asus told Android Authority that it had no comment on the listing to share. We have also reached out to Qualcomm for a comment and will update the article if / if they get back to us.
