Asus-designed Qualcomm Snapdragon Insider Phone now up for pre-order

Qualcomm announced its Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders a couple of weeks back, the first device it has made especially for its newly created Snapdragon Insiders enthusiasts club. The US chip maker has partnered with Asus for this high-end niche product and for anyone that is keen, the device is now up for pre-order on the Asus website. Unfortunately, it is only available in select markets at this stage, although Qualcomm says it will expand availability in the coming weeks.

The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, the SoC found in most top-of-the-line handsets currently on the market. For some peculiar reason, however, it misses out on the slightly faster Snapdragon 888+. It is fitted with a whopping 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512 GB of ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage. The 144 Hz 6.78-inch Samsung OLED display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and is the same panel Asus has fitted to its ROG Phone 5.

The Asus influence continues on the rear with the triple camera set up which has been taken from its Zenfone 8 Flip. The wide-angle camera uses a Sony IMX686 64 MP sensor, this is joined by an ultra-wide angle Sony IMX363 12 MP sensor with the third sensor rate at 8 MP but paired with a 3x optical zoom lens. The only obvious shortcoming with the device is its 4,000 mAh battery, but it does come with a 65 Watt charger in the box.

The Smartphone for Snapdragon insiders is retailing for US$1,499 but this also includes a set of high-end Master & Dynamic MW08 TWS earbuds and a bumper case. Pre-orders are expected to ship by the end of August.

Buy an unlocked Asus Zenfone 8 powered by the Snapdragon 888 from Amazon for US$736.47, a saving of US$142.52.