Asus delays launch of ZenFone 4 series until July end to slot in more efficient specs, design

There were rumours that Asus would unveil three new ZenFone models at Computex in May, but that never happened. At a time when enthusiastic consumers are busy guessing when the new ZenFone 4 series will finally be unleashed, the company's CEO Jerry Shen has reportedly shared a new ETA with a plausible reason for the delay.

According to Shen, the company will launch the ZenFone 4 series by the end of July, nearly three months after the original schedule. The reason he gave for the delay was to incorporate a design overhaul and more efficient specification upgrades, DigiTimes reported.

The upcoming ZenFone 4 series will initially include a 5.5-inch model, which will be priced below $500 in Taiwan. It will be followed by new variants with different screen sizes; however details about their specs are currently not available.

Although Shen expects the ZenFone 4 series' competitive pricing to revive the company's struggling smartphone business starting the third quarter of this year, he still thinks that Asus' smartphone operations will continue to suffer net operating losses in the first half of 2017.

However, towards the end of 2017, the company's business will start coming back on track, Shen said, adding that Asus would unveil next-generation ZenFone 5 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in 2018.

Asus also recently revealed release details for the second-generation Google Project Tango-phone Zenfone AR. The device will be released first in the company's home market Taiwan in mid-June, and later in the U.S. in July.

Last month, the company also launched an entry-level smartphone called Zenfone Live for Rs. 9,999 in India. The phone comes with a 5.0-inch HD display, Android Marshmallow OS, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 13MP camera with f/2.0 aperture and a 2,650mAh battery.