- Asus confirms there will be no new phones by 2026, leaving the Zenfone and ROG lines frozen indefinitely
- Smartphone profits shrink as users upgrade more slowly and hardware profits feel marginal
- Chinese brands are squeezing their margins, making annual phone launches risky for smaller brands
Asus has confirmed that it will stop producing new smartphone models, effectively freezing 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.
Stating that “Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future,” Shih avoided calling it a permanent departure, but his language points to an indefinite suspension rather than a temporary delay.
Market realities behind the decision
Asus has not outlined any concrete 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 device prices have slowed replacement cycles and consumers are holding on to their phones longer than before. For brands without dominant scale, this creates persistent profitability problems.
Asus operates outside the major volume leaders and faces intense competition from Chinese brands that release devices frequently and at lower margins.
Under these conditions, maintaining an annual release schedule becomes increasingly difficult.
Asus is not the first company to move away from smartphones under financial pressure. LG followed a similar path after years of losses, scaling back launches before shutting down its mobile division entirely.
No Android manufacturer that has stopped smartphone development has successfully returned on a large scale, as once 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 their competitors in software support commitments.
ROG Phones targeted a gaming-focused audience with advanced cooling, high-end processors, and distinctive accessories.
These devices were expensive and priced higher than mainstream models, although they served a relatively small customer base.
Limited upgrade warranties further reduced its appeal, especially for users looking for long-term reliability or business phones with predictable support life cycles.
Asus reported revenue growth driven largely by its AI server business, which expanded rapidly over the past year.
The company now plans to focus on artificial intelligence tools, including servers, robotics and smart wearable devices.
This change reflects a calculation that continued investment in enterprise phones offers weaker returns than emerging AI infrastructure markets.
Whether this strategy remains sustainable will depend on how saturated and competitive those AI segments become over time.
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