Asus chairman Jonney Shih says the company will pause smartphone launches indefinitely, citing market maturity and shifting focus to AI.
Asus has confirmed it is stepping away from the smartphone business, ending a long but increasingly fragile chapter in its consumer electronics portfolio. The company will not launch new phones in 2026 and has no fixed plans to return.
Chairman Jonney Shih disclosed the decision during Asus’ 2026 kickoff event in Taiwan.He said the company would stop adding new smartphone models and redirect resources toward emerging AI-driven products.Asus declined to comment earlier this month when reports first hinted at a pullback.Shih’s remarks now remove any ambiguity. While he did not rule out phones forever, he framed the decision as an open-ended pause rather than a temporary reset.A strategic retreatShih told attendees that Asus would shift focus toward artificial intelligence products, including robots and smart glasses. He emphasized long-term growth over maintaining an unprofitable category.“Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future,” Shih said, according to a report cited by Ars Technica. He added that the company would reassess only if market conditions changed.That change appears unlikely. Smartphone demand has slowed worldwide. Buyers upgrade less often. Prices continue to rise. Competition keeps intensifying.Asus once thrived by serving niche users. Over time, that strategy lost momentum. The company struggled to keep pace with larger rivals on software support, marketing scale, and pricing.Zenfone and ROG fadeAsus maintained two distinct smartphone lines. Neither proved sustainable.The Zenfone series targeted users who wanted smaller and more affordable phones. The devices delivered solid hardware but fell short on long-term software support. Update policies lagged far behind industry leaders.The ROG Phone line aimed at mobile gamers. These phones packed top-tier chips, active cooling, gaming accessories, and legacy features like headphone jacks. They also carried premium prices.The latest ROG Phone 9 Pro launched at $1,200. That price undercut its appeal. Many gamers preferred flagship iPhones or Samsung Galaxy devices instead.Asus guaranteed only two operating system updates for the ROG Phone 9 Pro, alongside five years of security patches. Recent Zenfone models fared worse.They received four years of security updates and the same two-version OS limit.These policies made Asus phones harder to justify in a crowded market.Asus follows a familiar pattern. Smartphone manufacturing has become unforgiving. Margins remain thin. Development costs keep rising.Chinese manufacturers now dominate global Android sales. Brands like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei release faster cycles and offer stronger regional support. Smaller players struggle to compete outside core markets.Asus once benefited from a more experimental era. The late 2000s and early 2010s welcomed bold designs. Keyboard sliders, projector phones, and hybrid devices found buyers. That era has ended.Smartphones now evolve incrementally. Annual upgrades deliver fewer visible gains. Consumers hold onto devices longer.History offers little optimism for a comeback.No Android brand has successfully returned after halting phone releases. LG provides a cautionary example. It scaled back launches, promised patience, then exited entirely.Asus may follow a similar path. The company appears comfortable with that outcome. It plans to invest where growth still exists.For phone buyers, the decision narrows an already shrinking field. For Asus, it reflects a business reality shaped by maturity, consolidation, and changing priorities.
Asus Mobile Industry ROG Phone Smartphone Market Zenfone
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