Asus ZenFone 5 Series Launch Expected at MWC 2018

Alongside HMD Global, Samsung, Sony, and Xiaomi, Asus is all set to arrive at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The Taiwanese company has released an invitation for its MWC conference that is scheduled for February 27. The official invitation hints the launch of the ZenFone 5 series by featuring #BACKTO5 hashtag. It also features a "We Love Photo" tag that was originally used at the time of launching the ZenFone 4 family last year and sports Qualcomm Snapdragon branding.

The MWC 2018 keynote by Asus will take place at 7:30pm CET on February 27 (12am IST, February 28). It will be live-streamed on the company's official site.

Last week, a suspicious Asus smartphone with model number ASUS_X00QD received a certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance. The handset runs Android 8.0 Oreo and comes with a dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, as per the certification. It also appears to come with features, such as Wi-Fi Direct and Miracast support. Moreover, the handset is rumoured to be unveiled as the Asus ZenFone 5 Max, the successor of the last year's ZenFone 4 Max.

Asus is also in rumours for developing the ZenFone 5 Lite that recently received a certification in Russia. That model is expected to feature a 6-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio and a Snapdragon SoC.

Earlier this month, Asus brought the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) to the US as its newest ZenFone Max entrant. The smartphone will be available starting next month at a price of $229 (approximately Rs. 14,500). It features a full-HD+ display and a dual camera setup on the back that both are likely to be the key trends in the next ZenFone range.

Apart from the new announcement by Asus, this year's MWC is expected to bring the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, Sony Xperia XZ Pro, and Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S. HMD Global is also in the headlines for preparing a new Nokia lineup for the forthcoming MWC that is likely to include the Nokia 1, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 (2018), and Nokia 9.