Did ASUS just put its phones on the bench to chase a bigger prize?
At its 2025 year‑end gathering in Taipei, chairman Jonney Shih made a clear call: ASUS will not expand its smartphone lineup in the near term and will push hard into AI-driven hardware and robotics. The announcement was part rallying cry, part strategic reset — and you can read the company’s own account in the ASUS press release.
A deliberate shift, not an abrupt exit
Shih framed the move as a response to a generational opportunity — “the powerful momentum of AI” — and said ASUS will go “all‑in” on what it calls Ubiquitous AI. That doesn’t mean the company is abandoning phones overnight: current users will still get support and after‑sales service. What’s changing is emphasis. Rather than adding new Zenfone or ROG models to chase volume in a saturated, margin‑tight smartphone market, ASUS will redirect resources into AI PCs, physical AI devices, robotics and AI glasses.
The year‑end event itself underscored the message: more than 8,000 employees attended a celebration focused on AI themes, and the company highlighted accolades from Fortune, Interbrand, Forbes and Time as evidence it’s prepared to compete on design and systems, not just handsets.
What ASUS is likely to prioritize
- AI‑first PCs and edge devices that run inference closer to users or machines
- Physical AI: robots, robotics platforms and integrated AI systems
- Wearables such as AI glasses that pair hardware design with on‑device models
- Enterprise‑grade AI servers and solutions for customers that need scale
This is less a retreat from mobile than a reallocation of growth bets: invest where long‑term margins and differentiation look stronger.
Why the move matters beyond ASUS
Hardware makers are rethinking product portfolios as AI becomes the central platform battleground. The push toward devices that blend local processing, sensors and specialized chips lines up with broader industry trends — Google is experimenting with agentic features inside devices in its AI Mode, and Microsoft is building image models like MAI‑Image‑1 to power richer on‑device and cloud experiences. For ASUS, the competitive moat may come from combining industrial design, system integration and its in‑house R&D bench rather than chasing smartphone marketshare.
For ASUS fans this means two practical realities: fewer new phone SKUs and more bets placed on specialized hardware categories. Gamers and mobile enthusiasts may find fewer ROG announcements in a given year, while creators, enterprises and developers may see more ASUS offerings aimed at accelerating AI workflows.
Risks and opportunities
Pivoting to physical AI and robotics opens high‑reward possibilities — but it’s not low risk. Robotics and enterprise AI demand long development cycles, different sales motions, and deeper partnerships with software and cloud providers. ASUS’s strength in design and long track record with PCs gives it runway, but execution will matter: turning prototypes into reliable, scalable products is harder than unveiling them on stage.
At the same time, the company’s strong brand recognition and recent honors (including repeat spots on Fortune and Interbrand lists) give it a credibility boost as it seeks to become a broader AI systems player.
The smartphone business won’t vanish from ASUS overnight, but the tilt is clear: fewer bets on quantity, more on products that combine hardware, AI models and systems engineering. The next year or two will show whether ASUS can translate that vision into machines that truly think for themselves — and whether the market rewards hardware makers who try.
The phones might sit still for now; the direction ASUS is pointing its R&D and marketing teams is anything but idle.