Based on discussions with several Asus PH execs and multiple sources who wants to remain anonymous, we’ve got the most up-to-date details on the Zenfone 2 like the exact variants, their release dates and their expected retail prices.
We earlier got a confirmation from Asus Philippines that two models of the Zenfone 2 will be release in May. These are the ZE500CL and the ZE551ML (see here).
Check our Asus Zenfone 2 Review.
However, there are three variants of the ZE551ML model (55 means 5.5-inch, 1 means FHD; 0 means HD).
The specific variant of the ZE551ML will be the 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and 1.8GHz CPU.
The other variants of the ZE551ML will not be released in May (our initial info is May 10). The 4GB, 2.3GHz with 64GB storage is pushed for a later date (perhaps Q3 of 2015). The 32GB variant might not be even released in the Philippines at all, just like the ZE550ML.
The pricing is as follows:
The prices were provided to us by a 3rd-party source and is very close to the SRP when it was announced in Taiwan last month. I also had a conversation with an Asus executive last Tuesday (during the T300 Chi event) that a Php2,000 difference between model/variants is the ideal so there is no overlap.
A source familiar to the industry shared with us that Asus PH is experimenting on the Zenfone 2 variants. They wanted to know if the interest is driven more by hype or by specs. If it’s hype, then a ZE551ML with 2GB RAM/1.8GHz CPU under the Zenfone 2 label will be enough to drive sales targets. That’s probably the reason why the 4GB/2.3GHz variant is scheduled for a later date.
According to an Asus executive, they requested an initial shipment of 300,000 units of the Zenfone 2 for the first release. Asus managed to sell over 250,000 units of the Zenfone 4, 5 and 6 last year (including other variants of the Zenfone 5). That’s more than double their initial target of 100,000 units in 2014.
Another source told us Asus PH is still generating as much as Php70 million in revenue a month for the Zenfone 4/5/6 sales until today. That’s about 10,000 to 12,000 units per month, 10 months after it was released in the Philippines.
* Please note that the accuracy of these details is not 100% guaranteed as they can still change as we approach the launch date. As of the moment, these are the best details we can get. Asus might change them prior to the official launch. If everything goes as planned, the details we shared here (especially the SRP) can be another shock to the local mobile industry.
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