Here’s why ASUS suddenly shifted to Qualcomm chips for their new phones

A few days ago ASUS officially launched 4 new products in the PH: the Zenfone Selfie, Laser, Max and Zenfone 2 Deluxe at a gala event in Makati. Three of the new phones sport Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, an odd move from ASUS, considering that they’ve been a longtime partner of Intel who has been their customary silicon provider in the past. That quandry didn’t escape us as we sat down and talked with Jerry Shen, CEO of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

It seems like Intel’s current stock of processors are meant for the high-end spectrum, according to Mr. Shen. “For this year and next year, Intel’s performance is really, really good. But I think they cannot address the mainstream product. We try to provide the best user experience for the users. If I just support the high-end product, the premium product, it’s not good for most of the users,” he said.

“This time, we chose Intel for the high-end one, and Qualcomm for the Selfie, Laser and Max. We don’t give up Intel, but based on combination Qualcomm has the full spectrum, but Intel now can only support high-end now,” he adds.

Mr. Shen also said that ASUS is open to using Qualcomm Snapdragon and MediaTek chips for their high-end offerings, but everything depends on the reaction of their fans to the new offerings.

You can view our full interview with Mr. Shen above!