ASUS unlocks Zenfone 9, allowing the developer community to create new Android versions for it

The Zenfone 9 is one of the most exciting smartphones of 2022, offering both top-notch performance and something other manufacturers have refused to bring to market in recent years: compact size. It seems ASUS is continuing with the good news about this model, already releasing the tools needed to unlock the phone’s bootloader, which thus allows the installation of different software from the factory one equipped with the ZenUI interface.

You can unlock your new Zenfone 9 with an official app from ASUS

Those who want more control over the software on their new Zenfone 9 now have the Unlock Device software, which can be downloaded from the official ASUS website. It takes up just 4.46 MB and offers the ability to unlock the device’s bootloader. Of course, those who have done this in the past know that unlocking the phone brings with it some advantages, but also some disadvantages.

The main advantage is that you can install another modified Android OS, such as LineageOS, or even a variant you developed yourself. The disadvantage is that some secure applications, such as banking, will no longer be allowed to run on this device. Software updates will have to be installed manually after unlocking, and the device warranty is voided.

In addition to the app that unlocks the bootloader, ASUS has also released source code for the phone’s kernel. So software developers will be able to use this code to make modified versions of Android compatible with the Zenfone 9.

Maybe it’s not such a good idea to drop the warranty now that the Zenfone 9 is new, nor the official software support that allows OTA updates. But after a few years, when the phone runs out of updates from ASUS, this could be a solution to keep the phone up to date with “custom” versions of Android made by the community. ASUS has only promised two years of system updates for its new compact flagship.