The Zenfone 5 may be coming out as early as March 2018. Despite just launching the Zenfone 4 line in Europe, ASUS has already announced some of its plans for the next-generation smartphone.

The upcoming phone could release in March 2018 at the earliest, according to company CEO Jerry Shen. This follows a similar timeline as other smartphone companies like Samsung and LG.

ASUS usually releases new smartphones in April or May of each year but the unavailability of mid-range Snapdragon processors delayed this year's event to August.

The Zenfone 4 has several phones in its lineup: Zenfone 4, Zenfone 4 Pro, Zenfone 4 Max, Zenfone 4 Selfie, Zenfone 4 Selfie Dual Camera and Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro. It is expected that the Zenfone 5 will similarly have a variety of devices.

Going by the assumption that next year's Zenfone 5 release will be better than this year's Zenfone 4, users can study the current ASUS flagship to estimate what they will be seeing come 2018. Information for the Zenfone 5's models are scarce but there are existing reports about the Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 4 Max.

Both carry Android 7.1.1 Nougat, which means the Zenfone 5 may carry Android 8.0 Oreo, which is Android's latest offering. They also have 5.5-inch displays, although the Zenfone 4 has a 1920 x 1800-pixel resolution, while the Zenfone 4 Max only has 1280 x 720 pixels.

The Zenfone 4 carries a Snapdragon 630 processor while the Max is loaded with Snapdragon 430. Both are octa-core processors. Both phones' random-access memory (RAM) is at 4 GB, although the Zenfone 4 has twice the Max's base internal storage at 64 GB.

The Zenfone 4 has a fingerprint scanner, whereas the Max does not. It also has stereo speakers and hi-res audio support, while the Max only has a mono speaker. Neither are waterproof nor support wireless charging.

The Max has the upper hand when it comes to the battery as it is loaded with 5,000 mAh, while the Zenfone 4 only has 3,300 mAh.

The Asus Zenfone 4 will go on sale starting Oct. 6.