Other x86 Android phones besides Asus Zenfone: models and how to check
By Daniel Brooks Updated 11 min read
On this page (8 sections)
- The short version
- x86 Android phones that existed before Intel quit
- Why Intel walked away from mobile processors
- How to identify if an Android phone uses x86 architecture
- Compatibility considerations for x86 Android devices
- When x86 architecture mattered and when it doesn't
- What to do if you own an x86 Android phone now
- Questions people still ask
In short: Beyond Asus Zenfone models, no major x86 Android phones are currently manufactured. Intel exited mobile chips in 2016. A handful of older devices from Lenovo, Samsung, and Motorola used Intel Atom processors between 2012 and 2016, but they're now outdated and unsupported.
Part of our guide on phone keeps rebooting android
Intel abandoned Android phones in 2016, leaving Asus Zenfone as the last widely sold x86 device and a small graveyard of forgotten models.
| Active x86 models | Zero in production |
|---|---|
| Intel mobile exit | 2016 |
| Asus Zenfone x86 models | Zenfone 2, 5, 6 (2014-2016) |
| Architecture check | CPU-Z app or ADB shell |
| App compatibility | 90%+ now ARM-native |
The short version
- Intel stopped making mobile processors in 2016, ending new x86 Android phone production
- Lenovo K900, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, and Motorola RAZR i used Intel Atom chips
- Check your phone's architecture with CPU-Z app or the getprop command in terminal
- Most apps now support ARM, making x86 compatibility less critical than it was
- Buying used x86 Android devices means no security updates and limited app support
x86 Android phones that existed before Intel quit
Say you're hunting for an x86 Android phone to run a specific emulator or old Windows app through virtualization. You'll find the Asus Zenfone 2, Zenfone 5, and Zenfone 6 mentioned everywhere, but the trail goes cold after that. Intel made a serious push into mobile between 2012 and 2016, partnering with several manufacturers. Then the company cancelled its mobile processor line and walked away.
Lenovo shipped the K900 in 2013, a flagship with a 5.5-inch screen and an Intel Atom Z2580. It sold mainly in China and a few Asian markets. Samsung released the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (GT-P5210) with an Intel Atom Z2560 in 2013, a tablet rather than a phone. Motorola launched the RAZR i (XT890) in Europe in 2012, one of the earliest Intel-powered Android devices with a single-core Atom Z2460.
A few other devices appeared in limited regions: the Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 tablets, both with Intel Atom processors, and the Acer Liquid C1, a budget phone sold in Thailand and a handful of Southeast Asian countries. None of these reached wide distribution. Most carriers and retailers ignored them.
All of these devices are eight to twelve years old. They run Android 4.x or 5.x at best, with no security patches since 2017 or earlier. Finding one in working condition means scouring eBay or local classifieds, and even then you're buying a phone that can't install most modern apps. The hardware still functions, but the software ecosystem moved on. The other half of this decision is how to get notifications on android.
Why Intel walked away from mobile processors
Intel spent billions trying to compete with ARM in the mobile space. The company subsidized manufacturers to use its chips, paying them to offset the cost difference and technical integration work. Despite the money, Intel couldn't solve the fundamental problem: its x86 architecture consumed more power than ARM for the same tasks.
ARM chips are designed from the ground up for battery-powered devices. They use a RISC instruction set that requires fewer transistors and less energy per operation. Intel's x86 chips, built for desktops and servers, carried decades of backward compatibility and complexity. That meant higher heat output and shorter battery life, even when Intel tuned the designs for mobile.
By 2016, Intel's mobile division was losing money on every chip sold. The subsidies weren't converting manufacturers or consumers, and ARM's performance gap had closed. Qualcomm, Samsung, and MediaTek dominated the market. Intel announced it would stop developing new mobile SoCs and focus on modems and other components instead. We cover android phone network name setup in its own article.
The decision killed any chance of new x86 Android phones. Asus released the last Zenfone x86 models in early 2016, and no manufacturer has shipped one since. Without a supplier, the architecture disappeared from the market.
How to identify if an Android phone uses x86 architecture
You need to check the processor's instruction set, which Android doesn't show in the default settings. The easiest method is installing CPU-Z, a free app that reads hardware details directly from the kernel. Open the app, tap the SoC tab, and look at the Instruction Sets line. An x86 phone will show x86 or x86_64. An ARM phone shows armeabi-v7a, arm64-v8a, or both.
If you prefer a command-line check, enable Developer Options by tapping the build number seven times in Settings > About Phone. Then turn on USB Debugging under Developer Options. Connect the phone to a computer, open a terminal, and run adb shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi. The output will be x86, x86_64, armeabi-v7a, or arm64-v8a. We cover how to locate android phone in its own article.
A third method works without installing anything: open the Play Store, search for an app you know is ARM-only (many games and benchmarks specify this in their descriptions), and try to install it. If the Play Store says your device is incompatible, check the developer's description. When it lists only ARM architectures, your phone might be x86. This method is indirect and less reliable.
The instruction set matters because some older apps and emulators were compiled only for ARM. An x86 phone translates ARM code on the fly using a binary translator called libhoudini or libndk, which adds overhead and sometimes breaks compatibility. Most apps now ship with both ARM and x86 binaries, so the gap has narrowed.
- Install CPU-Z from the Play Store (free, no account required).
- Open the app and tap the SoC tab at the top.
- Look at the Instruction Sets line: x86 or x86_64 confirms an Intel processor.
- Compare this with the Cores and Architecture fields to identify the exact chip model.
Compatibility considerations for x86 Android devices
An x86 Android phone runs most apps without trouble, but gaps appear with games, custom ROMs, and anything that includes native ARM libraries. When an app developer compiles code for ARM only, the phone's binary translator tries to convert it in real time. This works for simple apps but fails or crashes with complex 3D engines, video codecs, and low-level hardware access. The other half of this decision is how to free android space.
Google's Play Store filters apps by architecture, so you won't see incompatible apps in search results. That sounds helpful until you realize you're missing options. A popular game might have ten million downloads on ARM devices but never appear on your x86 phone. You'll only notice when a friend recommends an app and you can't find it.
Custom ROMs are another problem. LineageOS, Pixel Experience, and most community-built Android versions focus on ARM devices. No maintainers actively support x86 phones because the user base is too small. You're stuck with the stock ROM and whatever updates the manufacturer shipped, which stopped years ago for every x86 model.
Security is the biggest risk. Android patches vulnerabilities every month, but your x86 phone likely hasn't seen an update since 2016 or 2017. That leaves you exposed to every exploit discovered in the last seven to ten years. Banking apps, password managers, and two-factor authentication codes are all at risk on an unpatched device.
On the other hand, x86 architecture offers one niche advantage: better compatibility with x86 Linux apps if you install a terminal or chroot environment. You can run some desktop Linux software natively, though performance is limited by the phone's CPU and the lack of a proper desktop interface. This appeals to developers and tinkerers, but it's not a reason to choose x86 for daily use.
- Games and emulators: many ship ARM-only binaries, causing crashes or preventing installation entirely on x86 devices
- Video and audio codecs: hardware acceleration often fails on x86 because drivers expect ARM instruction sets
- Custom ROMs: virtually no active development for x86 phones, leaving you with outdated stock firmware
- Security patches: all x86 Android phones stopped receiving updates by 2017, exposing you to known vulnerabilities
When x86 architecture mattered and when it doesn't
Picture the Android landscape in 2013. Most apps were written in Java and ran on the Dalvik virtual machine, which made them architecture-agnostic. The few apps with native ARM code would fail on x86 phones, but Google introduced libhoudini to translate ARM binaries on the fly. For a while, x86 Android phones worked well enough, and Intel's marketing promised better performance than ARM.
The promise fell apart when mobile gaming exploded. Unity and Unreal Engine games compiled native libraries for speed, and most developers targeted ARM because it represented 99% of the market. An x86 phone could translate simple games, but anything with physics, shaders, or multiplayer netcode would stutter or crash. By 2015, app compatibility had become the main complaint in Asus Zenfone forums.
Today, the question is almost moot. ARM dominates so completely that no new x86 Android devices exist. If you're choosing a phone in 2026, it's ARM. The only reason to care about x86 is if you're evaluating a used phone or trying to understand why an old device won't install a specific app.
One scenario still matters: running Android in virtual machines or emulators on a PC. An x86 Android image performs better than ARM emulation on an Intel or AMD desktop because there's no instruction-set translation. Developers testing apps on x86 Android VMs save time, but this is a development tool, not a consumer device question.
What to do if you own an x86 Android phone now
If you already own an Asus Zenfone or one of the rarer x86 models, treat it as a limited-use device rather than your primary phone. Keep it off public Wi-Fi and avoid logging into accounts with sensitive data, because the outdated software exposes you to attacks. Use it for offline tasks: music playback, e-books, a dedicated camera, or testing apps in a controlled environment.
You can extend its usefulness by sideloading APKs compiled for x86. Some open-source projects on F-Droid and GitHub still build x86 versions of their apps. Download the APK directly, enable installation from unknown sources, and install manually. This bypasses the Play Store's filtering and gives you access to apps that would otherwise be hidden.
Consider installing a lightweight custom ROM if one exists for your model. XDA Developers forums occasionally host builds for discontinued devices, maintained by hobbyists. These ROMs won't have the latest Android version, but they remove bloatware and sometimes include newer security patches backported by the community. Check the forum for your exact model number before flashing anything.
When the phone finally stops meeting your needs, replace it with a modern ARM device. Trying to stretch an x86 phone into 2026 means living with app crashes, security holes, and a shrinking list of compatible software. It's not worth the frustration unless you have a specific technical reason to keep using it.
Questions people still ask
Can I install Windows on an x86 Android phone?
No. While x86 Android phones use Intel processors, they lack the BIOS or UEFI firmware required to boot Windows. The bootloader is locked to Android, and the drivers for the phone's hardware don't exist for Windows. Some enthusiasts have tried dual-booting Linux, but even that requires significant technical work and rarely results in a usable system.
Are x86 Android phones faster than ARM phones?
Not in practice. Intel claimed better single-threaded performance in 2013, but ARM chips caught up quickly. By 2016, ARM processors matched or exceeded x86 performance in mobile workloads while using less power. Modern ARM chips like Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8-series easily outperform any x86 phone ever made.
Why did Asus make more x86 phones than other brands?
Intel subsidized manufacturers heavily to adopt its chips, and Asus committed to multiple generations of Zenfone models. The Zenfone 2 sold well enough in Asia to justify a follow-up, even as other brands abandoned x86. When Intel cancelled the program, Asus switched to Qualcomm ARM processors for the Zenfone 3 and later models.
Do Android emulators on PC use x86?
Yes. Emulators like BlueStacks and Android Studio's AVD run x86 Android images on Intel and AMD PCs because native execution is faster than emulating ARM. This is one of the few remaining uses for x86 Android builds, but it's a development tool, not a consumer product.
Can I update an x86 Android phone to a newer Android version?
Only if a custom ROM exists for your model, and even then it's unlikely. Most x86 phones topped out at Android 5.x or 6.x. No official updates exist, and the community has moved on. You might find an Android 7 ROM for popular models like the Zenfone 2, but anything newer is improbable.