At the recent Asus Zenfone 2 launch event, Asus chairman Jonney Shih sat down with CNET to shed more light on the company’s smartphone plans. He said the company plans to expand its relationship with US carriers, but that’s just one side of the story. 

Shih also made it clear that it is going after value minded consumers who don’t want to buy phones through their carrier, and get locked into a 2-year contract. To do this, Asus needs competitively priced phones that won’t break the bank as a one-off expense.

CNET says demand for affordable, unlocked phones is expected to grow and carriers reduce or eliminate subsidies on flagship devices.

That is why Asus wants to get in on the action before it’s too late, by offering unlocked and inexpensive pseudo-flagships like the Zenfone 2. Selling direct has a number of advantages, although some corners have to be cut in order to maintain low prices. People who get flagships through carriers usually pay $200 upfront, followed by a 24-month contract that can pile on a lot more expenses.

In case you are interested in Asus’ idea of cutting corners, make sure to check out our in-depth review of the Zenfone 2 with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.