The ZenFone was one area in the mobile world where Intel appeared to have a foot in the door. But according to Digitimes, Asustek wants to reduce the proportion of platforms developed by Intel.

Asustek's Intel chip demand is estimated to decrease from about six million units in 2015 to below five million units in 2016 and may be down by half in 2017.

Asustek’s move follows something similar which is and Lenovo cutting orders, Intel is under strong pressure to do something. Its mobile communication business already lost over $10 billion in the last three years and that is not something you can explain awayt.

Chipzilla has been cooperating with first-tier smartphone vendors to develop products using its platform, Asustek was Intel’s largest client.
In the ZenFone 3 series, which will be released in June, only 15% of the shipments will use Intel's chips.

According to Digitimes the cut is because of Intel's delay on its 4G SoFIA LTE chip launch. With 4G smartphone becoming the trend of the market, Asustek cannot afford the risks brought by Intel's delay and therefore has gradually increased its orders from Qualcomm and MediaTek.