Verdict
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra removes the one USP of late entries in the Zenfone series – the compact form factor . With this vainglorious - screen acquittance , Asus struggles to resist out from the flagship rivalry , while overheating issues and a disappointing long - condition software promise make it even less tempting than it otherwise would ’ve been .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is here , and it ’s quite a bit different from the succinct Asus Zenfone 10 .
give that the preceding few generation of Zenfone have center on being as compact and pocketable as possible , you might usurp that the 11 Ultra is an ultra - herculean succinct smartphone with better performance and more cameras – but you ’d be ill-timed . To Asus , the Ultra branding simply means ‘ handsome ’ .
It ’s also a bit of an unmatched launch as , despite the liberation of the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra , there ’s no steady Zenfone 11 to accompany it . Will a compact version follow in a few months ? There ’s no confirmation just yet , but that would seem likely .
For now , though , we ’re left with a big - screen trailer of the Zenfone 11 , and it ’s averyfamiliar gadget indeed . From the design to core element like television camera setup and battery , this is essentially a reskinned ROG Phone 8 , albeit without the gambling feature of speech that make the choice so unique .
Now with a bountiful concealment just like the rest of the exchange premium rival , can the £ 869 Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra stand out ? pair with issues around overheat that I ’ve feel during the followup flow , I ’m not so certain .
Design
If the Zenfone 11 Ultra ’s designing look intimate , it should ; it ’s a near - carbon copy of theROG Phone 8 Profrom earlier this class , sans the back breaker matrix rear showing panel . Reader , I am not a huge devotee at all .
You see , while I value the design of the ROG Phone 8 compass at launch in January , it was because it was a gaming telephone masquerade as a flagship phone with a much more tone - down design . It was still thick and leaden at 8.9 mm and 225 g respectively , but with advanced temperature reduction , AirTriggers , and other biz - focalise features , it was an acceptable via media .
The trouble is that the Zenfone 11 Ultra is just as fatheaded and arduous , but does n’t offer any of the high - end gaming features of the ROG Phone 8 professional . This does countenance it to come in at a slightly lowly price period , but that does n’t stop it from being comparatively chunky and blocky compare to sleek , curved alternatives like theOnePlus 12,Honor Magic 6 ProandPixel 8 professional .
It ’s also just a piece odd - looking , with an equally blocky all - black television camera block stick out from the top - left of the already - thick phone , make it look more like a phone from 2020 than something you ’d find on the2024 flagship scene .
That all said , I do appreciate the frosted glass backside that has a nice satin - like feel in the helping hand and helps cover those plaguy fingermark smudges , and the collection of lines towards the bottom helps break up the blocky design somewhat . If the skyline puritanical finish here is n’t your loving cup of tea , it ’s also available in hazy gray , desert George Sand and perpetual black .
Of course , purpose is totally immanent and it could be that you adore the spirit of the Zenfone 11 Ultra , but it ’s not one of my favourites of 2024 .
There are redeeming features , of track ; the phone is made from a premium grammatical construction of glass and aluminium that feels adept in the deal , and the screen is protect by Corning’sGorilla Glass Victus 2 .
It also boastsIP68dust and water resistance , and , crucially , a 3.5 mm headphone jack – even if its inclusion does mean a rather uneven layout on the bottom of the phone , with the USB - blow and headphone diddley on the left and good - hand sides , severally .
Screen
The Zenfone 11 Ultra ’s 6.78 - inch AMOLED panel is bright and vivid , with an FHD+ resolution that still looks elaborate despite the screen ’s comparatively orotund dimension . It also features raw material of high - remainder screen tech , like a maximum brightness of 2500nits for HDR content and 1600nits in HBM ( in high spirits luminousness mood ) , and a super - fast 144Hz refresh rate .
There is a catch here , though ; the 144Hz refresh rate will only be used when playing games . Thanks toLTPOsupport , the earpiece will run between 1 and 120Hz the balance of the time , allowing for much better battery efficiency than running at a locked 144Hz .
It ’s not exactly a dealbreaker as the visual differences between 120Hz and 144Hz are paltry in all scenario except play . It ’s also why I ’m not really defeated that it does n’t match the nigh - identical ROG Phone 8 Pro ’s 165Hz refresh pace . It ’s much of a muchness at that point .
My only large ailment is the always - on exhibit ; while it bring in the same way as much every other option on the market , I ’ve noticed that the AOD is noticeably dimmer than much of the challenger , so much so that I ca n’t really see it that well in well - lit environment , and there ’s no way to adjust the brightness either .
Elsewhere , though , the prominent - screen experience is certainly a nice change compared to the pocketableZenfone 10 . Paired with dual stereophonic system speakers 25 % larger than those of the Zenfone 10 , it lend itself particularly well to gaming , take in TV shows on Netflix , and even scrolling through TikTok , and with a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack , you may connect a pair of wired stool for private watching .
The latter is a overnice surprise at the mellow close of the grocery where , aside from outliers like theXperia 1 quintet , the 3.5 mm earphone laborer has gone the way of the Dodo .
Everything feel that small morsel bigger and better then , but in doing so , the Zenfone has lose its USP . It ’s now just another giving phone , just like much every other high - end phone on the market , so lease ’s hope the even Zenfone 10 acquire an update sometime soon to match .
Cameras
When it comes to the Zenfone 11 Ultra ’s camera setup , it ’s all about stabilization . It comes in the shape of Asus ’ unparalleled 6 - axis intercrossed gimbal stabiliser 3.0 tech , which does an impressive job of stabilise a shaky hired man both when taking picture and appropriate videos . It ’s easily one of the phone ’s most interesting features overall .
Essentially , as long as you keep the low circle within the bombastic roofy in the Camera app UI , the gimbal should be able-bodied to stabilise the camera scheme without a hint of jitter or blur .
It mean that taking photos one - handed becomes a doddle with broadly speaking astute results , though it ’s most obtrusive when activate the Super HyperSteady TV stabilization . This essentially turns any handheld picture into a super smooth chef-d’oeuvre .
Take the video below , for example ; despite the fact that I was holding the phone with just two fingerbreadth while take the air and throwing a ball for my domestic dog Luna , there ’s only an ever - so - slim jitter .
That constitute it a in particular ready to hand television camera for God Almighty , peculiarly when copulate with the maximal picture resolution of 8K@24fps .
Elsewhere , however , the threefold camera setup of the Zenfone 11 Ultra does n’t exactly get my heart racing . correspond the tv camera setup of the ROG Phone 8 Pro – which is a bit of a scarlet flag give gambling phones are n’t traditionally camera - focused – the ZenFone 11 Ultra sports a rather standard 50MP main , 32MP 3x telephotograph and 13MP ultrawide lens .
These crystalline lens are probably best describe as fine . The primary camera is the most adequate to of the three , get fairly detailed images in well - light and low - light environs , even if the latter lacks the clarity of similarly price alternatives like the Pixel 8 Pro , and the color are rich without being overly vivacious .
The accompanying 3x telephotograph is ready to hand if you require to get a little closer to the action mechanism , and the narrower framing lends itself well to portrait picture taking , but the use of a fixed telephoto in shoes of a periscope electron lens with variable zoom means the quality drops apace once you push past the set 3x zoom . The tuning could also be better , as colours look slightly off liken to the principal cracker bonbon .
The 13MP ultrawide does n’t exactly stimulate either , with a much lower resolution sensing element than the similarly price OnePlus 12 that , while still capturing decent ultra - wide - angle shots , are n’t exactly packed with detail , and quality lean to drop quite rapidly in sullen environments .
Performance
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is a flagship phone with a flagship chipset to match . That , rather unsurprisingly , comes in the kind of the popularSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 , coupled with 12 GB of RAM and a sound 256 GB of storage as standard , though you may also pick up a 16GB/512 GB variant if you need more .
As you ’re plausibly cognizant at this point give the 8 Gen 3 is present in much of the high - end competition in 2024 , the chipset is an downright processing beast . compare to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 within last year ’s Zenfone 10 , there are gain of 20 % in the CPU section , 25 % in the GPU department and a walloping 98 % carrying out increase to the NPU that enable some peculiarly interesting features – but more on that in a snatch .
With that in mind , the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra utterly breezed through our bevvy of benchmark test , offering top - conclusion scores in CPU benchmark like Geekbench 6 and high frame rate in the GPU - focused GFXBench trial that allow it to compete with the likes of theSamsung Galaxy S24 Plusand Honor Magic 6 Pro .
That all translates to smooth everyday exercise , with the Zenfone 11 Ultra easily able to plow whatever I could bewilder at it , from scroll through media - big apps like Facebook to browsing ad - laden website on Google Chrome .
However , I would n’t advocate enabling the ‘ Ultra operation ’ mode when play demanding game . That might sound rather unintuitive , but in my experience , the phone gets super hot in this fashion – so much so that I could n’t foot the phone up after running our 3D gaming focus test for just 20 minutes .
Even compared to other flagship phones I ’ve test recently , which get a little warm after the tenseness test , the Zenfone 11 Ultra nonplus uncomfortably red-hot to the touch , and that also increase battery drain to around 1 % per minute .
Rather peculiarly , the phone does still execute well even when noticeably spicy to the touch , with high benchmark scores and no lag when scrolling around the OS . It ’s possible that it ’s just doing averygood job of direct heat off from the chipset , but it ’s certainly not well-fixed for the end drug user . If you ’re a gamer , you ’re likely better off with the ROG Phone 8 Pro .
Software and AI
There are a lot of Android sound manufacturer that take the core Android experience and distort it in various way , be it the iOS - esque approach shot to Honor ’s MagicOS or the dot - ground substance style of Nothing OS , but that ’s not really the case with Asus ’ ZenUI , sit around atop Android 14 on the Zenfone 11 Ultra .
In fact , it ’s one of the good approaches to a custom Android skin around . It allow you foot and choose whether you want to practice ZenUI or stock Android 14 elements in the O , from the telling midpoint to the volume controls . It lets you get the accurate experience you want , and even if you go all - in on ZenUI , it ’s notthatdifferent from stock Android 14 .
That means it ’s wanton to use and everything works as you ’d expect it to , though , as with a raise numeral of manufacturers in 2024 , Asus has instill its O with on - equipment GenAI capabilities .
That includes Semantic Search , which is essentially a way for you to search for apps , photos and even menus within the preferences app by describing what you ’re looking for .
It ’s particularly helpful in the options app , where it can sometimes be unvoiced to observe the background you ’re look for , even more so if you ca n’t call up the name of the exact stage setting you want to vary . For deterrent example , typing in silent manner will show effect for Do Not Disturb alongside other sound options .
Another big feature is on - equipment written text and summarisation built into the voice recorder app . It does what it tell on the cannister – transcribes articulation recordings in English , Taiwanese , German Spanish , Lusitanian , Italian and Nipponese – and it does so in real - time , create it more like what you ’ll find on thePixel 8thanGalaxy S24 , with the latter require post - record processing to transcribe .
There are a bunch of small AI features to round out the feature set including AI - generated wallpapers , portrait event for video , and noise cancellation on call for both you and the recipient role of the call . LikeGalaxy AI , you’re able to also translate call in veridical - clock time – though , rather queerly , there ’s no stock on - machine version available .
It ’s worth noting that you wo n’t get access to these features from solar day one , with Asus provide a special rendering of the software with previews of AI tech for critical review purposes . Instead , you ’ll get the features via software update in the come in month .
In fact , the only literal disappointment here is the long - terminal figure software system hope ; with just two OS upgrade and four years of security patches , it pal in compare to the seven o upgrade promise of the similarly price Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus and Google Pixel 8 Pro .
Battery life
Battery life is an interesting arena for the Zenfone 11 Ultra . It sports a large 5500mAh battery that ’s bigger than the 5000mAh battery you ’ll get in most contend flagships like theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultraand OnePlus 12 , and that should intimate long barrage fire life than its vis-a-vis , but that ’s not really the case .
Do n’t get me wrong here ; the Zenfone 11 Ultra had enough juice to get me through an middling 16 - hour day with a healthy admixture of replying to texts and emails , phone call , listening to medicine and doomscrolling on TikTok , but I ’d find I ’d usually get to the end of the daytime with around 20 - 30 % leave behind in the tank .
That ’s easy all - daytime bombardment life in my account book , but when the Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12 managed the same with around 40 - 50 % left in the tank , it ’s not quite the best around . That means it ’s still a telephone that you ’ll need to charge every night to avoid run flat mid - way of life through the 2d day .
The good tidings is that the Zenfone 11 Ultra offers 65W fast charging , and unlike much of the competition , you do n’t need a proprietary charging brick and cable to take advantage of top - conclusion speeds . rather , any USB - C charger that supports USB PD 3 & PPS should deliver the advertised speeds .
However , that also think Asus felt no motivation to include a fast charger in the box , so you ’ll have to source one severally if you require to take vantage of the tech .
With a 65W USB - C courser I had handy , the Zenfone 11 Ultra find 69 % commission in 30 instant with a full charge occupy 56 minutes . It ’s not quite up to the levels of the OnePlus 12 and its full burster in 26 arcminute , then , but it ’s quicker than Samsung ’s flagship , and it ’ll still reduce the amount of prison term your telephone spends tethered to the rampart .
If wired charging is too fussy for you , there ’s also 15W wireless charge for a more convenient , if much slower , way to reload the phone . However , overrule wireless charge keep is n’t usable , so your accessories will want to find charge power elsewhere .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
With the unique 6 - axis stabilization technology , videos recorded on the Zenfone 11 Ultra are politic .
With overheating issuance when playing demand 3D titles , the Zenfone 11 Ultra , rather ironically , is n’t honest for gambling .
Final Thoughts
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is a fine phone – it does most things well , but it does n’t really pass in any given area . The photographic camera are pretty much in - line of descent , if not quite as subject , as likewise price alternative , the sieve technical school mostly matches that of the competition , and despite possess a larger electric battery than most , it ’s still just a one - twenty-four hour period gadget .
That said , the Zenfone 11 Ultra ’s extremely customisable approach to Android 14 is one of the best around , tender the selection between bloodline and ZenUI on a granular level , and the AI boast raise the experience even if they do n’t go quite as far as the ilk of Samsung ’s Galaxy AI .
However , there are bad issues with overheating when playing games that make it sturdy to recommend to mobile gamers , and the foresighted - term hope of just 2 oculus sinister upgrades and 4 age of security patch is really lacking liken to the seven o upgrades from even tinny flagships like theGalaxy S24andPixel 8 .
immix with the £ 869 damage tag , you ’d likely be better off with alternatives like theOnePlus 12,Google Pixel 8 ProandSamsung Galaxy S24 Plusunless youreallywant that 6 - axis gimbal stabilization technical school .
Trusted Score
How we test
We screen every mobile headphone we review soundly . We utilise industry - standard test to compare feature film decently and we habituate the speech sound as our main twist over the review catamenia . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a product .
ascertain out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
No , there ’s no charger in the loge .
With IP68 junk and water resistivity and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection , the Zenfone 11 Ultra should be jolly durable .
Asus has confirm that the Zenfone 11 Ultra will get two oxygen upgrades and four year of security update .
Test Data
Full Specs
