OPINION : Asus launched the Zenfone 11 Ultra this week , the first large - blind phone in the Zenfone assemblage in a span of years . Framed as a ‘ large alternative to the compact Zenfone , ’ the Zenfone 11 Ultra looks to cash in in on the need for bigger smartphones in 2024 – and it ’s one of the foreign launch of the year so far , for all the incorrect reasons .
rent ’s start with the launch itself , which surprise me not because of the announcement of theZenfone 11 Ultra – it had been heavily leaked in the weeks leading up – but because there ’s no regular Zenfone 11 . So , what makes the Zenfone 11 Ultra an ‘ extremist ’ if there ’s nothing to liken it to ? Surely if there ’s no base version , that makes this speech sound the Zenfone 11 .
At my pre - launch briefing , other diarist and I asked Asus reps where the regular Zenfone 11 was . While I ’m reword here , the reaction was fundamentally , ‘ theZenfone 10is still very much the flagship compact having come out less than a year ago . ’ That makessomesense – why would Asus slew the life of the Zenfone 10 short if it was bring out less than a yr ago ?
But , if that ’s the system of logic , why not just delay the launch of the Zenfone 11 Ultra until the Zenfone 11 is ready ? I ca n’t see any tangible benefit to the Ultra launching specifically in mid - March .
Also , it ’s pretty blemished logic because there ’s another phone that recently got supersede after less than a class on the securities industry , and it was none other than Asus ’ ownROG Phone 7 series , replaced by theROG Phone 8series after just eight months on the market . Why ca n’t Asus do the same with the Zenfone 11 ?
launching semantics away , the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is a rather rummy phone because it ’s essentially a carbon copy of the ROG Phone 8 . Not just the overall design but the technical school , skylark almost identical silver screen applied science , performance , camera hardware , and even battery capacity .
The only notable dispute is that the Zenfone 11 Ultra does n’t offer the gambling - specific feature of the ROG Phone , component like AirTriggers , in advance cooling system , backing for advanced accessary and the loony toons - matrix light-emitting diode instrument panel on the bum that let it to come in at a cheaper Mary Leontyne Price point of £ 869/$899 .
I do n’t hump about you , but I was hope for something a trivial spot different from an entirely different smartphone range . But hey , at least it ’ll be easier for Asus ’ production lines to handle …
The fact that the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is based on the ROG Phone 8 made me even more frustrated when I noticed that the Zenfone stick out from overheating upshot when play demand 3D titles . Of course , most phones get a little warm when labor to the max , but the Zenfone got so hot I could n’t even pick it up after a 20 - minute gaming stress test .
Why on world would the Zenfone get so hot when the almost - identical ROG Phone 8 was explicitly design to stay cool under load ? I get that Asus wants to keep the top - end cool exclusive to the gaming phone , but to hamstring the cooling of the Zenfone so much is just annoying .
Asus also spent a lot of clock time highlight the AI feature article of the Zenfone 11 Ultra at its proclamation , with the telephone set able to perform GenAI tasks like voice musical note transcription , AI noise cancellation on call , rendering in calls , generating AI wallpapers and semantic hunting all on - machine .
There ’s a catch , however . While I was capable to test the features for my review , Asus informed me that it wo n’t in reality be available on the Zenfone 11 Ultra at launch , alternatively coming via an OTA update a little further down the line .
If one of the biggest features of 2024 is n’t ready at launch , why not delay the launch ? Maybe by a few months to , say , align with the release of the expected Zenfone 11 ? What a conception .
So yes , I think it ’s pretty secure to say that the Zenfone 11 Ultra is one of the braggy quirkiness in the smartphone market in former 2024 . Let ’s hope that the next Asus launching is n’t quite so … chaotic .
