Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra review

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Introduction

The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is here and it is more or less an iterative upgrade over last year's model. Not a lot has changed, neither physically nor in terms of hardware. The phone retains the same overall design and proportions. It comes in a new set of colors and with a slightly redesigned camera island, but generally, it looks and feels very familiar.

The display is absolutely unchanged. Not that it was in dire need of an upgrade to begin with. As far as we can tell, the stereo speaker system is also the same. Nothing has been modified in the battery department, either. You still get a hefty 5,500 mAh pack with 65W HyperCharge support and Qi 1.3 wireless charging.

The camera setup is largely unchanged. However, we did notice that Asus has swapped the main camera sensor, potentially as part of its gimbal stabilizer upgrade, which now provides up to 66% better stabilization.

Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.8x76.8x8.9mm, 224g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame, glass back; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.78" LTPO AMOLED, 144Hz, HDR10, 1600 nits (HBM), 2500 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 388ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 15, up to 2 major Android upgrades; 5 years of security updates.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, gimbal OIS; Telephoto: 32 MP, f/2.4, 65mm, 1/3.2", 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120-degree, 1/3.0", 1.12µm.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, 22mm (wide), 1/3.2", 0.7µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 720p@480fps; gyro-EIS, HDR10+; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5500mAh; 65W wired, PD3.0, PPS, QC5, 100% in 39 min, 15W wireless (Qi), 10W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; 3.5mm jack.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.

The biggest hardware change introduced with the Zenfone 12 Ultra is arguably the chipset. The phone comes with Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Asus is using the new chip well, particularly its powerful NPU. One of the major selling points for the Zenfone 12 Ultra is its expanded AI prowess.

We will be going over the new AI features in detail in the software section, but suffice it to say, there are quite a few new features and many of them run locally on-device and don't require the cloud.

Unboxing

The Zenfone 12 Ultra comes in a gray two-piece box that is clearly made of recycled materials. In fact, it is FSC-certified and also uses eco ink. There is no plastic in sight, which we appreciate.

The retail package isn't particularly rich. Unfortunately, the Zenfone 12 Ultra does not come with a charger. You get a simple Type-C to Type-C cable that seems to lack an e-marker chip. This means that by specification, it is limited to 3A power transfer or a total of 60W at 20V.

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is rated to charge using up to 65W power. If you get an Asus charger, these usually ship with a corresponding cable to saturate the maximum rated power for the charger. Phones rarely hit their advertised maximum charging rate, though, so even if you keep using the provided cable with a third-party charger, this shouldn't be a problem in practical terms.

You do get a nice plastic, hard, transparent bumper case inside the box, so there's that.

In keeping with tradition, Asus also has a deal with both Rhinoshield and Devilcase to launch compatible cases alongside the phone. The latter even has a MagSafe magnetic accessory attachment point on the back for wireless charging.