Wait, what’s new here?
To say that the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is a familiar smartphone would be a bit of an understatement . away from some venial tweaks to the overall design and a new processor , it ’s basically identical to its predecessor , with the same screen , photographic camera , barrage and charging , instead gambling exclusively on new AI features to tempt consumer – a gamble that has n’t really pay off .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is the fellowship ’s non - gaming flagship smartphone for 2025 , going all - in on AI rather than hardware upgrades .
That mean that you ’re get a very familiar equipment despite an increase of € 100 in Europe , with Asus hop that the candidate of AI that guide entirely on - gimmick is enough to lure them aside from more establish ( and arguably more capable ) flagship alternative like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus , OnePlus 13andOppo Find X8Pro .
Has the gamble paid off ? I ’m not quite so sure .
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Pricing & availability
In a bit of a turn compared to the Zenfone 11 Ultra , Asus is n’t selling the Zenfone 12 Ultra in either the UK or US . It is instead focusing on the European market . For now , anyway .
In Europe , you ’re looking at a start price of € 1099.99 for the single 16GB/512 GB variant . An increase of € 100 compare to last class ’s flagship . It ’s available for a slightly cheaper € 999.99 until 28 February . That ’s around £ 914/$1129 and £ 832/$1033 respectively .
It ’s up for pre - order mightily now , with delivery expect around February 28 .
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Design
TheAsus Zenfone 11 Ultrawas a approximate - carbon copy of Asus’ROG Phone 8 Proin the design section . I intend this finger a little bit lazy . This year ’s Zenfone 12 Ultra does look a lot like its predecessor , but there are elusive remainder .
The most straightaway difference is the shape of the rear tv camera caparison . It ’s still an queerly compact mental faculty that sit on the upper - left hand of the rear , but it ’s more compact this time . Shaped more like a rectangle than a square . It still project quite far from the already - duncish headphone , mind .
The chicken feed within the camera housing also matches the colour of the rear venire , help it blend in style better than its all - black predecessor .
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There are three color option to select from this yr : Sage Green , Sakura White and Ebony Black . The black is the most toned - down of the collection . have that most people tend to prefer for the more subtle coloration options , I guess it ’ll be democratic .
Asus has ditch the collection of lines that help break up the Zenfone 11 Ultra ’s otherwise blockish conception . This clock time prefer for simple Zenfone stigmatisation on the rearward and not much else .
Combined with the frosted glass finish that contradict fingerprints pretty well , it ’s a somewhat understated look . Though one that lacks personality – particularly compared to the likes of the Honor Magic 7 Pro with its shimmering radiation pattern finishes .
There ’s no getting around the fact that this is a pretty thick , big slab . Measuring 8.9 millimeter thick and a not - insignificant 220 g. There are rounded edge on the back to help the phone sit a little nice in the hand , but that heft is detectable in use compare to the OnePlus 13 .
strength is about on equality with last year ’s poser . Elements like Gorilla Glass Victus 2 sieve protection and IP68 dust and water resistance remain .
Screen
The earphone ’s screen is a likewise familiar intimacy , boast the accurate same screenland as its herald . You ’re looking at a moderately solid 6.78 - inch AMOLED screen with an FHD+ solving , with the same maximum brightness of 2500nits for HDR content and 1600nits in HBM .
It once again sports a gaming - focalize 144Hz refresh rate , though that top refresh rate isonlyavailable when toy biz . Outside of play , you ’re limited to an LTPO - enabled 120Hz . There ’s such little difference visually between the two that you likely wo n’t be able-bodied to tell the difference .
That all said , there ’s very little to kick about with the Zenfone 12 Ultra ’s screen in day - to - Clarence Day enjoyment .
The screen itself is big and bright . It benefits from the cryptic blacks and vivid colours of AMOLED display tech and sports relatively thin , uniform bezels around the edge . Asus has also fixed the to a fault shadowy always - on video display with this generation , making it way well-heeled to see at a glance .
I ’d have liked to have seen a boost in peak smartness . This would help it compete with the OnePlus 13 , but it ’s still in production line with what you ’ll get from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus .
Thankfully for Asus , audio recording is an area where the Zenfone 12 Ultra fend out , sporting not only a 3.5 millimetre earpiece jack that’sveryrarely seen in smartphones in 2025 at any price point in time but prominent stereophony speakers that bestow themselves well to engorge YouTube and scrolling through TikTok .
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It does n’t deliver the same bass part operation or overall volume as the high - end Honor Magic 7 Pro , but it ’s fine for casual showing and listening .
Cameras
As with the past few generations of Zenfone , Asus ’ big camera gamble is its gimbal stabilisation technology . Now in its fourth multiplication with the Zenfone 12 Ultra , it continues to work just as well at stabilize TV and bring forth sharp photograph .
The underground sauce is the gimbal ’s power to move up to five degree in any direction , giving it much more elbow room to move than practically any other sound . The resultant role are immediately noticeable – specially in video . you could still see minor movements from shaky script , but it ’s not jittery at all , providing more of a flowy motion to shots .
It ’s a very familiar affair elsewhere , sporting the same combination of 50MP main , 32MP 3x telephotograph and 13MP ultrawide lenses as last year ’s Zenfone . There are no notable changes to the underlying hardware whatsoever . Considering I was n’t all that impressed with the 11 Ultra ’s camera performance , I ’m a slight disappointed .
The 50MP chief television camera is the crystalline lens you ’ll default to most often . This is not only because of the aforementioned gimbal - powered stabilisation that negates fuzzy photos from shaky hand but also because it offers the best operation of the three rear lenses .
The main tv camera can enamour jolly detailed images in both well - lit and low - light condition , the latter again benefitting from that top - end stabilization . Colours are also more natural than what you ’d get from the ilk of the over - saturatedGalaxy S25 Ultra .
The image processing could be ameliorate , with photos easily washed out by vivid lights . Its HDR processing also needs employment , struggling to fascinate both the bright highlights and grim shadows in especially challenging scenarios .
The 3x telephoto lens is a solid option for getting closer to the activity without bank on digital soar . With a healthy 32MP closure for pixel - binning , the results are often somewhat elaborate . The narrow field of view of perspective also lends itself particularly well to portrait picture taking , while OIS intend that low - light photos are actually of decent quality .
I am disappointed that it ’s a dim-witted telephoto and not a periscope - style lens system , limit its zoom to 30x . By this point the look-alike have that over - processed oil painting - esque spirit . You would n’t require to push this much far beyond the 5 - 6x scratch in anything but idealistic shooting conditions .
The 13MP ultrawide continue to be the weakest of the trio of lenses . It ’ll still deliver pretty well - looking extremist - wide - angle gibe , but they are n’t exactly jam with detail . Lacking the pixel - binning technical school and autofocus capability of choice like the OnePlus 13 .
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There is a slim improvement in low - light operation liken to last yr ’s Zenfone 11 Ultra with more detail in low - igniter condition . However , lacking the OIS of the other lenses , you ’ll often be leave with slightly blurry - looking results .
It ’s afinecamera setup that can deliver a decent - looking shot in a tweak . It ’s just not something that gets my heart step on it like some of thebest photographic camera phones .
Performance
I ’m mystify about the Zenfone 12 Ultra ’s performance . When it issue forth to benchmark testing , at least .
Even though the Zenfone 12 Ultra sports the same top - end Snapdragon 8 Elite as the Galaxy S25 Ultra , the phone trails behind in the majority of CPU and GPU tests . That ’s when paired with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of memory , by the way .
Take Geekbench 6 for example . In multi - core tests , we ’ve get a line other 8 Elite - equipped smartphones well reset the 9200 points scratch . The Zenfone 12 Ultra ? 7523 . It ’s a standardized history in the GPU - focalize 3DMark Wildlife Extreme , attain 5170 when most of the competitor boasts wads of over 6400 .
We ’ve already seen from the ROG Phone 9 Pro that Asus can really contract the best out of the chipset , so why has n’t it done so here ? I get that the ROG Phone is tailor to get the very well performance potential with its gambling focus , but even without the same cooling system or 24 GB of RAM , it should n’t score quite this small .
In everyday use , you ca n’t really secernate the difference . The Zenfone 12 Ultra feels about as brisk and responsive as any other premium phone in 2025 . It has buttery smooth scrolling , tranquil animation and the power to handle Call of Duty Mobile . It ’s just not quite as powerful as itshouldbe .
Elsewhere , require the latest in wireless connectivity . There ’s Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi - Fi 7 along with NFC for mobile payments and 5G. There ’s also eSIM keep this time around , mark off a first for the Zenfone serial – in the EU , at least .
Software & AI
Much of the Zenfone 12 Ultra ’s hardware is monovular to its predecessor . or else , Asus is putting all of its eggs into an AI - regulate basket . It ’s a massive gamble considering , especially give that Asus is n’t doing anything raw or unique .
The Zenfone 12 Ultra sports all the staple of AI we ’ve seen from brands like Samsung , Apple , OnePlus and Honor . You ’ve got AI - power translation , recording , summaries and a handful of picture editing tool . However , I would n’t depict the experience as transformative . Most of these are rather niche features that do n’t furnish much extra value .
credit entry where credit is due , however ; the Zenfone 12 Ultra is the first to pass Meta ’s Llama 3 8B Model entirely on - gimmick . All AI feature can work only on - equipment for sum privacy . You wo n’t come up that from any other AI - powered smartphone right now , commonly volunteer a hybrid of on - twist and cloud - based processing .
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However , I now understand why most opt for a hybrid framework . Aside from having to download almost 6 GB in LLMs for on - gadget use , I found it to bewayslower at processing .
A 2000 - word clause take well over a arcminute to summarise , compared to around 10 seconds when connected to the cloud . Asus also limit how many relic you’re able to use for swarm - based processing , and once you hit that limit point , you ’re forced to apply on - gimmick processing .
AI - aside , the Zenfone 12 Ultra offers a refreshfully customisable approach to Android 15 , give you the option to take between Asus ’ ZenUI and stock Android features on a rather granular basis . Even if you go all - in on ZenUI , it ’s still very close to livestock .
That experience wo n’t change much , give that the Zenfone 12 Ultra falls way behind competitors with its paltry software allegiance of 2 major update and 5 yr of security update . That would ’ve been passable five years ago , not in 2025 .
Considering the similarly - priced Pixel 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus extend seven OS upgrades , and even budget phones like the Galaxy A35 offer four OS upgrades , it ’s hard to overlook . It essentially means that despite give over € 1000 , your phone might not get any OS upgrades beyond Android 17 . Yikes .
Battery Life
While the Zenfone 11 Ultra led the pack with its larger - than - average 5500mAh battery , the same ca n’t be said for the 12 Ultra . It still sport the same 5500mAh jail cell , but it ’s no longer that telling . The OnePlus 13 , for case , gambol an even larger 6000mAh barrage .
That enunciate , I had no real complaints about the battery life of the Zenfone 12 Ultra . Like its predecessor , it negociate to last all day without much of an issue , managing to retain about 30 - 40 % of its battery after a full day of function . This is with a combination of 3 - 4 60 minutes of screen time over a 16 - ish hour day with barrage - drain features like the AOD active .
However , when the OnePlus 13 pop the question a more well-fixed two - day experience , it does fall short of what you could regain elsewhere .
It ’s a similar story when it comes to charge . While I do sleep together the fact that the Zenfone 12 Ultra charge at 65W when using a veritable USB - C charger that supports PD 3.0 and PPS technical school rather than leaning on a proprietary alternative , it means that the competition offer much faster charging .
Still , the Zenfone 12 Ultra achieved an telling 43 % charge in 15 minute , with a full charge in 47 minutes using the third - party Anker Prime 250W charger . That ’s not quite up to the task of the Xiaomi 14 T Pro , reach a full electric charge in 23 minutes , but I think you ’ll struggle to complain about the speeds on offer .
There ’s also 15W wireless turn on for added convenience . Plus , like a grow number of Android manufacturers , Asus has wreak with example makers to allow a compass of charismatic cases for a MagSafe - corresponding experience .
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Should you buy it?
The Zenfone 12 Ultra is the first smartphone to offer Meta ’s Llama 3 8BN poser on - gimmick , mean you do n’t ask to beam any data point to the cloud when using AI features .
AI - by , the Zenfone 12 Ultra lacks the diplomacy of other 2025 flagships , with unspoilt cameras , unspoiled performance and better assault and battery biography available elsewhere .
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for the Zenfone 12 Ultra . lamentably , those have been all but dashed after properly testing it .
see it ’s € 100 more in Europe ( where it ’s exclusively available for now ) , the fact that the hardware is essentially very is a particularly operose sell . Yes , the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a dainty upgrade , but even that fall behind the likewise specced contention in benchmark testing .
You ’re catch the same overall feeling , same projection screen , same cameras , same battery and same flush speeds as the Zenfone 11 Ultra . The only real discernible difference being new AI features baked into the Android 15 experience .
While the ability to run away all tools on - machine is a decent touching , the feature article themselves are n’t that exciting , offering the same capabilities as most of the flagship competition with a few notable feature ( like the power to rewrite text ) missing from the experience .
Given that the Zenfone 11 Ultra will get the same Android 15 update , it ’ll be interesting to see how many of these AI features appear on the old gimmick . The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is still capable enough to extend most of the AI subprogram offer here , as we ’ve already see from a swathe of 2024 flagship skylark the same chipset , but in doing so , it ’d make the Zenfone 12 Ultra all but redundant .
If all it takes for your ( more expensive ) 2025 flagship to be close - selfsame to its predecessor is a software program update , that ’s a very hard sell – especially in a year where we ’re see monumental gains not only in AI but hardware element like camera tech and battery life .
For something more equal to and more exciting , take a look at our pick of thebest smartphones .
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How we test
We test every wandering speech sound we retrospect soundly . We use industry - standard tryout to compare features in good order and we use the sound as our main gadget over the brushup period . We ’ll always tell you what we discover and we never , ever , accept money to review a product .
detect out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
Yes , it offers IP68 debris and water system resistance that should protect it in up to 1.5 megabyte of refreshed water for up to 30 minutes .
Asus has give to two bone ascent and five yr of security patches .
Test Data
Full Specs
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