In a recent poll, the ASUS ROG Phone 8/8 Pro proved to be a potentially very popular model if it could clear one hurdle – the $1,100/€1,100 price tag being too high (in the case of the Pro Worse, $1,200/€1,200)/Rs 95,000).
What if the ROG Phone 8 was cheaper? Wishes come true—just not in the way you imagine. This week, the company launched the Zenfone 11 Ultra, the first big Zenfone since 2021’s Zenfone 8 Flip. That means a bigger display, a bigger battery and (incidentally) an extra camera (the first telephoto module since the Flip).
The same 12/256GB configuration costs €1,100 on the ROG Phone and €1,000/£870 on the Zenfone. Asus is also offering a €100 discount for early birders, which you can still take advantage of when the phone becomes available in mid-April. There are also 16/512GB versions with a base price of €1,000/£950.
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is essentially a ROG Phone 8 with understated branding – more understated, shall we say, since Asus has gone back to the “gaming phone” aesthetic with the 8 series and made it something with mass appeal.
ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra: 6.78-inch 1-144Hz LTPO AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution
Comparing the two models reveals only subtle differences – the 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display runs at 144Hz instead of 165Hz and lacks 10-bit color. Additionally, the second USB port that the ROG model had has been eliminated to save costs. Gone too are the RGB illuminated ROG logo on the back and the pressure-sensitive triggers on the sides – this isn’t a gaming phone, you know.
That’s it – you still get a big, fast display, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a massive 5,5000mAh battery with 65W wired and 15W wireless charging, and goodies like stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack thing. Compared to the previous Zenfone 10, this one also comes with a 32MP telephoto camera and a 65mm lens (3x), but Asus didn’t see fit to also have a microSD slot. At least it keeps its IP68 dust and water resistance intact.
ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 • 50+32+13MP cameras
For more details on the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra, check out our detailed review. You can also watch our video review below:
Let’s briefly review the game. In Europe, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ comes with the Exynos 2400 instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but it comes in 12/256GB configurations for the same price. The 6.7-inch LTPO display trades a few hertz (running at up to 120Hz) for higher resolution QHD+ (versus FHD+ on the Zenfone). The smaller battery results in a lower active use score (12:30 vs. 14:43) and slower wired charging (45W, 58 minutes to full).
Still, the S24+ will get seven years of support — essentially longer than any non-Pixel Android, and significantly longer than the Zenfone. ASUS still only promises 2 OS updates and 4 years of security patches. Is this good enough for a €1,000 device?
The OnePlus 12 is priced around the same as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12/256GB of RAM. It has a 6.82-inch LTPO display (also a QHD+ 120Hz panel), a higher-resolution 48MP ultrawide camera (paired with a 50MP main camera and a 64MP 70mm periscope), and a 5,400mAh battery. Active use scores are slightly lower (14:11), but charging is faster (24 minutes to full versus 41 minutes for the Asus). OnePlus will get 4 OS updates and 5 years of security patches.
Samsung Galaxy S24+ • OnePlus 12 • Google Pixel 8 Pro • Apple iPhone 15 Plus
The Google Pixel 8 Pro has been out for half a year, so the real replacement may be the upcoming 9 Pro (but that’s still a few months away). This phone uses Tensor G3, which is better than its predecessor, and that’s where the praise comes in. The 6.7-inch 120Hz LTPO display has a slightly lower resolution than QHD+, and the internal 5,050mAh battery has slow wired and wireless charging (30W and 23W respectively). Battery life is even worse than the S24+, at 11:14 (the Tensor has its flaws). On the plus side, Google will support the phone for 7 years.
The Apple iPhone 15 Plus is also a competitor, although its spec sheet doesn’t look anything like it. You get a 6.7-inch OLED display with a resolution that’s not quite QHD+, a powerful chipset, long software support, and excellent battery life (a score of 16 hours and 33 hours of active use!), although charging is very slow ( 1 hour 34 hours to fully charge). There is no telephoto camera, but at least this generation has a 48MP main camera.
Will you pre-order the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra, or will you wait for the smaller model that Asus has never officially confirmed exists? Would you rather have a ROG Phone or none of the above?