Asus has always stood out with its original smartphones. And the surprise is there this year with the Zenfone 11 Ultra, a premium model which surprises with its larger format than its predecessors.
Fifteen days after the end of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona. This is the time frame that Asus wanted to take to announce the release of its new high-end smartphone from the Zenfone family, to, probably, escape the flow of various announcements made during the event. And for this new arrival, the surprise is big. And the adjective Ultra attached to the name is not for nothing. Last year, the Zenfone 10 caught our attention with its compact and chunky format and its screen of only 5.9 inches. An unusual size when the vast majority of today’s smartphones have much larger panels, between 6.2 and 6.9 inches. This year, Asus is joining the ranks. The Zenfone 11 Ultra is equipped with a 6.78-inch Amoled panel, forcing the size of the device to join the cohort of current smartphones. So the end of the small, discreet smartphone that fits easily into your pocket. We will need other arguments to stand out from the crowd.
Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra: all the advantages of a premium model
On the design side first of all, the links with the brand’s other devices are more obvious. The back of the Zenfone 11 Ultra uses the pattern consisting of lines forming an A specific to the brand and which is also found on the cover of its ZenBook laptops. A sober design, available in four colors with a matte coating which seems very successful. From the front, the Amoled panel occupies almost the entire surface of the device. It offers an FHD+ definition, a brightness that can increase to 2500 nits and a refresh rate of 144 Hz so as not to forget the gamers.
Then, it’s under the hood that the Zenfone 11 Ultra wants to make you feel like it’s part of the high-end category. And for this, the inspiration comes straight from its model designed for gaming, the ROG Phone 8 released a few months ago. It therefore features the flagship SoC of the moment in the premium models, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from Qualcomm, 12 or 16 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of storage space depending on the configurations. For the battery, Asus thinks a little bigger than the others. Here we find a 5500 mAh battery. Charging power is capped at 65W wired and 15W wireless. For connectivity, Wifi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and 5G are included.
On the photo side, the Zenfone 11 also takes up the characteristics of the ROG Phone 8 and blends in a little with the crowd with a wide-angle sensor of 50 Mpx (f/1.9), an ultra-wide-angle of 13 Mpx (f /2.2) and a 32 Mpx x3 optical telephoto lens (f/2.4).
Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra: artificial intelligence in charge
Finally, the manufacturer did not wait until 2024 to jump on the artificial intelligence train. Already with last year’s ZenFone 10, AI stood out, particularly in sound processing. With the Zenfone 11 Ultra, Asus pushes the envelope further. Instant translation (eight languages available at the moment), automatic transcription of an audio recording, generation of wallpaper from description, image processing during shooting… AI interventions affect almost all domains. We are now waiting to see its effectiveness and usefulness in real life.
Finally, in terms of prices, the Zenfone 11 Ultra is available in two models. The first, equipped with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space, is offered at 1000 euros. The second, with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage space, costs 1100 euros. The Zenfone 11 Ultra is thus positioned directly opposite the Galaxy S24 (959 euros with 256 GB of storage) the Google Pixel 8 Pro (969 euros) or even the brand new Xiaomi 14 at 999 euros. Both models will be available from April 14. In the meantime, Asus is offering a pre-order offer from today until the official release date with a 100 euro discount.
There still remains an unknown factor. This new Zenfone is labeled Ultra. A very trendy name at the moment which characterizes very high-end smartphones packed with all the most recent technologies. It is therefore not impossible that a little later in the year, the manufacturer will release this new model in the more compact format that we know and which gives it its charm. Even if Asus did not wish to respond during its press conference on this possibility, the brand insisted on the fact that for the moment it was the Ultra model… thing to follow.