Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra smartphone review
Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra Smartphone Review: For the past few years, Asus has been releasing compact yet flagship phones under the Zenfone brand. But the new Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra looks like a completely different phone as it brings a full-sized display with a touch of flagship-level specs. To put it in simple words, Zenfone 11 Ultra goes with everything, be it the hardware or software section.
At first glance, the visual elements featured on the Zenfone appear identical to the design of the ROG Phone. But particularly, the dedicated camera module was a bit different from the previous generation phones. However, there is no doubt that the company created a huge fan base with the compact smartphone. However, it’s good to see that the company is creating something new. That being said, let’s find out if the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is worth buying.
Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra smartphone review
Reflexes
- You will get a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and 2500 nits brightness support.
- As for the software interface, the phone offers the almost stock Android 14 operating system.
- Under the hood, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
- In terms of camera setup, a 50MP triple camera setup with a 32MP selfie camera setup.
- Lastly, a 5,500 mAh battery setup will appear with 65W wired charging and 15W wireless charging capabilities.
Design and display
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is available in four subtle and aesthetic paint jobs, including Eternal Balck and Skyline Blue as solid color options. Following this, the Misty Gray and Desert Sand variant adds a metallic texture to the back panel. However, the back panel is quite smooth when you first touch it. Not to forget that a square camera module was a unique choice for this phone.
On the front, the bezels aren’t as visible if you just focus on the screen. The company slims down the bezels compared to the Zenfone 10, giving it a decent screen-to-body ratio. Apart from this, the 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED panel is protected by Corning Gorilla Victus 2 protection. At the same time, IP68 rating is also available on the phone, while it will receive an in-display fingerprint scanner with optical features of common facial identification.
Both the fingerprint sensor and face ID sensor work quickly and accurately. Talking about the quality of the display, the colors feel natural with smooth navigation through the 144Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution display. In daylight, the brightness level makes everything visible on the screen with a brightness of 2500 nits. As far as streaming content is concerned, the phone will easily support HDR+ content without any issues.
Memory and internal
The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which truly defines it as flagship hardware. The octa-core process offers a stealth speed of 1 × 3.3 GHz with the main core, while the rest of the core is not that bad either. After this, the device equips Adreno 750 GPU to enhance visuals and graphics during extreme gaming. Inside the phone you will find different processing modes.
You can use the standard mode for normal activities while the performance mode would be ideal for gaming. However, the company also focuses on thermal stimulation so that the user can obtain sustainable performance. On the other hand, the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra comes with Android 14, while it is confirmed that it will receive two years of Android with a standard four years of routine security patches. The software interface is lightweight and you will not find bloatware.
The software skin brings custom Asus features like a volume bar and widget options. However, the phone didn’t offer as many gaming-focused features as the ROG Phone. Still, the overall user experience is seamless with the integration of AI transcriptions, calls, and wallpapers. The phone offers 12GB to 16GB of RAM, which can easily handle apps in the background, while you can choose between 256GB to 512GB UFS 4.0 storage.
Camera
The Zenfone 11 Ultra brings the same 50MP OIS main camera as the latest phone in the ROG series. It will allow users to click stunning images and videos using the native camera app. In addition to this, you will also receive a 32 MP telephoto lens with a 13 MP fixed focus ultra-wide angle lens, which is a pretty good combination. Apart from that, you also get a 32MP selfie camera setup.
Low light photos look great with less background noise. In practice, the noise will not appear without a light touch. In addition to this, the night mode comes into play as the colors look natural while the phone will take a few seconds to capture. The camera app also offers a wide range of camera modes that tend to suit the user’s needs. Take your precious memories to the next level.
On the other hand, the phone offers 8k video recording with the main camera setup, while the front selfie camera will bring 1080p videos. Video stabilization doesn’t look as good on the front camera. However, the video results seem decent with the native camera app. In addition to this, the colors and contrast are accurate.
Battery and others
As the company increased the size of the phone, it also added more battery capacity to the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra. The device incorporates a 5500 mAh battery, which explains the increase in weight and thickness of the phone. But still, the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset ensures a long-lasting display for users. In general, you can expect more than 6 hours of screen time for activities such as gaming, web browsing, and social media use.
On the other hand, the phone supports 65W wired charging, so you can use any charger that offers a similar watt, as the company did not add a charger inside the box. It will take approximately 45 minutes to recharge the battery. With 15W Qi wireless charging, you may have to wait an hour and a half to recharge the battery setup. As for the speakers, the Zenfone 11 Ultra houses a stereo speaker setup, which has an unbalanced output.
But still, the device can handle the stereo effect and ensures above-average sound output. The sound quality is not bad as you can play music at full volume, while the phone has the necessary 5G connectivity, Bluetooth and NFC sensors with a 3.5mm jack port as well. The starting price of the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is around $900 (Rs 74,590 in India) approximately.
Pros and cons of the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
Detail of the specifications of the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
Below you can see the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra smartphone full specifications.
Specifications | Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra |
Grid | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
Announced | March 2024 |
SIM | Dual SIM |
Dimensions | 6.45 x 3.02 x 0.35 inches |
Weight | 224 grams |
Size | 6.78 inches |
Show | LTPO AMOLED 144Hz HDR10 1600-2500 nits brightness Ratio 20:9 ~388 density per inch Always on screen |
Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 IP68 dust/water resistant |
Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
SW | Android 14 |
chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8 Generation 3 |
CPU | Eight cores 1 × 3.3GHz Cortex-X4 Cortex-A720 3 × 3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 2 × 3.0 GHz 2 × 2.3 GHz Cortex-A520 |
GPU | Adren 750 |
card slot | No |
RAM | 12GB, 16GB |
Internal | 256GB, 512GB UFS 4.0 |
Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF, gimbal OIS 32 MP (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 13 MP (120˚ultrawide) LED flash, HDR, panorama Maximum: 8K at 24 fps, gyro EIS, HDR10+ |
selfie | 32 megapixels (wide) Panoramic, HDR Maximum: 1080p at 30fps |
Loudspeaker | Yeah (Stereo speakers) |
3.5mm jack | Yeah 32-bit/384kHz High-Resolution Wireless Audio |
Wifi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
Bluetooth | 5.4, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX adaptive, aptX lossless |
GPS | GPS (L1+L5), BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC, GLONASS |
NFC | Yeah |
infrared port | No |
Radio | No |
USB | USB type C |
Sensors | Under screen fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass |
Battery | 5500mAh 65W wired, PD3.0, PPS, QC5 15W Wireless (Qi) 10W reverse wiring. |
Colors | Eternal black, sky blue, misty gray, desert sand |
Expected price | $900 (Rs 74,590 in India) approximately |
Conclusion
Without a doubt, the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is a fabulous option in the flagship segment. It has complete hardware to perform well in extreme conditions, be it gaming or overclocking. Although it is the first phone in the series, it is worth praising. The device is an all-rounder phone that you should consider looking into.
On the other hand, if you are looking for an option, you should check out the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus. It is an interesting smartphone that offers outstanding specifications for the price. You will receive decent camera results with beautiful images and video recording capabilities. Overall, if you are looking for a complete package, you can consider picking this phone as well. But at the same time, consider your requirements and then choose a phone.