The ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra was announced this morning as a sort of successor to the Zenfone 10, but not really. That is because the one feature that made the Zenfone 10 so famous, is no longer available on the Zenfone 11 Ultra. And that’s the size of the phone.
For the last couple of years, ASUS has gone with a more compact phone that features a 5.9-inch display. But this year, ASUS has gone big, literally. The Zenfone 11 Ultra sports a 6.78-inch AMOLED 144Hz display. That puts it on par with most of the other flagship smartphones in the market today.
Unfortunately, for those who loved the compact phones, ASUS has told us that this is the only Zenfone model they plan to release this year.
ASUS has stuck with a no-frills approach for Zenfone 11 Ultra
The Zenfone 11 Ultra doesn’t have a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Instead, ASUS has opted to go with the approach of letting the specs speak for themselves. Don’t get me wrong, there are some AI features included in the Zenfone 11 Ultra, but not as many as you might expect.
On the specs front, this phone sports a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, or 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. There is also a 5,500mAh capacity battery inside, which can be charged at up to 65W. However, the charger is no longer available in the box.
ASUS also upgraded the cameras this year. Sporting a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and a 32-megapixel telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom. There’s also a 32-megapixel front-facing camera for those selfies.
As mentioned before, it does have a 6.78-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate. However, 144Hz is only available in-game. The rest of the time, it will intelligently move between 1Hz and 120Hz since it is an LTPO display. It also has a peak brightness of around 2,500 nits, which is pretty respectable.
ASUS is including its GlideX software on the Zenfone 11 Ultra, allowing you to connect your phone to your Windows PC without even using WiFi. You can use a USB-C cable to do so and be able to screen mirror, stream apps, drag and drop files, and so much more.
The usual AI features are here as well, including AI Noise Cancellation, so you can take a call in a bar or at a game and no longer worry about the other person being able to hear you. Generative AI wallpapers and AI transcripts are also here, and they will convert voice memos to text for you.
When can I buy the ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra?
Pre-orders for the ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra are available now on ASUS eShop, Mobile Advance, and Amazon. The Zenfone 11 Ultra will officially launch on April 14. Those who pre-order a Zenfone 11 Ultra will also receive a pair of ROG Cetra True Wireless Earbuds in the Moonlight White color, which is a $99 value.
Now, what about the price? Well, the Zenfone 11 Ultra did get a price increase this year, as expected, with the much larger size of the phone. It starts at $899. That’s $200 more than the starting price of the Zenfone 10.