In this article, we’ll be comparing the best phones Apple and ASUS have to offer at the moment. It’s a comparison between the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra. ASUS’ handset was announced towards the end of the first quarter this year, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max arrived in September. Both phones are quite powerful, but also a lot different in pretty much every way.

They are both large phones, though, and quite compelling at the same time. We will first list their specifications, and take it from there. This comparison will check out their designs, displays, performance, battery life, camera performance, and audio output. There is a lot to talk about, so, let’s get down to it.

Specs

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra, respectively

– Screen size:
6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED ( flat, 120Hz, HDR, 2,000 nits)
6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X (flat, 144Hz, 2,500 nits max brightness)
– Display resolution:
2868 x 1320
2400 x 1080
– SoC:
Apple A18 Pro (3nm)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
– RAM:
8GB
12GB/16GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
256GB/512GB/1TB (NVMe)
256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
48MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.28-inch sensor, 1.22um pixel size, sensor-shift OIS), 48MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, PDAF), 12MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.8 aperture, 1/3.06-inch sensor, 1.12um pixel size, 3D sensor-shift OIS, 5x optical zoom).
50MP (wide, 24mm lens, gimbal OIS), 13MP (ultrawide, 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture), 32MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 aperture)
– Front cameras:
12MP (f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, 1/3.6-inch sensor size, OIS)
32MP (wide, f/2.5 aperture)
– Battery:
4,685mAh
5,500mAh
– Charging:
38W wired, 25W MagSafe, 15W Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, 4.5W reverse wired (charger not included)
65W wired, 15W wireless, 10W reverse wired (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm
163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm
– Weight:
227 grams
224 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3/5.4
– Security:
Face ID (3D facial scanning)
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical)
– OS:
iOS 18
Android 14 with ZenUI
– Price:
$1,199+
$899+
– Buy:
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (Apple)
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra (Amazon)

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Design

Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass. Apple’s flagship uses titanium with the addition of aluminum, while the ZenFone 11 Ultra uses aluminum for its frame. Both devices do have rounded corners, but the ones on the iPhone 16 Pro Max do seem to have more of a curvature to them. The displays are flat on both phones, and the bezels are thin. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a centered pill-shaped cutout on the display, while the ZenFone 11 Ultra has a display camera hole which is also centered.

The frame is flat all around on both phones, though it’s thinner on the ZenFone 11 Ultra. That was a design choice on ASUS’ part, as the backplate on the device curves towards the edges. That’s not the case on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the glass frame is flat on the back. The power/lock button sits on the right side of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, along with a Camera Control key. On the left, you’ll find the volume up and down buttons, and an Action Button. The ZenFone 11 Ultra has the power/lock and volume up and down buttons on the right side. Those are all the buttons included on the device.

If we flip them around, you’ll notice entirely different-looking camera islands. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has its standard iPhone setup, with a zig-zag camera layout. The camera island is squarish with rounded corners and is located in the top-left corner. The ZenFone 11 Ultra’s camera island is also squarish, but with shorter sides. There are also three cameras on the inside, but the camera island is smaller. It’s also placed in the top-left corner.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max does have a slightly larger display, but it’s slightly shorter and wider than the ZneFone 11 Ultra. It’s also slightly thinner and heavier than ASUS’ phone. Both smartphones are quite slippery, and both of them come with an IP68 certification.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Display

The iPhone 16 Pro Max includes a 6.9-inch 2868 x 1320 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. This panel is flat, and it supports an adaptive refresh rate from 1 to 120Hz. HDR10 content is supported, as is Dolby Vision. The peak brightness that this display offers is 2,000 nits, while the screen-to-body ratio is at around 91%. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9, while the Ceramic Shield glass protects this panel.

The ZenFone 11 Ultra, on the other hand, includes a 6.78-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) LTPO AMOLED display. This panel is also flat, and it also offers an adaptive refresh rate, though it goes from 1 to 144Hz. Do note that you’ll never get 144Hz during regular use, though, only through games that support it. HDR10 content is supported, and the peak brightness is 2,500 nits. The screen-to-body ratio is around 88%, while the display aspect ratio is 20:9. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel.

Both of these panels are great, actually. They’re sharp, vivid, and have great viewing angles. Both of them also get bright enough when you need them to, and the touch response is good. They’re both sharp enough, even though the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s display is sharper. That’s not something many people will notice, though. The protection is good on both displays too. Not many of you have complaints about either of these panels, in all honesty.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Performance

The Apple A18 Pro SoC fuels the iPhone 16 Pro Max. That is Apple’s 3nm processor. It’s paired with 8GB of RAM and NVMe storage. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor fuels the ZenFone 11 Ultra. That is a 4nm chip from Qualcomm, and it’s paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. Neither smartphone offers expandable storage, by the way. Apple’s chip is technically a bit more powerful, but both are up there.

The performance that both phones offer is great. In regular, day-to-day tasks, they’re very snappy. It’ll be a real struggle to get them to slow down, actually. It really doesn’t matter what you’re doing. The ZenFone 11 Ultra also comes with very light software, inspired by stock Android, and it performs great on this phone. It’s actually a real joy to use, and one of our favorite Android skins.

What about gaming? Well, they both do their job without a hitch. Low and mid-range games, in terms of graphical demands, run perfectly fine on both, and the same can be said for the most demanding ones. Both of these phones are powerful enough to run pretty much anything out there. Neither of them gets too hot either, although there are phones out there that handle thermals better. They never got too hot to handle, though, at all, and the heat did not affect the gameplay.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Battery

A 4,685mAh battery sits inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The ZenFone 11 Ultra, on the flip side, utilizes a 5,500mAh battery. Android flagships usually have larger smartphones than their iPhone counterparts, though that doesn’t have to mean anything. In this case, both smartphones offer great battery life, actually. They’re almost on par. The iPhone 16 Pro Max still does a bit better in the battery longevity department, but not by much.

You can cross the 7-hour screen-on-time with both phones, under specific conditions. It all depends on how you use your phone, what apps you’re using, what’s your signal like, and so on. Under normal signal conditions, without gaming, crossing that 7-hour threshold is possible on both, and then some. We even managed to cross the 8-hour screen-on-time mark with the iPhone 16 Pro Max on a number of occasions. All in all, not many of you will have battery life complaints here.

The ZenFone 11 Ultra offers faster wired and slower wireless charging. It supports 65W wired, 15W Qi wireless, and 10W reverse wired charging. The iPhone 16 Pro Max supports 38W wired, 25W MagSafe wireless, 15W Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, and 4.5W reverse wired charging. It’s also worth noting that neither phone includes a charger in the retail box.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Cameras

There are three cameras on the backs of both of these smartphones. The iPhone 16 Pro Max includes a 48-megapixel main camera (1/1.28-inch sensor), a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit, and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (1/3.06-inch sensor, 5x optical zoom). The ZenFone 11 Ultra, on the other hand, has a 50-megapixel main unit (1/1.56-inch sensor), a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera (1/3.0-inch sensor), and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera (1/3.2-inch sensor, 3x optical zoom).

From what we’ve seen, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does offer better image output in general. The image do end up looking better in terms of overall balance, while you’ll also see more fine detail upon zooming in. The ZenFone 11 Ultra has a tendency to oversharpen images still, and at times they can also look a bit oversaturated. Most of the time, though, they look really nice. It’s not so clean-cut, the ZenFone 11 Ultra did do a better job at times, it all depends on the scene.

The periscope telephoto camera does a better job on the iPhone 16 Pro Max if you go 5x or above that, but at around 3x we did prefer shots from the ZenFone 11 Ultra more often than not. The ultrawide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max did do a better job most of the time. It’s a similar story for low-light too, the images from the iPhone 16 Pro Max looked better most of the time, and the same goes for video recording in general.

Audio

There is a set of stereo speakers on both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the ZenFone 11 Ultra. The speakers on Apple’s flagship are louder, however, noticeably, even though the ones on the ZenFone 11 Ultra are far from quiet. The sound quality output is good from both phones.

If you need a headphone jack, the ZenFone 11 Ultra has you covered. The iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn’t have it, but you can connect your headphones to its Type-C port, though. Bluetooth 5.3 is supported on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, while ASUS’ phone comes with Bluetooth 5.4 support.