Performance is present

Review: Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra - Improved

Large screen, fastest performance, and a whole bunch of different AI features.

Erik Mörner

Published 6 February 2025 - 09:21

The description of the Zenfone 12 Ultra could apply to most phones sold today. Yet, Asus does quite a few things differently. Zenfone is Asus's all-purpose phone, unlike the sister phone ROG, which is a dedicated gaming phone. Still, they both have a lot in common, and the impression is that they are now built on the same foundation. For example, the Zenfone 12 Ultra has a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, something very rare today, and the USB-C port in the lower corner just like the ROG. Otherwise, Asus mainly wants to highlight the performance, cameras, and all AI features.

This, of course, makes it a bit difficult for the phone to stand out in the crowd. Asus previously released a compact version of Zenfone, and then the phone had significantly more unique features compared to competitors. I notice, at least, that Asus has made several clear improvements compared to last year's Zenfone 11 Ultra.

Fast reactions

If we go through the most important features, performance is what I appreciate the most. Given that the phone has the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite, there is more than enough power here. The system always feels fast and responds without delay. The screen with its fast refresh rate of up to 120 hertz, even higher for some games, contributes to this, and the interface itself is obviously well-optimized. Asus doesn't do much unique, but we get a couple of their own apps like a photo album, a special AI app that summarizes texts, a voice recorder (also with AI), and, for example, weather and file manager.

Most of their own customizations are related to AI. The voice recorder can transcribe spoken audio to written text, and it's impressive that all these AI services work even in Swedish. Samsung has made a big deal about having Swedish language support since last fall, but the fact is that Asus is on par, with Swedish support for everything from text summarization to live translation of calls. When I compare, the impression is that Samsung's voice interpretation and direct translation are somewhat sharper and more often correct, but the basic functions are relatively similar.

Asus does not have its own browser, so if you want to summarize a webpage with AI, you should open your regular browser, such as Google's Chrome which comes with it, and then share the webpage to the AI app to get a bullet-point summary. It is clearly stated in the app that the summaries are a beta version, and when I try it, only the local version of summaries is available and not the cloud-based one. I have some opinions on the locally created summaries, and sometimes they are misleading and contradictory. If Asus gets this to work, I still prefer this solution, which then works with any browser instead of being forced to use a specific browser.

Better pictures, same cameras

Several other manufacturers offer a range of different AI tools for editing images, but Asus largely stays out of it. There are a variety of AI edits in Google Photos that come with all Android phones anyway. Looking at the cameras themselves, they have received a lot of improvement compared to the predecessor. I notice this in the pictures even though the actual hardware specifications are identical. The Zenfone 12 Ultra has improved image stabilization, but the sensors with a main camera of 50 megapixels and Sony sensor, wide-angle at 13 megapixels, and telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom are the same as in the Zenfone 11 Ultra. Despite noticing significantly better color reproduction, it is clear in several areas that the Zenfone 12 Ultra and its cameras lag behind the best. In the dark, color reproduction and detail richness deteriorate, and I also notice in daylight that, for example, tree branches against a bright sky become oversharpened with unnatural shadows around them.

Questions and Answers

Does it have built-in call recording?

Yes, Asus has long been more or less alone in this, but now more are catching on, especially Samsung in the S25 series.

Will there be a compact phone in the Zenfone series again?

We thought so last year when Ultra was launched, but it didn't happen, and now it seems that Zenfone 12 Ultra will be the only phone in the Zenfone 12 family. It is an established truth that many say they want a smaller phone, but very few buy the ones that exist.

Is the latest generation top chip necessary?

It makes the phone fast and provides support for the latest AI services, but it is hardly indispensable, and if you want to save money, last year's or the year before's flagship is definitely an option.

An alternative

The most obvious competitor is Oneplus 13, with the same fast performance and price level, but a better camera.

Camera example

Bildspel: Exempelbilder från Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra

Poorer images in low light and even here in daylight, mistakes are noticeable, such as tree branches becoming oversharpened and having bright shadows around them.