Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review

14 March 2024


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Terrible phone. Should've at most gotten 3.7★. Camera software is terrible, camera specs are underwhelming. In fact, it's the same exact camera setup as the Oppo Find N3 Flip, but that one does it so much better even if I personally really dislike expensive phones having underwhelming cameras. At least that phone has an excuse, since it's a flip-style foldable where space is very limited.

Also, the display is 1080p, so it's really not sharp (only 388 PPI), and it just feels like they cloned the ROG Phone 8, gave it a non-gaming look, and sold it for cheaper. It shares basically everything but the back (and that one's extremely similar), which makes me question the price justification for both phones. This is a pathetic excuse for a phone, and while the ROG Phone 8 has a reason to exist (even if they took what was great with past ROG Phones and chucked it into the bin), this just doesn't in any way, shape or form. Nobody asked for this. Nobody needed this. Asus, either get your act together, or just go like LG and HTC have done. You were great with the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip, but you have fallen off a cliff so tall since then that it probably happened in the Grand Canyon.

    • D
    • AnonD-1147675
    • 03P
    • 14 Mar 2024

    Cmon people, this phone is SO much better than S24+ and even S24U in most regards:
    1: A bigger battery, and FAR better battery life.
    2: Game Genie and 144hz for gaming.
    3: No Exynos!
    4: Has a 3.5mm jack! This should be normal, yet it isn't! But here it is! This alone makes it the flagship of the year for me.
    5: The telephoto is 32MP rather than 10MP on the S24+, letting you zoom in digitally even further.
    6: Up to 16GB of RAM.
    7: Charges at 65W.
    8: Stock Android, with optimizations selectable on/off. Why isn't this normal on all phones?!
    9: Historically, Zenfone's camera processing was actually better than Samsung's, in fact second after the Pixels'. Might not be the case this year though. :(
    10: Its edges won't cut into your hand.
    11: It has WiFi7, unlike S24+.
    12: Extremely effective High Performance Mode.
    13: You call this a generic camera bump? Look at Samsung for a moment! lol
    14: Has "AI" features as well, but without naming the entire event after them, Samsung.
    15: Comes with a case, which is even more important than a charger, as cases are model-specific.

    The cons do exist, unfortunately:
    1: Much shorter software support.
    2: Bootloader might not be unlockable.
    3: No microSD, and no 1TB version.
    4: Glass back? Really Asus? I LOVE the grippy back of my Zenfone 9, and here you do exactly the opposite, a shattering glass back. Same goes for most competitors, though.
    5: No charger this year. Same goes for $amsung, but not for, say, OnePlus.
    6: No IR blaster. Again, same goes for Samsung, but not for the Chinese competitors.
    7: We do not know whether we will see a small version. :(
    8: 1080p rather than 1440p. (Would you notice at this size though?)

      What goes through the head of a phone company when they put a telephoto camera that can't be used in portrait mode? Anyway, it looks solid. I don't like it, but it isn't bad at all. I just hope it doesn't mean the small Zenfone is dead. Those were great.

        • R
        • Rkm
        • CbI
        • 14 Mar 2024

        If they were going to release an ultra, why would they make they rog 8 more mainstream friendly. IMO Asus fumbled their product lineup big this year. Lets see if they will even launch the compact 11.

          Anonymous, 14 Mar 2024How to fix zenfone Front design of Rog 7 with dual spea... moreAlso, at least 4y of Android upgrades.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • 0p}
            • 14 Mar 2024

            How to fix zenfone

            Front design of Rog 7 with dual speakers
            6,5" QHD screen
            Imx902 24mm + LYT600 70-110mm
            Lyt500 selfie.
            Side finger scanner
            Earphone jack
            Micro sd slot
            Gorilla Armor front + victus 2 back
            Usb c3.2

              Fair review. The software section is 75% soon will be 💯 a plus either way than the referrals 👍🏿

                Bro the main cam photos straight up look worse than the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ holy moly. This phone's cameras are so bad that the Realme 12 Pro+ seems like a top tier flagship in comparison, I'm not saying that phone is bad but it's just that that phone's a midranger and this is supposed to be a flagship. Unbelievable stuff from Asus like I thought the Nothing Phone 2 was kinda mid for the price due to its poor/mediocre processing but this is a new low. The low light performance is so bad, the noise is ugly/the noise reduction is 2019 Samsung level. Details are so artificial looking like damn. Who's this phone for?

                Throttling performance is good in the sense that it sustains the top end of the performance for longer but wow when it throttles, it throttles HARD in the performance mode. The Vivo X100 Pro is able to squeeze out more from the Dimensity 9300, just goes to show how good Vivo's optimization is and how good Mediatek have gotten, or how bad Asus has gotten. Yikes! Every other 8 Gen 3 phone is better.

                The speakers, omg did Asus forget that there's an entire part of the frequency spectrum called THE HIGHS? They must've been high cus this sounds even more muffled than the ROG Phone 8. Dynamics and stuff are good but the sounds has so little character now.

                Battery is the only saving grace, it's excellent but why would anyone want to use this mid phone for that long lmaoo, charging speeds are nice but no proper innovation has been done.

                Seems like the ROG Phone 7 Pro was Asus's swan song, or at least should've been. This just feels like a bastardization of the Asus of the past. Used to always think "well the ROG Phone is indeed kinda pricey but no phone is able to properly do what it does". This phone makes the S24 Ultra look like a good deal, that's a dystopian future I don't want lmao

                  • M
                  • Minu
                  • ter
                  • 14 Mar 2024

                  [deleted post]Amole amole amole

                    • B
                    • Bugsz
                    • thw
                    • 14 Mar 2024

                    They made this bcs "small" device is not popular only niche peoples buy it... they try to make it. zenfone 9 is a beast but 10... i almost buy asus but S23 it better zen 10? to big and support for software is none camera? ... s23 is so much better in everything except price... but it's higher end phones market.. peoples is this segment priority is not price wise

                      • -
                      • -
                      • 64W
                      • 14 Mar 2024

                      Oh. That's a real life image of the Zenfone 11 Ultra on the thumbnail? I thought GSMArena got lazy and used a promo image

                        Go home Asus. You're drunk.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • xjH
                          • 14 Mar 2024

                          Still waiting for the full review of Nubia Z60 ultra

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • vIc
                            • 14 Mar 2024

                            So a 1k euro phone with worse cameras than $700 flagship "killers" and throttles fast so not performance focused either.

                              bad camera and software support, ASUS could do so much better

                                i can't lie...

                                the camera performance here (except video) is really disappointing. i understand that this is a slightly cheaper phone compared to the competition, but stills from this phone are comparable to devices that cost half or even more. i just can't see the point in getting the zenfone 11 ultra when the oneplus 12 exists and is much better

                                  This phone actually looks really good, seriously considering future versions of it for my next upgrade.

                                  And I'm 99% sure they'll still make a compact zenfone 11. Why go through the trouble of NG among this one the Ultra if there isn't a base one to compare it to? We'll prob see the base 11 later in the year

                                    Was mildly interested in a compact zenfone 11 phone, but the value proposition is just not there, it's big and not even coming with a charger, it's just dull.

                                      It is the end of compact Zenfone.

                                      ASUS has been in financial trouble and undergoing restructuring since last summer. Thousands got laid off and the original Zenfone department merged with ROG Phone.

                                      There's no Zenfone division now, so It is the end.

                                        justasmile, 14 Mar 2024Price's not good. At 899, for 2 os updates and 4 years... moreIN THOSE 4 YEARS IF YOU SEE 2 security patches it's a lot hahaha

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