ASUS’ entry into the smartphone market nearly a decade ago with the original Zenfone series showed that it has what it takes to stand out amidst a crowded market segment. Fast-forward to 2025, and ASUS still wants to win over Android users with its latest crop of phones and no, we’re not talking about the ROG phone series here – at this moment in time, it’s the Zenfone 12 Ultra that has control of the spotlight, packing a ton of features in terms of both hardware and software.
Priced at around 1,000 EUR, ASUS is positioning the 12 Ultra as an option for users who still want to stick with a familiar brand, but don’t need a full-on gaming device such as the ROG Phone series. While it does share some similarities with its gaming-centric siblings (such as aesthetics, for one), it’s positioned for more “moderate” users – let’s take a look!
Design and Display
As mentioned earlier, the Zenfone 12 Ultra borrows a bit from the ROG line’s hardware design, which combines metal and glass for a sleek overall look. Unlike the ROG phones however it lacks the customizable lighting setup on the rear panel, although this helps to keep it distinct with its own, un-ROG identity. In addition to the USB-C port you’ll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack, a rare commodity in this day and age especially on flagship Android phones.
As for the display, the phone comes with a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED panel that features a relatively-sharp resolution of 1080×2400 pixels. Also present is a 144Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,500 nits, complete with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection for those unexpected knocks and bumps. The large and smooth screen will make the phone ideal for media consumption especially with Netflix binges and gaming. It also houses a built-in fingerprint scanner for security and biometrics.
Internal Specs and Software
As with a lot of other 2025 Android flagship phones, ASUS has equipped the Zenfone 12 Ultra with Qualcomm’s all-powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. The phone also features different RAM and storage configurations which max out at to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, which we reckon should be enough for most users. Powering the phone is a beefy 5,500 mAh battery, which can charge relatively fast at 65W speeds, with support for 15W wireless charging and even 10W reverse wired charging.
As for software, you’re getting the latest Android 15 version which is layered with ASUS’ exclusive apps and software services – it should be mentioned though that ASUS only states up to two years of major Android upgrades, a far cry from the seven years offered by brands like Google and Samsung, for example.
Camera Hardware
For imaging, there’s a triple rear camera system that features a 50MP wide-angle lens (f/1.9, 24mm) with a 1/1.56″ sensor, a 32MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 65mm) with 3x optical zoom, OIS and PDAF via a 1/3.2″ sensor, and a 13MP ultrawide lens (f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚) with a 1/3.0″ sensor, with video recording maxing out at 8K@24fps. In front there’s a selfie camera with a single 32MP wide-angle lens (f/2.5, 22mm) with panorama, HDR, and 1080p@30fps video recording.
