Fast smartphone with plenty of AI power: Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra review
Happy all around?
Asus sends its design smartphone to the next battle and equips it with a top-tier SoC again. Additionally, numerous AI tools are now available on the Zenfone 12 Ultra. Our review clarifies the innovations that are still forthcoming and identifies any points of stagnation.Daniel Schmidt, 👁 Daniel Schmidt, ✓ Anton Avdyushkin (translated by DeepL / Ninh Duy) Published 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...
Verdict - Zenfone 12 Ultra shows weaknesses
The Zenfone 12 Ultra is a solid upper-class smartphone, featuring a fast processor, a decent camera, and excellent battery life. Quick charging and an eSIM are also on board; it is also IP68 certified.
However, the short update period and the potentially high surface temperatures stand out negatively. Asus will hopefully fix the problems with mesh networks in a future update.
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
- $7.52KJYFOANI for Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra Screen Protector Tempered Galss, [1 Pack] High Clear [9H Hardness] [Bubble Free] Screen Tempered Glass Protective Film for Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra 6.78 Inch.
- $9.90MOOISVS 2+2 Pack for Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra Tempered Glass Screen Protector+Camera Lens Protector,Tempered Glass Film,9H Hardness,Anti-Scratch, Anti-Fingerprint Screen Protector
Table of Contents
- Verdict - Zenfone 12 Ultra shows weaknesses
- Specifications: Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra
- Case and features - Zenfone 12 Ultra with Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- Communication and operation - Asus phone with optical fingerprint sensor
- Software and sustainability - Asus only provides two major updates
- Camera - Zenfone 12 Ultra with LYT-700
- Display - Bright OLED, even in the dark
- Performance, emissions and battery life - Zenfone can get very hot
- Notebookcheck overall rating
The Zenfone 12 Ultra is the successor to the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra and is based on the fastest Qualcomm chipset currently available. It is also slightly lighter and now offers eSIM support and numerous AI functions.
With an RRP of €1,099, it is no bargain and has to compete with strong rivals such as the Magic7 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, or the Galaxy S25+.
Specifications: Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra
Case and features - Zenfone 12 Ultra with Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Asus has slightly revised the design of the Zenfone 12 Ultra compared to its predecessor and reduced the size of the camera hump. However, at 3.95 mm, it protrudes quite a bit. The workmanship is impressive: the gaps are tight and even, and the matte aluminum frame is not susceptible to fingerprints in the black version (our test sample). The glass on the back is also matte, although it is visibly more susceptible to dirt. The front is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
In terms of features, Asus has retained the audio jack on the Zenfone 12 Ultra, which proved to be low-noise in the test (SNR: 100.91 dBFS). However, eSIM support is new. If this is to be used, the second SIM slot is deactivated.
Communication and operation - Asus phone with optical fingerprint sensor
The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra supports all modern communication standards, such as 5G Sub6, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC. Only UWB has to be dispensed with. In combination with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE 11000 reference router, the smartphone achieves high data transfer rates, only showing an initial drop when transmitting in the 6 GHz range. In everyday use, our Zenfone has problems with mesh systems, ignoring them stubbornly and only connecting directly to the router, a Fritz!Box 5690 Pro.
The Zenfone's capacitive touchscreen works flawlessly and has good gliding properties. A protective film is not applied. Asus offers an optical fingerprint sensor integrated into the display for biometric security. This works reliably and quickly. Less secure facial recognition via the front camera is also an option.
The power button is a so-called smart button and can be configured: in addition to a single press, it can also assign different actions to double taps and long presses.
Software and sustainability - Asus only provides two major updates
The Zenfone 12 Ultra comes with Google Android 15 and should receive two major Android updates. Asus has extended the coverage for the security patches to five years, which is still not much considering the price range.
Asus has significantly upgraded the AI functions and is presenting nine new features. These include improvements to video recording, generative image enhancement, Circle to Search, a call translator, and various functions for summarizing or translating texts. Some of these features are still in beta status and are not yet working smoothly.
Asus has not yet provided any information regarding the use of recycled raw materials or the smartphone's CO2 footprint. For the 11 Ultra, however, a sustainability report https://esg.asus.com/en/resource/carbon_footprint?tabs=phoneis available. Asus does not intend for users to perform repairs themselves, so no instructions or spare parts are available. The Zenfone 12 Ultra is delivered in a cardboard box; we could not see any plastic in it.
Camera - Zenfone 12 Ultra with LYT-700
Not much has nominally changed with the cameras. The same sensor is used on the front, which impresses with good selfies, but only allows videos in Full HD (30 FPS).
The rear triple camera is also essentially unchanged. However, the Zenfone 12 Ultra is equipped with a newer main sensor, the Sony Lytia 700, with improved gimbal stabilization. This can also be clearly seen in the photos. The contrasts have become crisper, and the imaging performance seems more harmonious than that of its predecessor. However, we would have appreciated seeing more detail at close range and somewhat more vivid colors.
Videos can be recorded in 8k (30 FPS). Sixty frames per second are possible starting from Ultra HD. One downside: the powerful image stabilization is only available for Full HD.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraMain cameraUltra wide-angle5x ZoomLow-Light
Display - Bright OLED, even in the dark
The OLED display of the Zenfone 12 Ultra remains unchanged from its predecessor, once again offering an extended Full HD resolution. A refresh rate of up to 144 Hz is possible in gaming mode; otherwise, dynamic adjustment between 1 and 120 Hz is used.
Nothing has changed in terms of brightness either. This reaches a peak of 2,550 cd/m² when HDR content is displayed. The relatively high minimum brightness must be criticized, which is often too much in the dark.
We measured a PWM frequency of a fairly constant 480 Hz with a flat amplitude curve, which becomes even flatter when flicker protection is activated (see 2nd screenshot). However, complaints cannot be ruled out.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 96 %
Center on Battery: 1652 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 3.3 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
99.2% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.24
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.8" | Google Pixel 9 Pro XL OLED, 2992x1344, 6.8" | Honor Magic7 Pro OLED, 2800x1280, 6.8" | Samsung Galaxy S25+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3120x1440, 6.7" | Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.8" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 46% | 29% | 4% | 30% | |
| Brightness middle | 1652 | 2148 30% | 1607 -3% | 1371 -17% | 1664 1% |
| Brightness | 1659 | 2050 24% | 1609 -3% | 1370 -17% | 1674 1% |
| Brightness Distribution | 96 | 86 -10% | 95 -1% | 96 0% | 98 2% |
| Black Level * | |||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.8 | 0.5 82% | 0.9 68% | 2.7 4% | 0.8 71% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 5 | 1.4 72% | 1.8 64% | 4.2 16% | 2 60% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.3 | 0.8 76% | 1.7 48% | 2 39% | 1.8 45% |
| Gamma | 2.24 98% | 2.23 99% | 2.24 98% | 2.03 108% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6604 98% | 6582 99% | 6346 102% | 6450 101% | 6526 100% |
* ... smaller is better
| Display / APL18 Peak Brightness | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Display / HDR Peak Brightness | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 480 Hz Amplitude: 13.95 % |   | |
The display backlight flickers at 480 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 480 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8437 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings (The amplitude curve at minimum brightness looks flat, but this is due to the scaling. The info box shows the enlarged version of the amplitude at minimum brightness)
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 0.98 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.475 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.5035 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 2.38 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.9705 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.411 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 9 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.3 ms). | ||
Performance, emissions and battery life - Zenfone can get very hot
The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite with 16 GB of RAM. This is one of the fastest SoCs currently available in smartphones, and the performance is correspondingly high. Its performance remains comparatively stable even in the stress test, but that comes at the price of very high surface temperatures.
The two speakers can get very loud but distort somewhat at maximum volume. Numerous codecs are on board for wireless audio transmission; only Auracast is not supported.
The 5,500 mAh battery allows for long runtimes, but more would certainly have been possible with higher efficiency. A full battery charge took 53 minutes in the test (50%: 17 min).
| Geekbench AI | |
| Single Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (287 - 738, n=11) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (51 - 1501, n=43, last 2 years) | |
| Half Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (51 - 9453, n=42, last 2 years) | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (265 - 734, n=11) | |
| Quantized TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Average of class Smartphone (123 - 13084, n=42, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (594 - 1708, n=11) | |
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 56 °C / 133 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 52.7 °C / 127 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.9 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Steel Nomad Stress Test
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Solar Bay Stress Test Stability | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Steel Nomad Light Stress Test Stability | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.1% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6.6% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.5% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 7% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 88% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 27% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 68% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy S25+ audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 18.3% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.3% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.7% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 7% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 87% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 27% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 65% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
| Battery Runtime - WiFi v1.3 | |
| Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra | |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro XL | |
| Honor Magic7 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25+ | |
Notebookcheck overall rating
The Zenfone 12 Ultra only offers a few new features on the spec sheet. However, it has made significant improvements to the AI functions in particular, and eSIM support is now finally available.
Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra
- 04/01/2025 v8
Daniel Schmidt
Total Sustainability Score: Possible alternatives comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Drive | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. 84.8%  | Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.88 Damolong Screen Protector Co... 2. $7.52 KJYFOANI for Asus Zenfone 12... 3. $9.90 MOOISVS 2+2 Pack for Asus Ze... List Price: 1099€ | 220 g | 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 6.78" 2400x1080 388 PPI AMOLED |
2. 86%  | Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Google Tensor G4 ⎘ ARM Mali-G715 MP7 ⎘ 16 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: 1. $1,098.23 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL - Unlo... 2. $8.49 OMOTON 3+2 Pack for Google P... 3. $8.62 Ferilinso Full Coverage 3 Pa... List Price: 1299€ | 221 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.80" 2992x1344 482 PPI OLED |
3. 89.2%  | Honor Magic7 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $8.99 MOOISVS 2+2Pack for Honor Ma... 2. $8.99 MOOISVS 2+2 Pack for Honor M... 3. $10.44 YOUULAR [1 Pack Privacy Scre... List Price: 1300€ | 223 g | 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 6.80" 2800x1280 453 PPI OLED |
4. 88.4%  | Samsung Galaxy S25+ Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.99 Wiaocit 3 Pack Tempered Glas... 2. $26.98 UltraGlass Unbreak TOP 9H+ G... 3. $7.99 YWXTW 3 Pack Camera Lens Pro... List Price: 1149 Euro | 190 g | 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 6.70" 3120x1440 513 PPI Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
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The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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