Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra Review: Repurposed ROG

In recent times, Asus’ Zenfone line has turn out to be synonymous with small telephones.

The Zenfone 10 stays the most effective compact gadgets you should buy, with its 5.9-inch display screen bucking the continued pattern for enormous handsets. 

Nevertheless, the Zenfone 11 Extremely couldn’t be extra totally different if it tried. Its 6.78-inch show is consistent with many flagships, as is the £869.99/$899.99 beginning value. 

On paper, the gadget has extra in widespread with the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, Asus’ gaming smartphone which has ditched the gamer-focused design for one thing rather more mainstream. 

It’s not clear if an everyday Zenfone 11 mannequin will ever be launched. So, is the Zenfone 11 Extremely value shopping for? I spent every week utilizing it as my foremost telephone to search out out. 

Design & Construct

• Giant, premium telephone 
• IP68 and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 
• 3.5mm headphone jack 

The Zenfone 11 Extremely is a telephone that Asus needs to face out from the gang, and that begins with the design. 

From the again, it seems fairly totally different to another smartphone – together with the Zenfone 10. That telephone’s round digital camera islands are gone, changed by a single sq. module. I feel the digital camera bump seems ugly and stands proud from the again of the telephone too far, however you possibly can’t argue it’s not distinctive. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Luckily, the remainder of the again of the telephone is rather more engaging. The glass right here has a matt coating, which means it shimmers within the mild with out turning into a mirror or exhibiting fingerprint smudges. 

I actually like how the Skyline Blue model I examined seems in individual, although you might favor Everlasting Black, the opposite model obtainable within the UK. Misty Gray and Desert Sand finishes are solely on sale in different markets. 

Whatever the color you select, the delicate angular sample on the again of the telephone will catch your eye. It provides an attention-grabbing ingredient to an in any other case plain design, but doesn’t look garish in the best way earlier ROG telephones did. 

Sadly, I’d suggest you cowl it with the case included within the field. The Zenfone 11 Extremely is just too slippery to make use of case-free, to the extent that I used to be typically nervous about it falling out of my pocket or off a desk. The additional grip is way wanted. 

Chances are you’ll be tremendous to threat it because the Zenfone 11 Extremely feels sturdy and strong, whereas the powerful Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the show means I’d be assured in it surviving any drops unscathed. You additionally get a flagship-level IP68 ranking, which means it’s absolutely protected towards mud and could be submerged in as much as 1.5m of water for half-hour.  

The entrance and sides of the telephone are so much much less attention-grabbing, although you do get one notable characteristic on the backside: a 3.5mm headphone jack. That is nearly exceptional on a flagship telephone in 2024, however having the choice to attach wired headphones won’t ever be a foul factor. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nevertheless, there’s no doubting the truth that the Zenfone 11 Extremely is an enormous telephone. It measures 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm, and feels cumbersome and cumbersome to make use of at instances.  

At 224.4g, it’s additionally one of many heaviest non-foldable smartphones round. That’s proper consistent with the iPhone 15 Professional Max (221g), although nonetheless lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely (233g). 

It’s additionally value mentioning the Zenfone 11 Extremely’s vibration motor, which delivers delicate but detailed haptic suggestions for every little thing from calls and notifications to typing and gaming. The S24 Extremely continues to be the gold customary on this space, however the Zenfone isn’t far behind. 

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.78-inch OLED display screen 
• 144Hz refresh price 
• Twin stereo audio system 

In case you’ve used a latest Zenfone, the 11 Extremely’s show will come as an enormous shock. 

Its 6.78-inch panel is way bigger than the 5.9-inch one on the Zenfone 10, and one of many largest screens you’ll discover on any telephone.

Asus has put that dimension to good use because the Zenfone 11 Extremely has one of many most interesting shows of any smartphone. It’s a stunning 144Hz OLED, with LTPO tech permitting it to robotically drop all the best way to 1Hz, serving to to preserve battery life with out compromising silky-smooth visuals. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nevertheless, it’s value noting that the utmost refresh price is barely obtainable whereas gaming. For normal utilization, you’re restricted to 120Hz, although it nonetheless makes an enormous distinction whereas scrolling web sites or utilizing social media apps. All the pieces feels extremely responsive, with principally no delay between you touching the display screen and it responding. 

A Full HD+ (2400×1080) decision is nothing particular, however all content material nonetheless seems clear and crisp. Visibility can also be wonderful – Asus claims 2500 nits of max brightness, however even the 800 nits I recorded with auto brightness off makes it straightforward to make use of exterior on a vibrant sunny day. 

Inside the show is an optical fingerprint scanner, and it’s the most effective I’ve tried. After a 30-second setup, it persistently unlocked the gadget rapidly, with no failed makes an attempt except my finger was moist. 

The Zenfone 11 Extremely’s show is surrounded by an impressively slim bezel, which means 94% of your complete entrance panel is display screen. It makes watching movies on the gadget really feel very immersive. 

The audio system additionally contribute to this. There’s a twin stereo setup right here, with the same old mixture of downward-firing grille and earpiece.  

Audio is impressively punchy, with nice readability and a formidable depth to the sound. As is so typically the case on smartphones, bass is missing, however they’re loads adequate for informal listening. 

In fact, if you happen to’re severe about sound high quality, you possibly can join headphones or a speaker through Bluetooth or the three.5mm jack. 

Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset 
• 12/16GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 

Like most Android flagships in 2024, the Zenfone 11 Extremely is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It’s Qualcomm’s strongest cellular chipset on the time of writing, and it exhibits. On the mannequin with 16GB of RAM I examined, efficiency was merely excellent.

My typical day by day utilization includes net searching, a number of messages and emails and some YouTube movies, none of which pushed the telephone anyplace near its limits. In case you’re somebody who likes to do lots of multitasking, the mixture of a giant show and nice efficiency makes the Zenfone 11 Extremely a really perfect candidate. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Gaming gives extra of a problem for a lot of telephones, however not this one. Whereas Name of Responsibility: Cellular, PUBG Cellular, EA Sports activities FC Cellular and Asphalt 9: Legends are thought of among the most demanding video games on the Google Play Retailer, you wouldn’t understand it from enjoying them on the Zenfone 11 Extremely. 

You possibly can count on a top-tier cellular gaming expertise, with no lag or noticeable dropped frames. The big, responsive show makes it really feel extra immersive, even when only a few video games can make the most of the complete 144Hz refresh price. 

Importantly, the again of the telephone solely will get barely heat to the contact whereas enjoying, and by no means turns into uncomfortably sizzling, even with no cooling fan obtainable on some gaming telephones. Asus has clearly bought a really efficient passive cooling system right here. 

Whereas all my observations apply to the mannequin with 16GB of RAM, I’d be shocked if it was noticeably worse on the 12GB model. 

Asus Zenfone 11 Extremely benchmarks

When it comes to on-device storage, you possibly can select between 256- and 512GB. Both needs to be loads for most individuals, but it surely’s value noting that there’s no assist for expandable storage and round 17GB is taken by non-removable system information. 

As you most likely guessed, the Zenfone 11 Extremely helps 5G. It’s joined by Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, each of that are the very newest requirements, alongside NFC and dual-SIM assist. 

Cameras

• 50Mp foremost lens 
• 32Mp 3x telephoto 
• 13Mp ultrawide 
• 32Mp selfie digital camera 

The Zenfone boasts a complete of 4 digital camera lenses: 50Mp foremost, 32Mp telephoto, 13Mp ultrawide and 32Mp selfie. 

From a {hardware} perspective, it’s an identical to the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, Asus’ 2024 gaming telephone. Just about every little thing we stated in regards to the cameras there applies to the 11 Extremely.

To summarise, digital camera efficiency is a lot better than your common gaming telephone. It’s additionally a notable enchancment over the Zenfone 10, which didn’t actually have a telephoto lens. However images nonetheless falls properly wanting one of the best digital camera telephones, which is more durable to disregard when the 11 Extremely is priced like a flagship. 

In good lighting, the 50Mp foremost lens can take some nice photographs. Element and dynamic vary are normally on level, whereas colors usually stay true to life. Most of my testing befell on cloudy days, however publicity was normally dealt with properly. 

The inclusion of optical picture stabilisation (OIS) avoids pictures trying blurry more often than not, regardless of frequent warnings within the digital camera app that they is likely to be. 

In low mild situations, evening mode normally kicks in, however not at all times. With out it, photographs are typically brighter than actual life, simply with a number of noise and inaccurate colors. Enabling it lets you preserve most of those key particulars, so it’s value ready a few further seconds for pictures to course of.

As you possibly can see beneath, evening mode (proper) makes an enormous distinction:

I’d normally suggest utilizing the principle lens for portrait-style pictures, but it surely’s very unreliable on the Zenfone 11 Extremely. In additional than half of my take a look at photographs on a canine, it incorrectly blurred his face or physique, struggling massively with edge detection. Photos look unbelievable if you get it proper, but it surely seems like pure luck. 

The 50Mp telephoto is of an identical customary to the principle lens and includes a 3x optical zoom. Zoomed photographs are very spectacular, although high quality declines rapidly as soon as you progress into digital zoom territory. You possibly can nonetheless make out the topic on the max 30x, however that’s about it. 

Sadly, the 13Mp ultrawide is an enormous step down. The additional subject of view could be very helpful in some situations, but the numerous drop in high quality made me reluctant to make use of it. Color accuracy, dynamic vary and publicity are all affected, which is an actual disgrace. 

It’s a a lot better story on the entrance, the place the 32Mp lens delivers strong selfies. Each the topic and background are well-exposed and in focus except you activate the portrait mode, which does a a lot better job right here of separating the 2 through a gorgeous bokeh impact. 

Total, you possibly can take some actually wonderful pictures utilizing the Zenfone 11 Extremely – simply not persistently. And even at its greatest, most individuals will favor the likes of the Pixel 8 Professional or Galaxy S24 Extremely for stills. 

Video could be captured in as much as 8K at 24fps, although I’d suggest most individuals go away it on the default 4K/30fps. Footage is loads adequate for informal use, whereas the optical picture stabilisation means it stays principally regular when transferring round.  

Battery Life & Charging

• 5500mAh battery 
• 65W wired charging 
• 15W Qi wi-fi charging 

The Zenfone 11 Extremely has one of many largest battery capacities of any smartphone. Its 5500mAh cell is an identical to the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, and battery life is simply as sturdy. 

With reasonable utilization and no gaming, that is very a lot a two-day telephone. On days the place I used to be working from dwelling, I used to be attending to bedtime with round 40-50% battery left. In fact, that is with out cellular knowledge, excessive brightness or GPS navigation, all of that are identified to deplete the battery rapidly. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nevertheless, even you probably have an extended day trip and about, or plan on doing a few hours of gaming, you possibly can count on it to final till the tip of the day. Battery life is undoubtedly a key energy of the Zenfone 11 Extremely. 

A time of 15 hours and 47 minutes in our PCMark battery take a look at is properly above common. And that was at an inexpensive 200 nits and a refresh price of 120Hz. 

The charging state of affairs is rather less spectacular. Asus says the Zenfone 11 Extremely can be utilized with any charger that helps USB Energy Supply 3.0, providing speeds of as much as 65W. In case you accomplish that, the telephone can apparently go from 0-100% in 39 minutes. 

Nevertheless, there isn’t one included within the field. The common 65W laptop computer charger I used was a lot slower, taking 90 minutes to totally cost. I’d suggest getting a supported one to keep away from this example each time after which it’ll positively cost sooner than Samsung and Google rivals.

There’s additionally assist for Qi wi-fi charging at as much as 15W, however this can be even slower. 

Software program & Apps

• Android 14 
• A number of key AI options 
• Two OS updates, 4 years of safety updates 

At launch, the Zenfone 11 Extremely runs Android 14 with Asus’ Zen UI pores and skin excessive. 

There aren’t that many variations right here in comparison with Pixel telephones, although I favor the reorganised Fast Settings panel you see right here. Each ingredient of the person interface feels intuitive and properly thought out, one thing which might’t be stated for all variations of Android. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

There are a handful of additional pre-installed apps, however these don’t bug you and most could be uninstalled. 

Nevertheless, the important thing promoting level of the Zenfone 11 Extremely software program is its AI options. Identical to Google and Samsung earlier than it, Asus needs synthetic intelligence to be an enormous a part of the best way you employ the telephone. 

Nevertheless, not one of the 5 foremost AI options can be obtainable on the gadget at launch. You’ll have to attend for a future software program replace which Asus vaguely says is coming “later”. 

My assessment unit has them included, they usually’re a blended bag on the time of writing. 

Name Translator is sort of an identical to the Dwell Translate characteristic on the Samsung Galaxy S24 telephones, permitting you to name and perceive somebody in real-time through voice and written translation. It takes a few seconds longer to course of than the S24 Extremely and is extra liable to errors, however usually works properly. 

The Noise Cancellation is remarkably good, although. When calling somebody whereas sitting proper subsequent to a speaker enjoying loud dance music, all they might hear was my voice. Transcripts are additionally excellent, with higher accuracy than most transcript instruments and the flexibility to generate concise summaries. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

AI-generated wallpapers reply to a couple prompts to provide one thing distinctive, however I used to be happier simply utilizing one of many default ones. Even if you happen to like to modify issues up, there are many nice third-party wallpaper apps. 

And Semantic Search sounds nice on paper, permitting you to look the Gallery utilizing pure language. However for each instance I attempted, no outcomes have been discovered – maybe attributable to having comparatively few pictures to analyse. That is one thing which ought to get higher over time however you might as properly persist with Google Pictures which is already nice at discovering issues will all types of prompts. 

The AI options are value having, however they received’t make an enormous distinction to the best way you employ the Zenfone 11 Extremely. 

Nevertheless, the restricted software program assist would possibly. Asus guarantees simply two main OS updates, which means Android 16 can be its final. 4 years of safety updates means it’ll be protected to make use of till 2028, however that’s nonetheless miles behind Samsung and Google’s class-leading seven-year dedication.

I hoped for higher and it’s best to too at this finish of the telephone market.

Worth & Availability

The Zenfone 11 Extremely is greater and extra succesful than the Zenfone 10 (from £749.99/$699.99), so it’s no shock to see a value rise. 

It would begin at £869.99/$899.99 for a mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 16/512GB mannequin I examined is £949.99, however not obtainable within the US. 

Nevertheless, a UK pre-order supply means you may get it for £819.99 (256GB) or £869.99 (512GB) till the 14 April launch date. Within the US, pre-orders embrace a free pair of ROG Cetra true wi-fi earbuds as a substitute. 

No networks are promoting the telephone on contract, so that you’ll have to purchase it outright and pair with a SIM-only deal. 

The excellent news is that it’s considerably cheaper than the £1,099/$1,199.99 Asus ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, regardless of providing lots of the similar options. The dangerous information is that there are many nice smartphones round this value, together with the Samsung Galaxy S24, Google Pixel 8 and OnePlus 12. 

Do you have to purchase the Asus Zenfone 11 Extremely?

The Zenfone 11 Extremely sees Asus transfer away from the small telephones the place the Zenfone model has made its identify, however there’s nonetheless so much to love.

The big 144Hz OLED display screen is among the greatest on any smartphone, particularly when paired with stellar Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 efficiency. A barely uncommon design helps it stand out from the gang, whereas battery life is excellent. 

Nevertheless, there are two key issues that allow it down. The cameras are frustratingly error-prone, whereas Asus solely provides a primary two years of Android OS updates. 

With its key promoting level as a small telephone gone, it’s laborious to justify shopping for the Zenfone 11 Extremely over rivals at an identical value. And it’s not clear if the common Zenfone 11 will ever be launched.

Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset 
• 12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM 
• 128/256GB UFS 4.1 storage 
• 6.78-inch, 2400×1080 LTPO OLED show, 144Hz 
• 50Mp, f/1.9 foremost digital camera with OIS 
• 13Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digital camera 
• 32Mp, f/2.4 3x telephoto digital camera with OIS 
• 32Mp, f/2.4 3x selfie digital camera with OIS 
• 5500mAh battery 
• 65W wired charging 
• 15W Qi wi-fi charging 
• 5G 
• Twin stereo audio system 
• 3.5mm audio jack 
• Wi-Fi 7 
• Bluetooth 5.4 
• NFC 
• IP68 water and mud resistance 
• Android 14 
• 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm 
• 224.4g