Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review

In recent times, Asus’ Zenfone line has turn into synonymous with small telephones.

The Zenfone 10 stays among the finest compact gadgets you should buy, with its 5.9-inch display screen bucking the continuing development for enormous handsets. 

Nonetheless, the Zenfone 11 Extremely couldn’t be extra totally different if it tried. Its 6.78-inch show is according to many flagships, as is the £869.99/$899.99 beginning worth. 

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

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

Design & Construct

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

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

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

Happily, the remainder of the again of the telephone is way more enticing. The glass right here has a matt coating, that means it shimmers within the mild with out changing into a mirror or exhibiting fingerprint smudges. 

I actually like how the Skyline Blue model I examined seems to be in particular person, although it’s possible you’ll desire 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 refined angular sample on the again of the telephone will catch your eye. It provides an fascinating 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 usually apprehensive about it falling out of my pocket or off a desk. The additional grip is way wanted. 

You could be nice to threat it because the Zenfone 11 Extremely feels sturdy and strong, whereas the robust 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 score, that means it’s absolutely protected in opposition to mud and might be submerged in as much as 1.5m of water for half-hour.  

The entrance and sides of the telephone are loads much less fascinating, 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

Nonetheless, there’s no doubting the truth that the Zenfone 11 Extremely is a giant telephone. It measures 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm, and feels cumbersome and cumbersome to make use of at occasions.  

At 224.4g, it’s additionally one of many heaviest non-foldable smartphones round. That’s proper according to 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 refined but detailed haptic suggestions for every part 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 & Audio system

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

Should you’ve used a current Zenfone, the 11 Extremely’s show will come as a giant 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 best shows of any smartphone. It’s a stunning 144Hz OLED, with LTPO tech permitting it to mechanically drop all the best way to 1Hz, serving to to preserve battery life with out compromising silky-smooth visuals. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

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Nonetheless, it’s value noting that the utmost refresh price is just obtainable whereas gaming. For normal utilization, you’re restricted to 120Hz, although it nonetheless makes a giant distinction whereas scrolling web sites or utilizing social media apps. The whole lot feels extremely responsive, with mainly no delay between you touching the display screen and it responding. 

A 2.4K (2400×1080) decision is nothing particular, however all content material nonetheless seems to be clear and crisp. Visibility can also be glorious – Asus claims 2500 nits of max brightness, however even the 800 nits I recorded with autobrightness off makes it straightforward to make use of outdoors on a brilliant sunny day. 

Inside the show is an optical fingerprint scanner, and it’s among the finest I’ve tried. After a 30-second setup, it constantly unlocked the machine shortly, with no failed makes an attempt except my finger was moist. 

The Zenfone 11 Extremely’s show is surrounded by an impressively slim bezel, that means 94% of your complete entrance panel is display screen. It makes watching movies on the machine 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 powerful depth to the sound. As is so usually the case on smartphones, bass is missing, however they’re a lot adequate for informal listening. 

In fact, should you’re critical about sound high quality, you’ll be able to 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 cell chipset on the time of writing, and it exhibits. On the mannequin with 16GB of RAM I examined, efficiency was merely very good.

My typical day by day utilization entails net searching, plenty of messages and emails and some YouTube movies, none of which pushed the telephone wherever near its limits. Should you’re somebody who likes to do a number of multitasking, the mix of a big show and nice efficiency makes the Zenfone 11 Extremely an excellent candidate. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

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

You’ll be able to count on a top-tier cell gaming expertise, with no lag or noticeable dropped frames. The massive, responsive show makes it really feel extra immersive, even when only a few video games can reap the benefits 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 and not using a cooling fan obtainable on some gaming telephones. Asus has clearly acquired 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’ll be able to select between 256- and 512GB. Both must be a lot 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 recordsdata. 

As you in all probability 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 principal lens 
• 32Mp 3x telephoto 
• 13Mp ultrawide 
• 32Mp selfie digicam 

The Zenfone boasts a complete of 4 digicam lenses: 50Mp principal, 32Mp telephoto, 13Mp ultrawide and 32Mp selfie. 

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

To summarise, digicam efficiency is significantly 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 effectively in need of the perfect digicam telephones, which is more durable to disregard when the 11 Extremely is priced like a flagship. 

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

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

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

As you’ll be able to see beneath, night time mode (proper) makes a giant 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 check photographs on a canine, it incorrectly blurred his face or physique, struggling massively with edge detection. Pictures look implausible once you get it proper, but it surely appears like pure luck. 

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

Sadly, the 13Mp ultrawide is a giant step down. The additional area of view could be very helpful in some eventualities, 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 significantly better story on the entrance, the place the 32Mp lens delivers stable selfies. Each the topic and background are well-exposed and in focus except you activate the portrait mode, which does a significantly better job right here of separating the 2 through a horny bokeh impact. 

Total, you’ll be able to take some actually glorious images utilizing the Zenfone 11 Extremely – simply not constantly. And even at its finest, most individuals will desire the likes of the Pixel 8 Professional or Galaxy S24 Extremely for stills. 

Video might be captured in as much as 8K at 24fps, although I’d suggest most individuals depart it on the default 4K/30fps. Footage is a lot 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 Telephone 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 house, I used to be attending to bedtime with round 40-50% battery left. In fact, that is with out cell knowledge, excessive brightness or GPS navigation, all of that are recognized to deplete the battery shortly. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nonetheless, even you probably have a protracted day trip and about, or plan on doing a few hours of gaming, you’ll be able to count on it to final till the tip of the day. Battery life is undoubtedly a key power of the Zenfone 11 Extremely. 

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

The charging scenario 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. Should you accomplish that, the telephone can apparently go from 0-100% in 39 minutes. 

Nonetheless, 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 case each time after which it would positively cost quicker than Samsung and Google rivals.

There’s additionally assist for Qi wi-fi charging at as much as 15W, however this will likely 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 desire the reorganised Fast Settings panel you see right here. Each ingredient of the person interface feels intuitive and effectively thought out, one thing which might’t be stated for all variations of Android. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

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

Nonetheless, the important thing promoting level of the Zenfone 11 Extremely software program is its AI options. Similar to Google and Samsung earlier than it, Asus desires synthetic intelligence to be a giant a part of the best way you utilize the telephone. 

Nonetheless, not one of the 5 principal AI options will likely be obtainable on the machine at launch. You’ll have to attend for a future software program replace which Asus vaguely says is coming “later”. 

My evaluation unit has them included, and so they’re a combined bag on the time of writing. 

Name Translator is nearly an identical to the Reside 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 susceptible to errors, however typically works effectively. 

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

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

And Semantic Search sounds nice on paper, permitting you to go looking the Gallery utilizing pure language. However for each instance I attempted, no outcomes had been discovered – maybe as a result of having comparatively few pictures to analyse. That is one thing which ought to get higher over time however it’s possible you’ll as effectively stick with Google Images which is already nice at discovering issues will every kind of prompts. 

The AI options are value having, however they gained’t make a giant distinction to the best way you utilize the Zenfone 11 Extremely. 

Nonetheless, the restricted software program assist would possibly. Asus guarantees simply two main OS updates, that means Android 16 will likely be its final. 4 years of safety updates means it’ll be secure 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 is 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 worth rise. 

It’s going to 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. 

Nonetheless, 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 embody a free pair of ROG Cetra true wi-fi earbuds as an alternative. 

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 Telephone 8 Professional, regardless of providing lots of the identical options. The unhealthy information is that there are many nice smartphones round this worth, together with the Samsung Galaxy S24, Google Pixel 8 and OnePlus 12. 

Must you 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 title, however there’s nonetheless loads to love.

The massive 144Hz OLED display screen is without doubt one of the finest 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 superb. 

Nonetheless, there are two key issues that permit 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 exhausting to justify shopping for the Zenfone 11 Extremely over rivals at the same worth. 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 principal digicam with OIS 
• 13Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam 
• 32Mp, f/2.4 3x telephoto digicam with OIS 
• 32Mp, f/2.4 3x selfie digicam 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