ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Larger size, good battery life, suitable for gaming

ASUS's ZenFone line has been around for a while and has recently attracted attention for being highly competitive (like the ZenFone 10 and ZenFone 9 before it). So what happens when everything is packed into an ultra-flagship phone?

Enter the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra, with a new design, significantly larger screen and battery, and an upgraded camera system.

Specifications

1. Brand: ASUS
2. SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 3rd generation
3. Screen: LTPO AMOLED 6.79 inches, 144Hz, HDR10, 2500 nits
4. RAM: 12/16GB
5. Memory: 256/512GB
6. Battery: 5500mAh
7. Port: USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
8. Operating system: Android 14
9. Camera: 50MP wide angle 24mm, telephoto 32MP optical zoom 3x Ultrawide 13MP, 32MP selfie camera
10. Dimensions: 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9 mm
11. Weight: 224g
12. Charging speed: Wired 65W, wireless 15W
13. Rating: IP68

The new ZenFone is larger in size

As mentioned earlier, the ZenFone 11 Ultra ditches the compact design of its predecessors. While it's sad to see the tiny form factor gone, this larger ZenFone is still very nice. The back of the phone is finished in matte glass and metal, with the ASUS logo delicately engraved on it. ZenFone 11 Ultra's combination of curved back and flat aluminum edges provides a secure and comfortable grip.

One major design aspect that stands out with the ZenFone 11 Ultra is its camera bump, similar to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. But clearly, this protruding camera part looks disproportionate to the slender back.

Beautiful screen

The larger size of the 11 Ultra houses a 6.78-inch OLED display that has vivid colors and deep contrast. The ZenFone offers a refresh rate of up to 144Hz when entering the device's gaming mode, but in normal usage, it automatically adjusts to around 120Hz.

Compared to other high-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, this ZenFone's screen is almost on par, but not necessarily at an excellent level. The screen-to-body ratio is about 88% and the bezels are almost identical in all aspects, except for the slightly larger bottom bezel.

However, the screen is only a 1080p panel. When compared to similarly priced flagship phones like the OnePlus 12, which has a significantly brighter display at 2,500 nits and can reach up to 1440p resolution, the ZenFone's panel doesn't look too impressive.

Top cameras

In terms of camera system, the ZenFone 11 Ultra is equipped with a 50MP main sensor with a 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer, a 32MP telephoto lens that offers 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom, and a 13MP ultra-wide camera. new helps reduce lens distortion.

In practice, the cameras are quite good, offering great dynamic range, accurate color and consistency across the 3 sensors. This camera system provides a watercolor effect on photos, trying to sharpen and reduce noise, but the end result looks a bit overprocessed. These can be resolved by adjusting the lighting and updating the camera software.

Gaming phone performance

When it comes to performance and battery life, this is where the ZenFone 11 Ultra really shines. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and comes with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.

ZenFone scored 2,242 single-core and 6,920 multi-core for Geekbench 6. The ZenFone 11 Ultra's operating system runs really smoothly on this chip.

There's no fancy design or flashy new software features to call attention to, the ZenFone 11 Ultra essentially runs like a Stock Android phone, but adds some ASUS software features. Things like high performance mode, which kicks in when opening a game, are great and allow for a 144Hz refresh rate. However, the phone gets hot when loading high-performance games like Genshin Impact.

The battery is enough for many days

Battery life on the ZenFone 11 Ultra is excellent. The phone has a large 5500mAh battery, which ASUS advertises to last more than 26 hours on a single charge, but in real-world usage, this means the phone can comfortably last a day. the next day without charging.

The phone also charges very quickly, with a maximum charging speed of 65W that can reach 100% in 39 minutes and offers up to 15W wireless charging.

Should I buy ZenFone 11 Ultra?

Overall, the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra is a solid choice for those looking for a phone with great capabilities in 2024. The ZenFone 11 Ultra offers great performance and battery life, on top of that, it has a high refresh rate display and offers software features specifically for gamers.

The ZenFone 11 Ultra is recommended for those who want a gaming phone that doesn't look too aggressive. The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra is a significant departure from its predecessors, with a new larger body and an expanded 6.78-inch OLED display. The phone packs a remarkably large 5500mAh battery, with standout features including strong performance powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. However, the phone's camera system, while delivering on accuracy and Color consistency is quite good across the entire camera range, but is overprocessed, detracting from the overall experience.

David Pac

Update 09 May 2024