The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra Ditches The Gamer Aesthetic Of The ROG Phone At A Slightly More Inviting Price

The Zenfone 12 Ultra isn’t officially available in the US. However, after reviewing the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, we wanted to see how similar the two phones are this year. This is likely why Asus isn’t selling the Zenfone in the US. It’s too similar to the ROG now that they share a similar design (the days of the small Zenfone appear to be over). That’s why the Zenfone is Ultra. It’s large like the ROG Phone, though the Ultra moniker doesn’t mean much since the smaller Zenfone design disappeared with the 10. This sums up the Zenfone 12 Ultra, a device that wants to be more than it is but isn’t.

The Zenfone is an interesting release, even if Asus appears to be stumbling with no clear vision for the brand. I spent the better part of the new year testing these two Asus devices. Let’s dig into what separates the Zenfone and why compromise isn’t always a good thing.

Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra

If you liked the ROG Phone 9 but didn’t like the gamer aesthetic, then the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is for you with its Snapdragon 8 Elite, big 120Hz screen, and a headphone jack.

Pros & Cons

• High-end specs
• Great battery life

• Not available in the US
• Not enough support for the price

Price, availability, radios, and specs

The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra’s price starts at €1099 and is available in Europe, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. Since the ROG Phone is available in the US, the Zenfone won’t be coming here, unlike last year. Purchasing from Asus is a given, though regional stores that carry the phone differ from region to region.

This year, the US did not get the Zenfone, likely due to a lack of support for US radios. Still, I slapped my T-Mobile SIM in the device and could make calls and receive data, but I got a splash screen warning of compatibility issues. If you plan to use the Zenfone 12 Ultra in the US, your coverage won’t be worth the hassle of importing, even if things almost work.

What’s good about the Zenfone 12 Ultra

It’s almost as good as the ROG Phone

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is an ROG Phone without a few bells and whistles. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the build quality is excellent, the same as it is every year. Asus phones feel sturdy and solid, and the Zenfone 12 Ultra does not skimp in this area. It’s a large phone that is comfortable in the hand, thanks to its rounded frame and curved rear glass. The camera bump is improved over the ROG Phone, with a smaller footprint that suits the theme of the Zenfone and its minimal design.

The headphone jack is still there, which is always a welcome feature. When you dip into the software, you’re greeted by a familiar setup that lets you choose how much themeing you want in your skin. I usually go for a mix, adding a few of the conveniences Asus adds, like a brightness slider under notification shortcuts (instead of on top, like the Pixel). However, it retains things like unthemed icons and a stock app drawer layout that forgoes bells and whistles like a bottom search bar. This is what I love about Asus’s software. I can customize the themeing of the phone’s skin.

Even though the Zenfone may not be labeled a gaming phone, much of the guts of the ROG Phone are there, including the Snapdragon 8 Elite and a minimum of 12GB of RAM, which means this phone can game, be it native titles or emulated classics. Since the screen is only 1080p, games have some headroom, which is great if they offer support for high frame rates, especially at the maximum 144Hz the Zenfone 12 Ultra supports.

When it comes to the cameras, I find the quality good enough, especially when shooting outdoors. I typically get pleasing images, and the built-in Gimbal Stabilizer is a treat if you record video, which ensures your images remain focused and unshakey no matter the circumstances they were recorded in. No shaky cam here, though if you shake the phone, the gimbal audibly moves around in the phone’s camera bump, which is the consequence of moving parts in a phone. I say it’s worth it. The included gimbal is a unique feature you rarely see built into smartphones.

What’s bad about the Zenfone 12 Ultra

It’s bland and has no identity

As much as I love the feel and heft, the curved rear glass ensures the phone feels like you’re holding a bar of soap. Even though the batteries are split in two (they are located at both ends of the phone for even weight distribution), the large camera bump ensures the phone is always top-heavy and off-balance in the hand. Pair that with the slick back, and I am constantly shocked I don’t drop and break my review model every year. This phone excels with a case, which is a bummer for me when that’s added weight and size for what is already a large device.

My biggest issue with the Zenfone 12 Ultra is that it doesn’t feel unique enough to exist in a world where the ROG Phone 9 is sold. This is why it makes sense for Asus not to sell the Zenfone in the US. If you want one, you should get the ROG Phone. The Zenfone is better off in markets where the ROG Phone isn’t sold, something for the masses instead of a niche phone themed around mobile gaming.

Read our review

The ROG Phone and Zenfone are worse off for sharing a body over the last few years and, ultimately, features. ROG is worse off with a camera hole in its screen, which is common in mass-appeal phones like the Zenfone, and the Zenfone offers an off-center USB where no other flagship would dare. Call them nitpicks, but neither phone offers a unique identity.

Then there is the support, or more so, the lack thereof. While it got a little better a couple of years ago, purchasing an Asus smartphone in 2025 only gets you security updates for five years, with two OS updates. The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra’s price starts at €1099 (about $1,250 at the time of writing). That isn’t cheap, it’s more like flagship pricing, yet we don’t get flagship support.

That’s been a long-running problem with Asus, and the lack of any bootloader unlock tool doesn’t help the matter, ensuring all Asus devices are relegated to the trash bin after five years. For as hip as it is for corporations to be seen as green, a lack of support that borders on planned obsolescence sounds like something environmentalists should be angry about.

Should you buy it?

Only if you don’t mind the middling support and missing radios

Nobody in the US should purchase the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra for daily use. It doesn’t contain all of our radios. Still, we wanted to see how the device stacks up for those in a supported market. Asus appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, producing two devices under one design, and each model feels like it suffers for it.

The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra isn’t that bad of a phone. It looks a little dull, but that’s likely preferable to the gamer aesthetic of the ROG Phone. When you compare the Zenfone and its price to Samsung and Google, it’s hard not to notice what you’re giving up to support a non-mainstream smartphone brand. The amount of support isn’t good enough, and sharing too many features with the ROG Phone line only helps keep costs down while diminishing what makes each release unique.

While I’m happy with the cameras this year, you’ll be better served by the competition. Asus’s problem isn’t unique. We’ve seen smartphone manufacturers fall to the wayside as Google and Samsung dominate more and more. This is bad for the consumer, as we will soon lose interesting options. Still, Asus is failing to compete in an ever-shrinking market, which is why it grows harder and harder to recommend its phones with each passing year. The industry desperately needs a shakeup, and the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is not it.

Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra

The Zenfone 12 Ultra takes the ROG Phone 9 and removes the gamer aesthetic for something that the masses should welcome a little more. The only caveat is that it’s not sold in the US.