Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra

Just five days before the official launch, the Zenfone 12 Ultra's specs and images were leaked by WinFuture, a Germany-based online tech publication. This article criticized that Zenfone 12 Ultra was just a "slightly stripped-down version of the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro." Another technology news, Android Police, also stated the same by publishing an article "The ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra is basically an ROG Phone 9 Pro" on the same day of the official launch. At the time, there were more leaks continuously coming out from media outlets such as Digital Trends, PhoneArena and Gadgets 360. On the official launch day (February 6, 2025), the Zenfone 12 Ultra was immediately available in Europe (except for UK), Taiwan and Hong Kong. Later this year (2025), it is also available in Japan on May 30. ==Specifications==

Design The Zenfone 12 Ultra has a matte glass back, narrow display bezels, and rounded corners. The frame is made from 100% recycled aluminum, the screen contains 22% recycled glass, and the packaging is FSC-certified. The device is available in three color variants: Sage Green, Ebony Black, and Sakura White. Display The Zenfone 12 Ultra comes with a 6.78-inch FHD+ Samsung E6 flexible AMOLED display. It supports LTPO technology with a refresh rate ranging from 1 to 120 Hz, and up to 144 Hz in supported gaming scenarios. The display has a peak brightness of 2,500 nits and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It is compatible with HDR formats including Amazon HDR and YouTube HDR. Memory & Storage The device is available with either 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 internal storage. Camera System The Zenfone 12 Ultra has a triple-camera system. The main camera uses a 50 MP Sony Lytia 700 sensor with gimbal optical image stabilization (OIS). The secondary camera is a 13 MP ultrawide-angle lens with a free-form design to reduce distortion. The third camera is a 32 MP telephoto lens supporting 3x optical zoom. ==Release & Pricing==

Zenfone 12 Ultra is available on the launch day (February 6, 2025) and starts at €1,099 (USD$1,142). For early bird buyers who buy Zenfone 12 Ultra between February 6 and 28, they will get a special €100 discount. Availability by regions As announced by many media outlets, the Zenfone 12 Ultra will not be sold in the US, unlike the ROG Phone Series and its previous Zenfone generations. ==Reception==

Zenfone 12 Ultra is often put together with Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for head-to-head comparison due to their similarities in size, weight, and the internal specifications. PhoneArena has ranked the two devices with similar display performance, rating from "average" to "excellent." However, Zenfoen 12 Ultra does perform poor in minimum brightness category. In the test, it cannot go below 5.9 nit, which indicated that it's not ideal for bedtime use. Camera-wise, according to Digital Trends' review, Galaxy S25 Ultra is winning in both the hardware and software. Galaxy S25 Ultra is simply equipped with higher megapixel lens and higher image resolutions. As to the software, Digital Trends described Zenfone 12 Ultra's camera style as not awful, but certainly not a natural or realistic look as well. ==References==