Asus has introduced the Zenfone 12 Ultra earlier than expected, launching it in February instead of the usual mid-July timeframe.
The new device is equipped with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, offering a significant performance boost. The chipset promises a 45% increase in CPU performance, a 40% faster GPU, and a 40% improvement in NPU performance.
One of the standout features of the Zenfone 12 Ultra is its AI capabilities, powered by both on-device and cloud AI. The phone includes the Llama 3 8B model from Meta, which helps with text summarization.
It also offers AI Call Translator 2.0 for real-time voice translation during VoIP calls, as well as AI Transcript 2.0 for multi-speaker identification and document summarization.
In terms of photography, the Zenfone 12 Ultra boasts an impressive main camera with a Sony Lytia-700 sensor and a 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer (version 4), providing a 66% improvement in stabilization compared to the previous model.
It also features a 32MP telephoto camera, offering 3x optical zoom and up to 10-30x HyperClarity zoom, alongside a 120° ultra-wide camera. The front-facing camera is a 32MP RGBW sensor.
The Zenfone 12 Ultra’s 6.78-inch OLED display (Samsung E6) supports a 1-120Hz LTPO refresh rate and offers a 144Hz option for gaming. It is also protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and can peak at 2,500 nits of brightness. Powering the device is a 5,500mAh dual-cell battery, supporting up to 65W wired and 15W wireless charging.
Additionally, the Zenfone 12 Ultra retains the 3.5mm headphone jack, along with Dirac Virtuo technology for wired and wireless headphones. The phone is built with 100% recycled aluminum for the frame and 22% recycled glass for the screen.
Launching today in Europe, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, the Zenfone 12 Ultra is priced at €1,100, with an early bird discount bringing it down to €1,000 for purchases made between February 6 and 28. It is expected to launch in Japan soon, with further details to follow.
