While last year’s swirling rumors that ASUS’ Zenfone line was at an end turned out to be wrong, those looking critically at the new Zenfone 11 Ultra might still feel that the reports were true in spirit. The gargantuan new model certainly doesn’t look much like the almost uniquely compact Zenfone 10. Instead, it bears more than a passing resemblance to the late 2023 gaming-focused ROG Phone 8 Pro, both inside and out.
At face value, then, we’ve seen a lot of the Zenfone 11 Ultra before, and it’s hard to ignore voices that question: “Is this really a Zenfone?” This isn’t the very affordable, little but mighty flagship that’s earned a small cult following. I certainly miss the pocketability, grippy back, and smart use of the form factor, such as the fingerprint swipe gestures, that made last year’s Zenfone 10 one of the most compelling little phones on the market.