ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra wishlist: All the features I want to see

The ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra only launched this past spring, so it’s unsurprising there haven’t been a ton of rumors about its successor just yet. The Ultra is a great phone, but we know ASUS hasn’t exactly had runaway success with its mobile phone efforts recently. While the Zenfone 11 Ultra was a positive step forward from its predecessor, there’s still room for improvement. With that in mind, here’s my wishlist for what I hope to see from the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra if and when it arrives next year.

A better camera experience

The Zenfone 11 Ultra offers very similar camera hardware to its predecessor. It’s certainly not a bad setup, though it’s mostly unchanged from the Zenfone 10 series before it. The Zenfone 11 Ultra has a 50MP main camera with some stand-out features such as 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilization. There’s also a 13MP ultrawide shooter and a 32MP telephoto shooter that’s capable of 3x optical zoom. The real issue is the software processing used.

The hardware can capture great photos in many different environments, provided you have the right mix of lighting, settings, and a tad bit of luck. It’s just not the most consistent experience. The biggest issue is that some images end up with overly heavy contrast and color saturation, though this doesn’t apply to all scenarios. This is likely a software issue, but one that remains even months after the phone’s release.

I’m hoping ASUS ups its photo game. While it often offers some pretty compelling photography features already, software improvements, and a stronger sensor selection could finally help the Zenfone 12 Ultra keep pace with the next-gen Galaxy S, Pixel, and iPhone flagships.

A better update policy

ASUS might not be the very worst manufacturer when it comes to update support, but it’s far from the top of the list either. While Samsung and Google both offer an insane seven years of OS updates and security patches, ASUS only commits to “at least” two OS updates for the Zenfone 11 Ultra and four years of security patches. Although the company’s wording suggests the Zenfone 11 Ultra could see another OS update if there’s enough user interest and support, I really hope the Zenfone 12 Ultra goes a step further.

It’s becoming harder to recommend brands outside of Apple, Samsung, and Google simply because I know these companies offer the most comprehensive software support. You don’t have to worry about spending nearly a thousand dollars on a phone only for its software to become obsolete in just a few years. We’re not saying ASUS has to match these other players, but even a commitment of four OS updates and four years of patches would be nice. After all, most people replace flagships every three to five years anyhow so this update guarantee would at least get most users through to their next phone.

mmWave support would be nice, and a carrier push

The ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra supports sub-6GHz 5G but what about networks that utilize mmWave like Verizon? While you can fall back to sub-6 on these networks, mmWave is capable of some pretty impressive speeds. While it’s a minor ask, I’d like to see a version of the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra optimized for mmWave carriers like Verizon. Beyond that, I’d like to see ASUS actually get involved in the carrier game a bit by offering its flagships through major carriers. The reality is many US consumers still buy directly from their phone providers and so only offering the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra in unlocked form is really holding the phone back from reaching more customers.

The design could use some eye-catching changes, and maybe a compact option again

The Zenfone 11 Ultra was the first big design change to hit the Zenfone series since the Asus Zenfone 9 family. The redesigned camera bar certainly helped modernize the phone, but the biggest change was the much larger display and footprint, as the phone made the move from a compact phone over to a beefy Ultra-level flagship.

Honestly, I get why ASUS abandoned the compact phone in favor of a larger device. There’s a lot more mainstream appeal with big devices these days, but I feel like the company didn’t take things far enough. Aside from changing up the camera bar, moving the camera cut-out, and upsizing the phone, it still had a very similar design language — one that frankly isn’t exactly head-turning. I’d like to see the Zenfone 12 Ultra stand out more from the older compacts it replaced.

While ASUS is at it, why not reintroduce the compact ASUS Zenfone 12? The phone could continue to offer the same design language started with the Ultra, just with a smaller screen size. Meanwhile, the Zenfone 12 Ultra would hopefully make some bigger changes to its shape and general aesthetics to make it stand out more.

How likely is this to happen? Considering the Ultra seemingly replaced the compact model, it’s probably not likely but it’s also important to remember ASUS is currently trying to right its mobile ship and so it might try a few different moves to keep things going. Diversifying and adding a second model would likely involve a greater budget than the company likely wants to invest, but again, you never know.

Will there be an ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra?

It’s no secret ASUS has had a bit of trouble in the mobile market and there have been plenty of rumors the company may eventually bow out. This started with rumors there wouldn’t be a Zenfone 11, which was both false and also sort of true. While a Zenfone 11 did eventually surface, it was a reworked Ultra model. That’s left a lot of people wondering if the existence of another Zenfone 12 model — Ultra or otherwise — might hinge on how well the Ultra did or didn’t perform, as well as just how much more patience ASUS has before it really pulls the plug for real.

Maybe our strongest evidence for the phone’s existence arrived back in August, with the discovery of a reference to the 12 Ultra in an IMEI database. So if it is coming, then when? We can look at the past for some hints:

• ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra — April 3, 2024
• ASUS Zenfone 10 — July 31, 2023
• ASUS Zenfone 9 — September 15, 2022

Given the line’s history, it’s honestly pretty hard to lock down for certain. At the very least, I’d say it’s safe to say we won’t see the next model until at least April of 2025.

Should you wait for the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra?

Considering how much we still don’t know about the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra itself, to say nothing of the company’s plans for it, there’s no reason to wait if you want a Zenfone now. If you are simply looking for a larger flagship level phone, the Zenfone 11 Ultra has tons of life ahead of it and is absolutely worth a look. That said, unless your heart is set on ASUS, you might also want to consider the Pixel 8 Pro ($999 at Amazon) or Galaxy S24 Ultra ($1419.99 at Amazon) as you’ll get many of the same features but much better software support and more.

Holding out hope for a compact ASUS Zenfone 12? You’re probably better off either getting a Pixel 8 ($699 at Amazon) or a Galaxy S24 ($859.99 at Amazon). Neither of these is truly compact, but you won’t find any flagship much smaller than that in 2024.