The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra has arrived, but you won’t find it on US store shelves

Summary

Asus has officially launched its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Zenfone 12 Ultra.
The Zenfone 12 Ultra ships with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a main camera with a unique 6-axis stabilizer system.
Interestingly, Asus is opting not to sell the Zenfone 12 Ultra in the US.

Asus has officially taken the wraps off its next-generation Zenfone handset, which it calls the 12 Ultra. The flagship Android device is among the first to launch with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and it arrives with an updated version of the unique gimbal stabilizer camera system of its predecessor.

This stabilized main camera uses 6-axis technology and comes in at 50-megapixels. The rest of the camera system consists of a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor with a 120 degree field of view, a 32-megapixel 3X telephoto lens, and a 32-megapixel front-facing shooter.

Other notable specifications include a large 6.78-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) AMOLED display that can notch up to a speedy 144Hz refresh rate for gaming, a 5,500mAh battery pack, 65W wired charging speeds, and IP68 water and dust resistance.

Asus is ready to take on the MacBook Air with its Zenbook A14

Announced at CES 2025, the Zenbook A14 is shockingly close to competing with Apple’s MacBook Air.

“This flagship device, powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, combines modern style with cutting-edge AI features — including options for on-device or cloud-based AI — and a commitment to sustainable design, setting a new standard for premium smartphones,” says Asus in a press release.

At launch, the Zenfone 12 Ultra is available in ebony black, sakura white, and sage green colorways. The phone can be configured with up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage, with the base model shipping with 12 GB and 256 GB, respectively.

Unlike with last year’s Zenfone 11 Ultra, Asus has decided not to introduce the 12 Ultra into the US market, which is a curious choice. For reference, the handset starts at €1,100, which translates to roughly $1,145 USD.

Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is Asus’ latest flagship smartphone, shipping with a 6.78-inch display, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a 6-Axis Gimbal Stabilizer main camera setup.

Brand: Asus
SoC: Snapdragon 8 Elite
Display: 6.78-inch FHD+ (2400×1080 pixels)
RAM: Up to 16 GB
Storage: Up to 512 GB
Battery: 5,500mAh
Ports: USB-C
Operating System: Android 15
Front camera: 32-megapixel RGBW sensor
Rear camera: 50-megapixel (main), 13-megapixel (ultra-wide), 32-megapixel 3X (telephoto)
Dimensions: 6.45 x 3.03 x 0.35-inches (163.8 x 77.0 x 8.9mm)
Colors: Ebony Black, Sakura White, Sage Green
Display type: AMOLED
Weight: 7.76 oz (220g)
IP Rating: IP68
Release: February 6, 2025

Unfortunately, the Zenfone 12 Ultra isn’t landing on US shores

Asus has opted to skip the North American market this time around

The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra joins a populated club of flagship Android smartphones that are simply unavailable in the US. The Honor Magic 7 Pro, the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, and the Oppo Find X7 Ultra are among the recent candy bar-style handsets that have never made it onto North American shores, which is truly a shame.

Of course, if you’re based in the US, it’ll still be possible to pick up a device like the Zenfone 12 Ultra — Chinese e-commerce sites such as AliExress will surely list the device on their platform in the coming days, making the import process a relatively straight forward one.

…it’s disappointing to see yet another high-end Android skip out on an American release.

Nevertheless, it’s disappointing to see yet another high-end Android skip out on an American release. Last year’s Zenfone 11 Ultra was a genuinely excellent product offering, despite my gripes over Asus’ decision to give up on compact phones.

On the surface, the Zenbook 12 Ultra appears to tick all the right boxes from a hardware perspective. It’s still early in the phone’s product life cycle, but it’ll be interesting to see whether Asus has crafted a device that can truly take on the likes of the Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Google’s Pixel 9 Pro, among other entrenched industry titans.