Do we need a cheaper Galaxy S24 Ultra made by… Asus?
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The Galaxy S24 Ultra is just great! But do you know what would be even better? If it didn't cost $1,300! Phones have become insanely expensive in the past decade, with flagship devices hopping over the $1,000 threshold without any hesitation.
Well, there's a phone with "Ultra" in its name, and it costs just $899. Interested? There's some good news and some bad news. Yes, today we're going to talk a bit about the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra and whether or not such a model is relevant in the current smartphone climate.
Plus, Pro, Max, Ultra, Hyper? What does it all mean?
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Wikipedia lists over 40 different meanings and uses of the word "ultra" in modern context, so clearly it's a popular idea that people like. The Britannica Dictionary defines "ultra" as: beyond; extremely; more than is usual.
I would argue that calling a smartphone "Ultra" repeatedly for four of five generations defeats the purpose of the word, as it's nothing more than "the usual," but this is a completely different discussion.Let's get back to the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra. It is more than what we thought of as usual for the Zenfone line, but is it enough to challenge the other "Ultra" phones? Where does it land on the market? And more importantly, do we need a cheaper Galaxy S24 Ultra, made by Asus?
A ROG Phone in disguise!
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How come a phone that's called "Ultra" is cheaper and offers less than one that is just a "Pro?" That alone deserves a separate rant. It doesn't make any sense. And we haven't yet touched on the fact that Asus somehow decided to strip the ROG Phone 8 of its gaming attire and sell it to the general public under the Zenfone name. Lazy.
I'm so passionate about it because I've been covering Asus devices for more than five years now, and I remember the Zenfone 6, the 7 Pro, and the 8 Flip, all very interesting phones and very different from anything in the Zenfone or ROG range.The real problem of the Zenfone 11 Ultra
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And yet, no periscope zoom lens, no big 1-inch sensor with stacked pixels, no fancy 3D facial recognition on the front. A real upgrade in the camera department would've made this phone a true "Ultra," and this is the reason why I'm so furious about it.
Do we need the Zenfone 11 Ultra?
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Will this phone dethrone the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro Max? Not likely. Even if the phone had the best camera system to date, it would've been a tough sell.
Let's get back to the good news and the bad news. The bad news is that the Zenfone 11 Ultra won't be able to compete with other high-end flagship phones. The OnePlus 12 will eat it for breakfast, for example.
But the good news is that, judging by the timing of this launch, we might still get a regular Zenfone 11, and it might be a completely different phone. Reviewers and tech nerds genuinely fell in love with the Zenfone 9 and 10. These two models filled a gap that no one thought existed. The cute little but powerful flagship for not a ton of money.
Final thoughts
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