Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely two-minute evaluation
If you are going to name a smartphone ‘extremely’, it must embody that adjective. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a top-tier digital camera system. The Motorola Edge 50 Extremely has mind-boggling charging speeds and a classy textured look. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a stylus (and much extra moreover).
All through my testing of the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely, I could not fairly put my finger on what made it worthy of the ‘extremely’ designation. It’s undoubtedly a extremely succesful premium Android telephone, however within the aggressive cell market, ‘good’ simply isn’t ok.
The most recent entry in Asus’ one-per-year line of flagship Zenfone mobiles, the Zenfone 12 Extremely is one other top-spec handset that prices a blisteringly giant sum of money. On paper, it is a stablemate of the best Android phones and best iPhones – and it definitely competes with these units in some areas.
Certainly, in the event you have a look at the specs sheet under, you’ll see that the Zenfone 12 Extremely bears all of the hallmarks of a premium smartphone. Its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor supplies an enormous quantity of processing energy, and its big 6.78-inch show is nice for gaming or streaming motion pictures. The telephone’s three-lens rear digital camera array additionally provides shutterbugs a lot to please in.
Definitely, from a specs perspective, there’s nothing to dispute the Zenfone 12 Extremely’s standing as an ‘extremely’ telephone. However that is not sufficient.
All of these aforementioned ‘extremely’ telephones go that additional mile to justify the suffix, providing distinctive options or specs that make their hefty worth tags appear virtually affordable. I don’t see any such promoting level within the Zenfone 12 Extremely. It’s not ‘extremely’, it simply is. Satirically, the shortage of a non-ultra Zenfone 12 appears to underline this truth.
If you happen to had been to ask Asus, the corporate would probably say that the killer additions listed here are the telephone’s AI options. Most new telephones these days tout an extended record of ‘AI options’, a buzzword given to what we’d in any other case name ‘new software program instruments’ or, much less forgivingly, ‘pointless software program extras’ – however that you must name the whole lot ‘AI’ in right this moment’s tech panorama.
Among the many Zenfone 12 Extremely’s AI options are an article abstract instrument, name translation, a characteristic that creates AI-generated wallpapers, and loads of AI-powered digital camera instruments. Now, whatever the usefulness of many of those options (how many individuals really telephone another person who would not have a language in widespread?) and the unproven curiosity of regular tech consumers in AI options, they don’t permit the Zenfone 12 Extremely to gather the ‘extremely’ suffix for one easy cause – so few of them are literally new. Actually, the Zenfone 11 Extremely had most of them.
Talking of the Zenfone 11 Ultra, the 12 Extremely barely brings any upgrades over it to the desk. A more recent chipset and a few minor tweaks to the digital camera lenses are the one enhancements I may discern. I checked the worth of the now-year-old Zenfone 11 Extremely one week previous to the 12 Extremely’s launch, and it was going for over a 3rd off from Asus itself. So, you’d be saving a great deal of cash on a reasonably related cell.
What’s extra, the Zenfone 12 Extremely has much more similarities to the latest Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro. Their appearances are near-identical, as are their specs, with the scant variations being the 12 Extremely’s smaller battery and a refresh price that doesn’t go fairly as excessive, and the ROG Cellphone’s set off sensors and LED again panel.
Okay, let’s take a breath. I could sound down on the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely on this evaluation, however it’s undoubtedly telephone. It supplies a top-tier expertise throughout the board and I loved utilizing it all through my testing course of.
That stated, Asus loaned me the system for evaluation functions, that means I didn’t should half with a scary quantity of my wage to purchase it. Whenever you issue within the telephone’s excessive worth, it’s exhausting to see why it’s best to go for the Zenfone 12 Extremely over its equally costly rivals – or, for that matter, mid-range rivals that supply related specs for a dramatically lower cost.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: worth and availability
- Launched in February 2024
- Prices €1,099.99 in European markets
- US, UK, and Australian availability unconfirmed for now
The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely was launched in early February 2024, a yr on from its predecessor, and with nary a normal or Professional sibling to talk of.
On the time of writing, it is solely obtainable in European markets for a worth of €1,099.99, which is able to web you 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. “As for pricing and availability within the US, UK, and Australia”, Asus instructed TechRadar, “we’ve but to get a transparent date or worth at this second.” That stated, we count on the Zenfone 12 Extremely to launch in no less than a few of these areas quickly.
For just a little little bit of context, the Zenfone 11 Extremely began at $899.99 / £869.99 (round AU$1,450) for its 12GB/256GB starter mannequin. There was additionally a 16GB/512GB mannequin, which affords a greater worth comparability to the Zenfone 12 Extremely, however it was solely on sale within the UK (for £949.99). The Asus Rog Phone 9 Pro, in the meantime, is on the market globally for $1,199.99 / £1,099.99 / AU$1,999.99.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Header Cell – Column 1 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 183.8 x 77 x 8.9mm |
| Weight: | 220g |
| Display: | 6.78-inch FHD +(1080 x 400) 120Hz AMOLED |
| Chipset: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| RAM: | 16GB |
| Storage: | 512GB |
| OS: | Android 15 |
| Major digital camera: | 50MP |
| Extremely-wide digital camera: | 13MP, 120-degree |
| Telephoto digital camera: | 32MP, 3x |
| Entrance digital camera: | 32MP |
| Audio: | Stereo audio system, 3.5mm jack |
| Battery: | 5,500mAh |
| Charging: | 65W wired, 15W wi-fi |
| Colours: | Black |
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: design
- Blocky telephone that appears like predecessor
- Nonetheless has a 3.5mm jack
- IP68 safety
There’s no getting round it: the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely is a blocky telephone. I received’t fairly name it ‘ugly’, not when the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely lays declare to that time period with such an iron rule, however it’s just a little on the boring facet.
It seems to be virtually equivalent to the Zenfone 11 Extremely, and fairly much like the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional, however with out the traces sample of the previous and the ‘gamer stylish’ of the latter.
It’s an enormous telephone, measuring 183.8 x 77 x 8.9 mm and weighing 220g, so in the event you bear in mind how Asus used to cater to the small-phone market with its Zenfones, you’ll be disenchanted. It stretched my arms out and I’ve received pretty average-sized mitts, and it was a reasonably large burden within the pocket too.
The fitting fringe of the cell has the facility button – fairly simple to achieve, regardless of the telephone’s huge measurement – and the amount rocker, which was just a little more durable to stretch to. There’s additionally an in-screen fingerprint sensor, positioned larger up than on different telephones, which took just a little getting used to.
Speaking of acclimatizing, the USB-C charging port on the telephone’s backside edge isn’t proper within the center. As a substitute, it’s to the left – so far as I’m conscious, Asus is the one firm that makes use of this design quirk. There’s nothing incorrect with it, when you get by means of the primary few days of jamming your charger into the incorrect place. There’s one other novelty right here too, within the type of a 3.5mm headphone jack. What number of mobiles cater to wired headphone customers nowadays?! Props to Asus for that.
I largely used the Zenfone 12 Extremely in a protecting case (supplied) however even after I didn’t, it took drops and bumps like a champ. It has an IP68 score, so it will possibly face up to mud ingress, in addition to temporary drops within the tub or pool.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: show
- 6.78 inches, 1080 x 2400 decision
- 144Hz refresh price max, although often at 120Hz
- A couple of show customization options
The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely has a pleasant huge show: it’s 6.78 inches diagonally, which explains how a lot of a hand-stretch the cell itself is.
The display screen’s decision is FHD+ or 1080 x 2400 — that’s fairly normal for many smartphones, though you’d be forgiven for wanting just a little extra at this worth vary.
Thoughts you, the telephone’s refresh price is tremendous quick at 144Hz (good luck discovering many video games to make the most of that spec, although) and the max brightness is sweet and excessive at 2500 nits. In typical use, you possibly can count on a buttery clean 120Hz refresh price.
There’s one other characteristic right here I like to see in smartphones: a coloration temperature and stability mode for adjusting the way in which the display screen seems to be. Max saturation with the warmest attainable temperature? Do not thoughts if I do!
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: software program
- Android 15 with non-compulsory Asus overlay
- Solely two years of OS updates
- AI options aren’t very helpful
In a reasonably uncommon transfer for an Android telephone, you even have your choose between two software program programs if you first boot up the Zenfone 12 Extremely. Each are technically Android 15, however you possibly can select between inventory Android and Asus’ reskinned model. The variations are minimal however it’s good to be given the selection.
Inventory Android is, in the event you don’t know, the usual Google-made model of the Android operating system, and it’s standard for being fairly clean-looking. Nevertheless, it misses many customized options that sure different variations of Android have. Asus doesn’t add any of those options in its personal model, thoughts; it’s only a redesign for a way menus and icons look.
Whether or not you choose inventory or Asus Android, you’re getting software program that’s fairly minimal, which is an effective factor; there are few pre-installed apps (past a lot of Google ones) and a neatly laid-out quick-settings menu with huge icons which might be simple to press.
Asus has solely promised two years of software program updates for the Zenfone 12 Extremely, which isn’t a very ‘extremely’ dedication given what number of years of updates rivals provide. That doesn’t imply it’ll cease working after two years, however you received’t get new options added after that time.
As talked about within the introduction to this evaluation, a couple of AI options on the Zenfone 12 Extremely appear to be its predominant promoting level, however I wasn’t vastly impressed by any of them. The choice to make use of them is commonly buried in menus (to make use of the AI article summarizer, as an example, that you must go into the browser’s ‘share’ menu to share it with the abstract instrument) and so they had been usually fairly gradual to work. In truth, for summarizing articles on-line, I discovered it faster to actually simply learn the article than to attend for the abstract instrument to work.
It’s a must to obtain additional kits for many of the AI options, too, and so they’re fairly huge, usually a number of GB every. I can see these instruments consuming up a good quantity of cupboard space.
I’m all the time just a little cynical of AI options on telephones, with most of them seemingly designed to repair issues that nobody really has, and provided in lieu of precise enhancements to a given system. Suffice to say, I by no means used these AI options on the Zenfone 12 Extremely past my compulsory testing of them.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: cameras
- 50MP predominant, 13MP ultra-wide and 32MP telephoto lenses
- 32MP selfie snapper
- Scene optimization is available in clutch
The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely could not provide the megapixel overload of its rivals, however it covers its bases.
On the again of the telephone is a 50MP predominant digital camera, which is joined by a 13MP ultra-wide and a 32MP telephoto, the latter of which might attain 3x optical zoom.
All three mix to provide you a good stage of versatility and management over the photographs you’re taking (so long as you do not need to go above the 30x digital zoom cap), and there is largely a consistency between picture high quality at these ranges
Coming in clutch is the picture optimization and HDR, which was fast to punch up the distinction and saturation of images to enhance their vibrancy with out making them look unnatural. Take a look at the curry bowl or soccer discipline pictures under as circumstances in level; neither regarded as brilliant in actual life as they do on digital camera.
These enhancements improve the Zenfone’s digital camera grade from ‘high-quality’ to ‘good’, even when the telephone misses the additional lenses, delicate sensors, and super-high-res MP counts of its opponents. That stated, the latter would have been preferable for conditions wherein the AI optimization did not step in, like within the pizza pic under.
One other factor to notice is that images usually took longer to seize than I would count on; I would usually press the shutter button and assume the photograph had been taken, solely to maneuver the telephone and find yourself with a blurry finish picture. My recommendation to homeowners can be to carry the Zenfone 12 Extremely in place for a couple of seconds longer than you suppose that you must, or else you will find yourself with an extended record of digital camera reel errors.
The selfie digital camera hits 32MP, and its result’s largely much like the rear ones: it has the potential to make some brilliant and daring photos, and succeeds more often than not, due to software program.
The telephone can document video in 8K/30fps, 4K/60fps, or right down to HD/480fps within the slow-mo realm.
The Zenfone 12 Extremely additionally has a small collection of additional modes. Some, like Evening and Portrait, work nicely; the latter was nice at balancing distinction and publicity, as you possibly can see within the photograph under, and Portrait was implausible at including a natural-looking bokeh and in addition balancing the colours and tones of a shot.
There are a couple of modes being touted as ‘AI’ ones too, even if virtually all digital camera software program options use synthetic intelligence indirectly or one other. These embody AI Panning, which creates a “dynamic focus impact” on a shifting object, and in impact, that is similar to Portrait mode. The opposite is AI Monitoring, which helps you to document a video of one thing shifting and it will output a zoomed-in photograph that retains the shifting topic framed middle. I can see this being situationally very helpful, though I solely ever discovered myself utilizing it for testing’s sake.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely digital camera samples
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Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely: efficiency and audio
- Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
- Quick for gaming and on a regular basis use (largely)
- Vary of audio choices
The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely actually embodies the ‘extremely’ in its identify in relation to efficiency: it’s a certifiable beast.
The processor at work right here is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is the chipset you will discover inside most of the present best Android phones (on the time of writing, no less than) and it tells. It’s paired with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
Video games had been snappy to play, and will simply deal with the best graphical settings; they didn’t lag or stutter as soon as and, in essentially the most noticeable enchancment (in my thoughts) over a lesser chipset, they had been actually fast to open too.
In a Geekbench 6 multi-core take a look at, the Zenfone 12 Extremely returned a rating of 9,818, placing it within the larger echelons of telephones we’ve examined. For context, Geekbench’s own rankings mark the iPhone 16 Professional at a rating of 8,528 (although no latest 8 Elite-toting telephones are listed).
The velocity is usually noticeable in different elements of the telephone, too, for instance if you’re making an attempt to edit an enormous photograph. Nevertheless, I observed that the AI options may trigger the telephone to decelerate noticeably. This is not a deal-breaker, particularly on condition that many of the options take solely a second to make use of, however the minor slowdown was nonetheless noticeable.
The Zenfone 12 Extremely has stereo audio system and, in a surprisingly retro flip, a 3.5mm headphone jack. Consequently, audio followers have a alternative as to how they’d prefer to take heed to content material on this telephone, which is a rarity nowadays.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: battery life
- Fairly huge 5,500mAh battery
- Lasts for over a day of use
- 65W charging, 15W wi-fi
The Zenfone 12 Extremely packs a 5,500mAh battery — that is fairly huge, however it’s additionally crucial for a telephone of this measurement and energy.
Once I used the Zenfone as a standard cell (i.e. not as a gaming telephone) it may reliably coast by means of a single day of use and attain mid-way into the second day with out bother, however I wouldn’t go fairly as far as to say it’s received two-day battery life.
Once I did go heavier on the gaming facet of issues, I used to be proud of how nicely the Zenfone 12 Extremely may deal with a couple of hours of gaming with out shedding an excessive amount of battery — it’s exhausting to be scientific when speaking about experiential battery use, however the telephone misplaced cost slower than a lot of different handsets I’ve examined lately.
Charging is just a little gradual. That feels foolish to say for a telephone with ‘quick charging’, however it’s at 65W, which is slower than a lot of its rivals. There’s additionally 15W wi-fi charging.
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: worth
The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely is an undeniably expensive premium telephone. Whereas an argument might be made that no telephones on this worth vary actually provide worth for cash, it is doubly the case with the Asus.
I say this as a result of it would not actually provide any killer options, both over its predecessor or comparatively priced rivals, that make it a must-buy. Whenever you price this a lot, specs alone will solely get you up to now.
If you’ll find the Zenfone 12 Extremely at a meaty low cost, it is doubtlessly extra deserving of your cash, however I am speaking a 25% low cost at the least for that to be the case.
Do you have to purchase the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely?
| Attributes | Notes | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | The telephone’s premium worth will get you high-end specs however no much-needed USP. | 2.5 / 5 |
| Design | A reasonably blocky and generic chocolate-bar telephone with a pleasant audio addition. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Show | It is fairly huge, it is fairly high-res and it is fairly good wanting. | 4 / 5 |
| Software program | Inventory Android with a couple of doubtful AI options. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Digicam | A good vary of specs, however the AI optimization helps out rather a lot. | 4 / 5 |
| Efficiency | In accordance with benchmarks, it is the quickest gun within the west proper now. | 5 / 5 |
| Battery | You get a decently huge battery with comparatively quick charging, however the telephone isn’t best-in-class by any margin. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Row 7 – Cell 0 | Row 7 – Cell 1 | Row 7 – Cell 2 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely evaluation: Additionally think about
If you’d like different ‘extremely’ smartphones to match the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely to, listed here are another similar-priced picks.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely | Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely | iPhone 16 Professional | Xiaomi 14 Extremely |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning worth (at launch): | €1,099.99 | $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149 | $999 / £999 / AU$1,849 | £1,299 (not on sale in US or AU) |
| Dimensions: | 183.8 x 77 x 8.9mm | 162.8x 77.6 x 8.2mm | 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25mm | 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm |
| Weight: | 220g | 218g | 199g | 224g |
| OS (at launch): | Android 15 | Android 15, One UI 7 | iOS 18 | Android 14, HyperOS |
| Display Measurement: | 6.78-inch | 6.9-inch | 6.3-inch | 6.73-inch |
| Decision: | 1080 x 2400 | 1440 x 3120 | 1206 x 2622 | 1440 x 3200 |
| CPU: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | A18 Professional | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM: | 16GB | 12GB | 8GB | 16GB |
| Storage (from): | 512GB | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | 512GB |
| Battery: | 5,500mAh | 5,000mAh | 3,582mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Rear Cameras: | 50MP predominant, 13MP ultra-wide, 32MP telephoto | 200MP predominant, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto, 10MP telephoto | 48MP predominant, 48MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto | 50MP predominant, 50MP ultra-wide. 50MP telephoto, 50MP periscope telephoto |
| Entrance digital camera: | 32MP | 12MP | 12MP | 32MP |
How I examined the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely
- Evaluate take a look at interval = 2 weeks
- Testing included = On a regular basis utilization, together with net looking, social media, pictures, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
- Instruments used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats
To correctly take a look at the Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely, I used it every day for 2 weeks; this does not embody a brief interval beforehand after I set it up, took the evaluation images, and performed a couple of video games on it.
The testing of the handset occurred in two elements. The primary noticed me run benchmark assessments, take pattern images, and run down the battery. The opposite was extra experiential; I used the handset for private issues like music and video streaming, social media scrolling, cell game-playing, and different on a regular basis duties.
On the time of this evaluation’s publication, I have been writing evaluations for TechRadar for precisely 6 years (joyful anniversary, me!). I’ve reviewed numerous smartphones in that point, together with a number of Asus fashions in addition to headphones, smartwatches, and tablets.
First reviewed February 2025