The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely has arrived, however you will not discover it on US retailer cabinets

Abstract

Asus has formally launched its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Zenfone 12 Extremely.
The Zenfone 12 Extremely ships with Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a primary digital camera with a novel 6-axis stabilizer system.
Curiously, Asus is opting to not promote the Zenfone 12 Extremely within the US.

Asus has formally taken the wraps off its next-generation Zenfone handset, which it calls the 12 Ultra. The flagship Android system is among the many first to launch with Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and it arrives with an up to date model of the distinctive gimbal stabilizer digital camera system of its predecessor.

This stabilized primary digital camera makes use of 6-axis know-how and is available in at 50-megapixels. The remainder of the digital camera system consists of a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor with a 120 diploma discipline of view, a 32-megapixel 3X telephoto lens, and a 32-megapixel front-facing shooter.

Different notable specs embrace a big 6.78-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) AMOLED show that may notch as much as a speedy 144Hz refresh charge for gaming, a 5,500mAh battery pack, 65W wired charging speeds, and IP68 water and dust resistance.

Associated

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

Introduced at CES 2025, the Zenbook A14 is shockingly near competing with Apple’s MacBook Air.

“This flagship system, powered by the newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Cell Platform, combines fashionable model with cutting-edge AI options — together with choices for on-device or cloud-based AI — and a dedication to sustainable design, setting a brand new commonplace for premium smartphones,” says Asus in a press release.

At launch, the Zenfone 12 Extremely is accessible in ebony black, sakura white, and sage inexperienced colorways. The cellphone might be configured with as much as 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of inner storage, with the bottom mannequin transport with 12 GB and 256 GB, respectively.

Not like with final yr’s Zenfone 11 Ultra, Asus has determined to not introduce the 12 Extremely into the US market, which is a curious selection. For reference, the handset begins at €1,100, which interprets to roughly $1,145 USD.

Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely

The Zenfone 12 Extremely is Asus’ newest flagship smartphone, transport with a 6.78-inch show, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a 6-Axis Gimbal Stabilizer primary digital camera setup.

Model: Asus
SoC: Snapdragon 8 Elite
Show: 6.78-inch FHD+ (2400×1080 pixels)
RAM: As much as 16 GB
Storage: As much as 512 GB
Battery: 5,500mAh
Ports: USB-C
Working System: Android 15
Entrance digital camera: 32-megapixel RGBW sensor
Rear digital camera: 50-megapixel (primary), 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)
Colours: Ebony Black, Sakura White, Sage Inexperienced
Show kind: AMOLED
Weight: 7.76 oz (220g)
IP Score: IP68
Launch: February 6, 2025

Sadly, the Zenfone 12 Extremely is not touchdown on US shores

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

The Asus Zenfone 12 Extremely joins a populated membership of flagship Android smartphones that are simply unavailable in the US. The Honor Magic 7 Pro, the Redmi Notice 14 Professional+, and the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely are among the many latest sweet bar-style handsets which have by no means made it onto North American shores, which is actually a disgrace.

In fact, should you’re primarily based within the US, it will nonetheless be doable to select up a tool just like the Zenfone 12 Extremely — Chinese language e-commerce websites akin to AliExress will certainly checklist the system on their platform within the coming days, making the import course of a comparatively straight ahead one.

…it is disappointing to see yet one more high-end Android skip out on an American launch.

However, it is disappointing to see yet one more high-end Android skip out on an American launch. Final yr’s Zenfone 11 Extremely was a genuinely wonderful product providing, regardless of my gripes over Asus’ decision to surrender on compact phones.

On the floor, the Zenbook 12 Extremely seems to tick all the fitting containers from a {hardware} perspective. It is nonetheless early within the cellphone’s product life cycle, but it surely’ll be fascinating to see whether or not Asus has crafted a tool that may actually tackle the likes of the Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Google’s Pixel 9 Pro, amongst different entrenched trade titans.