ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra vs Google Pixel 9 Pro

ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra

ASUS

Good

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Google

8.3

Excellent

What Reviewers Agree On

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers excellent, blazing-fast performance
Battery life is genuinely strong — comfortably lasts a full day and beyond
6-axis gimbal stabilizer produces uniquely impressive video stabilization
Clean near-stock Android with minimal bloatware is the best software package on Android
Only 2 Android updates is universally criticized as unacceptable at EUR 1,099
Camera processing falls short of Samsung, Google, and Apple at this price tier

Deal Breakers

Only 2 Android OS updates — worst among 2025 flagships at this price

Detailed Comparison

Performance

ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers class-leading performance — described as "the fastest phone I used in 2025" by Android Central. The clean, near-stock Android 15 experience with no bloatware makes it one of the most fluid Android phones available. On-device Meta Llama 3 AI processing is private but slow.

"The fastest phone I used in 2025" — Snapdragon 8 Elite with the best-tuned software on Android
Clean near-stock Android 15 with zero bloatware — extremely fluid and well-optimized
On-device Meta Llama 3 AI is privacy-friendly but slow — often faster to just do the task manually
Aggressive thermal throttling under sustained loads — GPU benchmark scores lower than expected

Google Pixel 9 Pro

The Tensor G4 prioritizes AI workloads over raw benchmarks, and reviewers are split on whether that trade-off makes sense at this price.

Day-to-day performance is smooth and responsive — the Tensor G4 handles everything you throw at it without stutter.

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Camera

ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra

The standout is the 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 4.0 which delivers uniquely impressive video stabilization — a 66% improvement over the predecessor. The 50MP main camera is solid in good light, but HDR processing produces visible ghosting artifacts, dynamic range suffers with crushed shadows and clipped highlights, and the overall camera system doesn't compete at this price tier.

6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer is uniquely excellent for video — best-in-class stabilization
HDR processing leaves visible ghosting artifacts in photos — a shocking flaw for a 2025 flagship
Dynamic range issues: shadows frequently crushed, highlights clipped, colors washed out and cold
"Better than midrange but not flagship level" — not competitive with Galaxy S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro

The Pixel 9 Pro's triple camera system continues Google's dominance in computational photography, with the new 50MP ultrawide and improved telephoto earning praise across the board.

Photo quality is outstanding, especially in challenging lighting conditions where Google's HDR+ processing excels.
The 5x telephoto zoom produces remarkably sharp results, competitive with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Video stabilization is much improved but still not quite at iPhone level for action shots.

Battery Life

ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra

The 5,500mAh dual-cell battery delivers excellent all-day endurance that approaches two days for lighter users. 65W wired charging goes from 0-77% in 30 minutes, and Qi 1.3 wireless charging is included. Battery specs are unchanged from the Zenfone 11 Ultra.

5,500mAh battery delivers excellent all-day endurance — close to two days for light users
65W wired charging reaches 77% in 30 minutes with Qi 1.3 wireless charging support
Same battery specs as Zenfone 11 Ultra — 65W charging falls behind competitors offering 100W+

Google Pixel 9 Pro

A genuine improvement over the Pixel 8 Pro, with most reviewers getting through a full day comfortably.

Easily lasts a full day of heavy use, a marked improvement over the inconsistent battery life of the Pixel 8 Pro.
Charging speed at 27W remains frustratingly slow compared to OnePlus and Samsung's faster options.