
ASUS
Good

Apple
Great
ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra
Sleek matte glass back with ultra-narrow bezels and IP68 water resistance. The rare 3.5mm headphone jack is a welcome differentiator. However, the design is nearly identical to the Zenfone 11 Ultra, and the large 6.78-inch form factor disappointed fans of ASUS's formerly compact Zenfone line.
iPhone 17
The iPhone 17 adopts the new aluminum design language shared across the lineup, giving the base model a more premium look and feel than any previous standard iPhone.
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ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra
The 6.78-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED panel delivers 2,500 nits peak brightness with LTPO adaptive 1-120Hz (144Hz for gaming). Vivid colors and excellent outdoor readability are let down by FHD+ resolution at a price where competitors offer QHD+, and poor minimum brightness.
iPhone 17
ProMotion 120Hz finally arrives on the standard iPhone, making the 6.1-inch OLED display significantly smoother than previous base models.
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.
iPhone 17
The A19 chip handles daily tasks, gaming, and Apple Intelligence features with ease, providing a consistently smooth experience.
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.
iPhone 17
The 48MP main + 12MP ultrawide dual camera delivers impressive results with improved computational photography, though the lack of telephoto remains the biggest gap versus Pro.