Large smartphones are all around us at this point in time. In this article, we’ll compare two such devices, which are also quite powerful. These two phones are the best Google and ASUS have to offer. We’ll compare the Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra. The Pixel 8 Pro arrived in the fourth quarter of last year, while the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra followed in the first quarter of this year.
These two smartphones are quite different when it comes to their designs. They are both large and quite premium-feeling. As per usual, we’ll first compare their specifications. Following that, you’ll get to see their designs compared, along with their displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. Having said that, let’s get into it, shall we?
Specs
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra, respectively
– Screen size:
6.7-inch Super Actua AMOLED display (flat, 120Hz LTPO, HDR10+, 2,400 nits)
6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X (flat, 144Hz, 2,500 nits max brightness)
– Display resolution:
2992 x 1344
2400 x 1080
– SoC:
Google Tensor G3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
– RAM:
12GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB/16GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 3.1)
256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
50MP (f/1.68 aperture, 82-degree FoV, 1.2um pixel size, OIS), 48MP (ultrawide, f/1.95 aperture, 125.5-degree FoV, 0.8um pixel size), 48MP (telephoto, f/2.8 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, 5x optical zoom)
50MP (wide, 24mm lens, gimbal OIS), 13MP (ultrawide, 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, 32MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 aperture)
– Front cameras:
10.5MP (f/2.2 aperture, 1.22um pixel size)
32MP (wide, f/2.5 aperture)
– Battery:
5,050mAh
5,500mAh
– Charging:
30W wired, 23W wireless, reverse wireless (charger not included)
65W wired, 15W wireless, 10W reverse wired (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8mm
163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm
– Weight:
213 grams
224 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3/5.4
– Security:
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) & facial scanning
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical)
– OS:
Android 14
Android 14 with ZenUI
– Price:
$999+
$899+
– Buy:
Google Pixel 8 Pro (Best Buy)
ZenFone 11 Ultra (Amazon)
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Design
As you can see, both of these devices have flat displays on the front, with very thin bezels. You’ll also spot a centered display camera hole on both of them. Even the corners are similarly rounded in comparison. Both devices include their physical buttons on the right-hand side. The thing is, the Pixel 8 Pro has its power/lock key above the volume up and down buttons. It’s the other way around for the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra.
If we flip them around, you’ll get to see considerably different backplates. The Pixel 8 Pro has a camera visor on the back, which stretches from the frame on the left to the frame on the right side. It does protrude quite a bit, but it balances the phone on the table, so it doesn’t wobble. The ZenFone 11 Ultra has its camera island in the top-left corner. It’s considerably smaller than what the Pixel 8 Pro offers.
The two smartphones are very similar in terms of dimensions. The Pixel 8 Pro is barely shorter, for about 1mm, while they’re almost identical in terms of width and thickness. It’s worth saying that the ZenFone 11 Ultra does weigh a bit more than the Pixel 8 Pro. It weighs 224 grams compared to 213 grams of the Pixel 8 Pro. Both smartphones are water and dust-resistant (IP68 certification), and both of them do leave a premium feeling when you use them. They are, however, quite slippery, as they’re made out of metal and glass.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Display
There is a 6.7-inch display included on the Pixel 8 Pro. It has a resolution of 2992 x 1344, and it’s an LTPO OLED panel. It’s flat, and it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10+ content is supported on this panel, and the brightness goes up to 2,400 nits. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel. The screen-to-body ratio is around 87%.
The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra features a 6.78-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) LTPO AMOLED display. That panel is also flat, and it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 144Hz. HDR10 content is supported here, while the display goes up to 2,500 nits of brightness at its peak. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the screen-to-body ratio is around 88%. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this display.
You’ll be glad to know that both of these displays are more than good enough. They’re both sharp enough, though the Pixel 8 Pro’s panel is sharper. The refresh rates are quite high, and well-optimized, while the displays are vibrant. They have good viewing angles, and the blacks are deep. The touch response is quite good, and both panels are well-protected. They also get quite bright when needed. There’s really not much to complain about here. One thing to note is that The ZenFone 11 Ultra won’t use a 144Hz refresh rate other than in some compatible games. You’ll get up to a 120Hz refresh rate during general usage.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Performance
The Google Tensor G3 fuels the Pixel 8 Pro. The phone is also equipped with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 3.1 flash storage. The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, along with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 4.0 flash storage. Looking at the performance-related specs alone, the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra does have the edge. It has a more powerful processor, along with faster storage. The thing is, the Tensor G3 is really well-optimized for the Pixel 8 Pro, and it does bring along a bunch of AI features.
The general performance is great on both sides. They both open apps really fast, and can multitask like nobody’s business. Browsing, multimedia consumption, taking pictures, messaging, emails, and anything else you can imagine runs fine on both. Do note that the ZenFone 11 Ultra is snappier if you compare them directly, though. The difference is not huge, but it’s noticeable. That is not surprising considering the sheer power the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 delivers, plus UFS 4.0 storage. Chances are you’ll be happy with the performance on both sides, though.
When it comes to gaming, both of them can hold their own, but if you’re playing graphically-intensive titles, the ZenFone 11 Ultra will likely be a better choice. It ran Genshin Impact better than the Google Pixel 8 Pro. It didn’t overheat during a 1-hour session or anything like that. Both of them did get quite warm, though, but the performance did not suffer because of it.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Battery
The Pixel 8 Pro has a 5,050mAh battery on the inside. The ZenFone 11 Ultra delivers a 5,500mAh unit. ASUS’ flagship did a better job in our battery drain test. The difference was not huge, but it did do a better job. The same goes for general usage, actually. During our testing, we were able to get more battery juice from the ZenFone 11 Ultra, though the difference was not as big as some of you may expect.
Getting over 7-7.5 hours of screen-on-time was doable, while the Pixel 8 Pro was also able to get up to 7 almost every time. The battery life was more consistent on the ZenFone 11 Ultra, as the Pixel 8 Pro had off days when getting to 6.5 hours of screen-on-time was a bit of a struggle. Do note that gaming was not a part of our usage on those days. Everything else was, though, pretty much.
The Pixel 8 Pro supports 30W wired, 23W wireless, and 5W reverse wireless charging. The ZenFone 11 Ultra, on the flip side, supports 65W wired, 15W wireless, and 10W reverse wired charging. Using wired charging, the Pixel took 1 hour and 19 minutes to fully charge. The ZenFone 11 Ultra can technically fully charge in about 40 minutes if you have the appropriate charger for it. Neither smartphone comes with a charger in the box.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra: Cameras
The Pixel 8 Pro features a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera (126-degree FoV), and a 48-megapixel telephoto unit (5x optical zoom). ASUS’ handset has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom). Both smartphones do a good job, but we lean towards the Pixel 8 Pro from the photography perspective.
Google’s flagship prefers more contrasty output than the ZenFone 11 Ultra. Both smartphones do use a lot of processing, though the ZenFone 11 Ultra images do look a bit too oversharpened in some scenes. The Pixel 8 Pro does a better job in that regard. Both phones handle HDR situations with ease, while both provide plenty of details and handle white balance really well. Their ultrawide and telephoto cameras do a good job of keeping up with the color science of the main cameras. The thing is, the results are usually better on the Pixel 8 Pro.
Both phones can hold their own in low light too, and both of them pull quite a bit of detail from the shadows. Overall, the Pixel 8 Pro was a bit more consistent when it comes to low-light performance. Its secondary cameras were also a bit more useful in such conditions than the ones on the ZenFone 11 Ultra. The ZenFone 11 Ultra is still a very capable camera smartphone, though.
Audio
You will find a set of stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. The output from both is good enough. They’re loud enough and also well-balanced. We’ve seen louder speakers on some other flagships this year, though.
The ZenFone 11 Ultra even has an audio jack, that’s something you won’t find on the Pixel 8 Pro. You can always use its Type-C port for wired audio connections, though. The two smartphones support Bluetooth 5.3 and Bluetooth 5.4, respectively.
