Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Asus on Thursday revealed the Zenfone 12 Ultra, which inherits several cool features from the Asus ROG Phone 9 gaming phone series and retools them for a more mainstream audience. Like last year’s Zenfone 11 Ultra, this means that the phone has a 6.78-inch display, fast 65-watt wired charging and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.But in other ways, Asus scaled the Zenfone 12 Ultra from its gaming phone sibling by supporting a (still very smooth) 144Hz refresh rate (the ROG Phone 9’s is185Hz) and a smaller 5,500 mAh battery compared to the ROG’s 5,800 mAh. The phone will come in three colors: ebony black, sakura white and sage green.The Zenfone 12 Ultra has a bunch of new AI features, several of which Asus is billing as exclusive to the new phone at launch. These include updated editions of the AI Call Translator, a transcription app and portrait video. The updated call translator adds support for third-party chat apps like WhatsApp, which should provide more flexibility beyond just standard phone calls.There are also new AI article and document summary features, along with photo editing features for unblurring a photo or erasing an unwanted object or person in the background. Many of these match similar AI features that we regularly see on Google’s Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones, and the Zenfone 12 Ultra will also receive Google’s Circle to Search.The Zenfone 12 Ultra’s headphone jack continues to set it apart as one of the few flagship phones from any company to support wired headphones without an adapter. For video recording, Asus is also updating its 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer for smoothing out shaky cam while taking video — a feature that comes in handy when I’ve tested prior Asus phones in bumpy vehicles.Pricing for the new Zenfone 12 Ultra wasn’t immediately available, and this year Asus is omitting the US from the phone’s international release. I’m bummed by this, as last year’s Zenfone offered many of the media-focused benefits of the ROG gaming phones. This includes the big screen, powerful processor, the gimbal stabilizer for video recording and that headphone jack — while providing a degree of restraint by offering those features at a slightly lower price than Asus’s gaming phones. But Asus has always faced an uphill struggle when it comes to the US market, where the audience for Android phones is dominated by Samsung, according to Counterpoint Research.This means a little less Zenfone for Asus fans in the US this year, but at least the Asus ROG Phone 9 gaming phones that are available include cool LED screens on the back for playing games.
Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Unboxed: A Unique Package for a Sleek Gaming Phone
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