Do we need a cheaper Galaxy S24 Ultra made by… Asus?

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is just great! But do you know what would be even better? If it didn't cost $1,300! Phones have become insanely expensive in the past decade, with flagship devices hopping over the $1,000 threshold without any hesitation.

Well, there's a phone with "Ultra" in its name, and it costs just $899. Interested? There's some good news and some bad news. Yes, today we're going to talk a bit about the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra and whether or not such a model is relevant in the current smartphone climate.

Plus, Pro, Max, Ultra, Hyper? What does it all mean?

Not much. There was a time when Pro really meant "professional," but that ship has sailed long ago, and in the smartphone realm, "Pro" just means the slightly better flagship model. If you want the best of the best, you can get the "Pro Max" version for maximum professionalism… or something like that? Other companies have chosen the moniker "Ultra."

Wikipedia lists over 40 different meanings and uses of the word "ultra" in modern context, so clearly it's a popular idea that people like. The Britannica Dictionary defines "ultra" as: beyond; extremely; more than is usual.

I would argue that calling a smartphone "Ultra" repeatedly for four of five generations defeats the purpose of the word, as it's nothing more than "the usual," but this is a completely different discussion.

Let's get back to the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra. It is more than what we thought of as usual for the Zenfone line, but is it enough to challenge the other "Ultra" phones? Where does it land on the market? And more importantly, do we need a cheaper Galaxy S24 Ultra, made by Asus?

A ROG Phone in disguise!

Funnily enough, the Zenfone 11 Ultra is not "more than is usual." Quite the opposite; it's less than a ROG Phone 8. I know many of you might light their torches and dust off their pitchforks, but before you start marching, hear me out.

How come a phone that's called "Ultra" is cheaper and offers less than one that is just a "Pro?" That alone deserves a separate rant. It doesn't make any sense. And we haven't yet touched on the fact that Asus somehow decided to strip the ROG Phone 8 of its gaming attire and sell it to the general public under the Zenfone name. Lazy.

I'm so passionate about it because I've been covering Asus devices for more than five years now, and I remember the Zenfone 6, the 7 Pro, and the 8 Flip, all very interesting phones and very different from anything in the Zenfone or ROG range.

The real problem of the Zenfone 11 Ultra