Both ASUS and HONOR announced rather compelling flagship smartphones this year. Those two phones are quite different, though, so comparing them should be a treat. We’ll be comparing the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro this time around. Both of them are big, powerful, and available in a number of markets. Do note that the ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra is considerably more affordable, though. They’re kind of aiming at different types of consumers despite the fact they’re both flagship phones.
The ZenFone 11 Ultra is basically a rebranded ROG Phone 8, with some slight design modifications. Its price tag is well below $1,000. The HONOR Magic6 Pro is a camera-centric phone, and it costs well over the $1,000 level. As per usual, we’ll first list their specifications, following which the two phones will be compared across a number of categories. Let’s get to it.
Specs
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro, respectively
– Screen size:
6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X (flat, 144Hz, 2,500 nits max brightness)
6.8-inch LTPO OLED display (curved, 120Hz LTPO, HDR, 5,000 nits)
– Display resolution:
2400 x 1080
2800 x 1280
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
– RAM:
12GB/16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB (global model)/16GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
50MP (wide, 24mm lens, gimbal OIS), 13MP (ultrawide, 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture), 32MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 aperture)
50MP (wide, f/1.4-f/2.0 aperture, OIS, PDAF, Laser AF, 23mm lens), 50MP (ultrawide, f/2.0 aperture, 122-degree FoV, 13mm lens), 180MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.6 aperture, 2.5x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF)
– Front cameras:
32MP (wide, f/2.5 aperture)
50MP (f/2.0 aperture, 22mm lens), ToF 3D camera
– Battery:
5,500mAh
5,600mAh
– Charging:
65W wired, 15W wireless, 10W reverse wired (charger not included)
80W wired, 66W wireless, reverse wireless, reverse wired (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm
162.5 x 75.8 x 8.9mm
– Weight:
224 grams
225/229 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.4/5.3
– Security:
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical)
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) & 3D facial scanning
– OS:
Android 14 with ZenUI
Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0
– Price:
$899+
€1,299+
– Buy:
ZenFone 11 Ultra (Amazon)
HONOR Magic6 Pro (HONOR)
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Design
You’ll immediately spot glaring design differences when you lay your eyes on these two devices. The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra has a flat display, with a centered display camera hole, and thin bezels. The HONOR Magic6 Pro includes a curved panel, with a pill-shaped cutout, and thin bezels around its display. The sides of the ZenFone 11 Ultra are mostly flat, while the same cannot be said for the HONOR Magic6 Pro.
Both phones do include their physical buttons on the right-hand side. They’re even placed in a similar position. If we flip them over, you’ll see even more differences. The ZenFone 11 Ultra has a display camera hole in the top-left corner. The HONOR Magic6 Pro has a large camera island which is centered in the upper portion of its back. Both of those camera islands include three cameras, though the Magic6 Pro has larger sensors.
Both smartphones are made out of metal (aluminum) and glass, though the Magic6 Pro also comes in a variant with silicone polymer back (eco-leather). The two devices are almost the same in terms of height and width. Well, the ZenFone 11 Ultra is around 1mm taller and around 1mm wider. They’re exact same when it comes to thickness, though. The weight is also quite similar, while both phones comes with an IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
These two phones offer an entirely different in-hand feel, though. Glass models of both phones are very slippery. The silicon polymer HONOR Magic6 Pro variant does add a bit of grip to the table.
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Display
ASUS’ flagship features a 6.78-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) LTPO AMOLED display. That panel is flat and it offers a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. Do note that you’ll be able to take advantage of that only in some games. It will go up to 120Hz most of the time. The display supports HDR10 content, and its brightness goes up to 2,500 nits. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the screen-to-body ratio is at around 88%. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel.
On the other hand, the HONOR Magic6 Pro, includes a 6.8-inch 2800 x 1280 LTPO OLED display. That display is curved, and it can project up to 1 billion colors. Its refresh rate is adaptive and it goes up to 120Hz. Dolby Vision is supported here, as is HDR content. The display brightness goes up to 5,000 nits. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9, while the screen-to-body ratio is at around 91%.
Both of these panels are excellent, but the HONOR Magic6 Pro does have an edge. It not only gets brighter, but it features a sharper panel. On top of that, it has a considerably higher PWM dimming, thus it’s better at protecting your eyes. Both panels are vivid, though, and have great viewing angles. The blacks are also quite deep on both, and the touch response is great on both ends.
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Performance
These two phones use the exact same processor. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from Qualcomm is the chip in question. That is Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile processor at the moment, and one of the best in the business. Both phones also utilize LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. Both phones actually offer up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, so they’re well-equipped as far as performance-related hardware is concerned.
You’ll be glad to know that both phones perform great, even though their software builds are considerably different. They both run Android 14, but their Android skins differ. ASUS’ is close to stock Android but with plenty of useful features on top. MagicOS is something else entirely, it combines features from both Android and iOS. They both fly through everyday tasks, though. They’re great for browsing, image processing, they open apps really fast, multitasking is not a problem, and so on.
The same can be said for gaming, actually. Even the most demanding games from the Google Play Store run nicely on these two smartphones. Genshin Impact was not a problem for either device, which is always good to hear. Both phones did get quite warm after an hour of gameplay, but the performance did not suffer.
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Battery
ASUS stuffed a 5,500mAh battery inside the HONOR Magic6 Pro. HONOR, on the other hand, managed to fit a 5,600mAh unit inside the Magic6 Pro, and it’s a silicon-carbon battery, by the way. Both of these smartphones do a good job in terms of battery life, but we’ve seen somewhat better results on the HONOR Magic6 Pro. Both smartphones can cross that 7-hour screen-on-time mark without a problem, as long as you’re not going overboard with gaming and similar graphically-intensive tasks.
We actually managed to hit that 8-hour screen-on-time mark on the Magic6 Pro, while the ZenFone 11 Ultra always flew under that point. We’ve enjoyed great battery on both phones, though, so there’s not much to complain here. Do note that your mileage may vary, though. We’ve used both devices mostly on Wi-Fi, and the signal was good at all times, pretty much. So those were ideal conditions, in a way.
As far as charging is concerned, the HONOR Magic6 Pro is faster. It supports 80W wired, 66W wireless, reverse wireless, and reverse wired charging. The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra offers 65W wired, 15W wireless, and 10W reverse wired charging. The thing is, neither of these two smartphones offers a charger in the retail box. You’ll need to get one on the side. That’s unfortunate, but there you have it.
ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Cameras
Both of these smartphones have three cameras on the back. The ASUS ZenFone 11 Ultra includes a 50-megapixel main camera, along with a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom). The HONOR Magic6 Pro, on the flip side, has a 50-megapixel main camera (variable aperture), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (122-degree FoV), and a 180-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (2.5x optical zoom).
Both of these smartphones are well-equipped in the camera department, but the HONOR Magic6 Pro stands on its own. It has more powerful sensors, that’s for sure, and more advanced camera tech in general. The images these two phones deliver are quite different, and while the ZenFone 11 Ultra did a good job overall, we preferred shots from the HONOR Magic6 Pro most of the time.
The device leans towards warmer tones, and it balances out images really well. It also does great in demanding HDR situations, not to mention low light. Portrait and macro shots are especially impressive, at least they were to us. The ZenFone 11 Ultra does a good job, but we’ve noticed oversharpening getting in the way. The images did seem to be overprocessed a bit too often. That made some of them look quite weird. The ZenFone 11 Ultra also doesn’t have a periscope telephoto camera, so you’re kind of limited when it comes to zoom options.
Audio
You’ll find a set of stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. They’re both good, but the ones on the HONOR Magic6 Pro are louder. The difference is not major, but it’s noticeable. Both sets of speakers are well-balanced, though.
Out of these two phones, only the ZenFone 11 Ultra has an audio jack. You can always utilize the Type-C port on the HONOR Magic6 Pro for the same purpose, though. When it comes to Bluetooth (for wireless connectivity), the ZenFone 11 Ultra is equipped with Bluetooth 5.4, while the HONOR Magic6 Pro comes with Bluetooth 5.3.
