The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra, the latest flagship smartphone from the Taiwanese tech giant, has officially launched today, but in a surprising move, it will not be available in the US market. This marks a significant departure from the company's previous strategy, which had seen the Zenfone series being sold in North America.

According to Asus, the decision to skip the US market was made to focus on international sales, where the company believes it can better compete with other Android smartphone manufacturers. While this move may come as a disappointment to US customers who had been eagerly awaiting the Zenfone 12 Ultra's release, it's worth noting that Asus has not entirely ruled out the possibility of future Zenfone models being made available in the US.

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is essentially a reworked ROG Phone 9 Pro, featuring a large 6.78-inch screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a unique gimbal-like stabilizer in the main camera. The phone also boasts a big 5,500mAh battery, supporting 65W wired charging and up to 15W wireless charging via the Qi 1.3 standard. The 1080p resolution of the screen may seem a bit low for a panel of this size, but it's unlikely to be a major concern for most users.

In terms of camera capabilities, the Zenfone 12 Ultra features a 50-megapixel main camera, a 32-megapixel 3x telephoto lens, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens on the rear panel. The phone also comes with a range of AI-powered features, including AI background noise removal for video recording, AI-powered semantic search in the photo gallery, AI voice memo transcription, and AI document summarization.

One of the standout features of the Zenfone 12 Ultra is its gimbal-like image stabilization, which is now in its fourth iteration. This feature has been a hallmark of the Zenfone series, offering hardware-based shake correction combined with an updated electronic stabilization algorithm. In previous models, it has proven to be a genuinely cool feature and very effective at smoothing out bumpy camera footage.

The Zenfone 12 Ultra will start at €1,099 (approximately $1,145), making it a premium offering in the Android smartphone market. While the decision to skip the US market may be a setback for some customers, it's clear that Asus is focusing on other regions where it believes it can gain a stronger foothold.

As the smartphone market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Asus' strategy plays out in the long run. Will the company's decision to focus on international sales pay off, or will it ultimately prove to be a mistake? Only time will tell.