ROG is a household name among smartphone gamers, and ASUS has consistently met the needs of avid gamers with its hardware over the years. The Asus ROG Phone 5, which just came out, is a mysterious piece of hardware with some of the best known specifications for smartphones.
In the smartphone gaming market, the Asus ROG 5 is yet another contender vying for the top spot in 2021. But is the new ROG Phone 5 just heavy hardware like the previous model, or does it have what you need for gaming? How well does the phone perform as a daily driver, and is it worth the investment of nearly 50,000 dollars? We needed answers to some of the questions.
Here is a quick review of the most recent Asus flagship gaming phone, which we were able to test out for a brief period of time (10 days).
Design:
Given that the ASUS ROG Phone 3 satisfied all of gamers’ aesthetic requirements, it is evident that Asus has not significantly altered the design. It has the same amount of bulk as before, 238 grams, which is a lot more than the flagships of today. To put things into perspective, the ROG Phone 5 weighs more, by almost 20 grams, than the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
It’s a little heavier than the ROG Phone 3 from last year, and if you play a lot of games, you really start to feel the extra weight on your wrists. Not to mention that the additional accessories increase the overall weight.
Despite the similarity, Asus was able to incorporate a few subtle cosmetic details that give the new ROG Phone its own distinct appearance.
Despite the fact that the front is now covered in Gorilla Glass Victus, which provides additional strength, it still comes with a glass back. The ROG logo on the back, the horizontal camera, and the sharp angular bezels scream ROG. The new number 5 on the back indicates that this is the fifth generation of the gaming phone.
The new dot matrix RGB light located at the ROG logo’s back will be the most obvious change. You can still choose the color of the lighting and assign different lighting schemes for calls, music, and other things. Naturally, it enhances the device’s overall appearance.
The device’s volume rocker and power button are housed in the metal frame that wraps around it. On the right are the air triggers and an embossed ROG badge. The 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-Type C port are located on the bottom. Yes, Jack has returned to this issue. The fact that the company has brought back the audio jack is great, much to the delight of the phone’s dedicated audio DAC. More on that in the future.
The phone’s secondary USB Type-C charging port and multi-pin connector for ASUS ROG accessories are located on the left side. Since the majority of previous-generation accessories are no longer compatible with the ROG Phone 5, ASUS has kept quiet about the issue.
Overall, I think the ROG Phone 5 is a good move because it makes a few small cosmetic changes to the design that is already there. It is a design that does not require many modifications.
Display:
The ROG Phone 5 has a larger, full HD+ AMOLED display that measures 6.78 inches and produces more pixels than the previous model. With up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness and a screen refresh rate of 144 Hz, it is significantly brighter than its predecessor. The perfect contrasts make gaming on this phone a visual treat, and I even used it for most of my content consumption needs.
Since most smartphones today adhere to that design philosophy, I can understand the desire for an edge-to-end display. However, I wouldn’t want a punch hole in the display because then I wouldn’t be able to play games in full view. A pop-up front camera on the upcoming ROG Phone might be able to solve this minor issue. Despite this, there are no issues with the display, which is still suitable for professionals.
Performance and video games:
As I mentioned earlier, the Asus ROG Phone 5 comes equipped with the most cutting-edge and high-quality hardware available. You get the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 888 processor, 16GB of RAM (I don’t need more), and 512GB of the fastest UFS 3.1 smartphone storage. This clearly belongs in the major leagues. There is also a ROG Phone 5 with 18GB of RAM, but I think that’s too much, and Asus gets the right to brag about being the most powerful phone in the market with the extra RAM. An Adreno 660 GPU that excels in its class is provided for graphics.
One of the smoothest gaming experiences you’ll find on a smartphone is provided by this device, and the additional accessories give it an edge on the battlefield. With a single core running at 2.84 GHz, you won’t experience any lags or stutters while playing high-definition games for hours on end.
I was playing a number of high-definition games on the phone to really put it to the test, like COD: Mobile, Formula 1, Free Fire, and even a straightforward online multiplayer game like Among Us all at the same time. Even though I let each game run in the background, switching between them was a breeze. The change went without a hitch.
The phone does heat up a lot and suffers from all that processing power. After playing COD for 90 minutes: The ROG Phone 5 mobile recorded a maximum temperature of 106 degrees Fahrenheit, which is still 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit in its normal state. For improved heat dissipation, the ROG Phone 5 incorporates a reshaped vapour chamber and extensive graphite sheets. The additional AeroActive Air Cooler makes the cooling process more effective, and I think it did a good job.
There were a few bumps in the road that I witnessed. When I was running COD and an online audio streaming app called Discord: On mobile, the game frequently crashed. Due to the additional processing power, restarting games takes little time, which is a good thing. However, running multiple online streaming applications makes the device very hot.
The ROG Phone 5’s dual stereo front-firing speakers are the best I’ve ever heard on a phone. It not only adds that additional thud, but it is also loud enough to make you want to put away your headphones.
Also, do you recall that we previously discussed the headphone jack? The ROG Phone 5 now comes with a built-in DAC, and the phone’s native AudioWizard app lets you do a ton of customizing. Every audiophile would adore the ability to customize each audio frequency to their liking now.
Despite the fact that the fingerprint reader isn’t as responsive as other flagships, I’m willing to ignore it in favor of the other features it offers. Another drawback is that there is no wireless charging included, and the phone comes with a small silicone cover for the side port that is easy to lose. Additionally, the lack of a dust or water resistance certification is a significant drawback given the price. Therefore, it is not at all the ideal smartphone.
User Interface:
Interface There are multiple gaming profiles included with the ROG Phone 5. As a result, when you’re gaming, you switch to X Mode, which improves overall performance while compromising battery life. However, if you want to use it as a regular phone, you can return to Ultra Durable mode, which provides a longer battery life and adequate performance for running basic applications.
You’ll even be able to tell which power mode you’re in because the device’s color and theme will change to match that mode. The charging bypass feature, which directs power from the charger into the device rather than the battery, is an excellent addition. As a result, the battery won’t get too hot while you’re gaming. a fantastic feature for extending the battery’s lifespan.
You can also customize the performance of your phone based on each game in X Mode. This means that if one game is more demanding than another, you can customize the performance of your phone based on the requirements of each game.
The “Game Genie” gives you controls for haptic audio feedback, real-time information about the device’s performance, and more by sliding the phone’s screen from left to right in landscape mode. In addition, the ROG Phone 5 includes Scout Mode, in which the game’s color is reversed on the display to make it easier to identify enemies.
I was pleased with the customizations and minor UI tweaks that Asus has made, and the device’s combination of ZenUI and the native ROGUI provides an experience that is nearly identical to stock Android.
Camera:
Because the majority of people who will purchase this phone won’t be buying it for its camera, I won’t spend a lot of time talking about it. However, the ROG Phone 5’s camera isn’t the most impressive feature.
It has a primary sensor with 64 megapixels, a 13 megapixel ultra-wide, and a 5 megapixel macro camera. In daylight, I was able to get decent shots, and in low light, my performance was average. The quality of the photos is also comparable to that of mid-range smartphones of today.
Battery:
The ROG Phone 5 features a brand-new dual battery system that provides an overall battery capacity of 6,000mAh by combining two 3,000mAh batteries. The company claims that this enables the device to parallel charge the two batteries, thereby enhancing battery management and maintaining a low device temperature.
Asus’ ROG series battery prowess has garnered praise, but the company has continued to improve it. You get a 65W charging block inside the case which I’m blissful about in light of the fact that there are leaders today that don’t give you that (you know who all I’m discussing). The ROG Phone 5 took 67 minutes to charge from zero to 100 percent, which is impressive for such a large battery.
It’s great that the ROG Phone lets us choose how to charge the battery. In the battery settings, you can select slow charging speeds for the phone. The fact that you can even schedule the phone’s charging time to automatically turn off power at a specific point is interesting. Additionally, you can set a ceiling for the phone’s maximum charge anywhere from 80% to 90%. One of many ways this device’s battery life can be improved.
I was able to use the screen at 140 Hz for more than 24 hours, and I was able to use it on average in auto-refresh rate mode for easily 2 days. Depending on how you use it, the battery will run out.
Accessories:
As part of the additional accessory kit, I received the Kunai 3 Gamepad, the Active Air Cooler, and the Cetra 2 Core gaming headphones. I ended up using the attachable cooling fan the most out of the three. I used the fan’s triggers, but I could only use one at a time.
For people with smaller hands, it may be difficult to reach the triggers with the ring finger; therefore, I believe Asus should experiment with the position of the rear trigger for improved reach and comfort.
A player will need days to get used to using all of the gaming controls in a comfortable way during a game. The ROG Phone 5’s capacitive triggers give you an advantage over your rival, and the additional fan triggers will definitely help you perform better overall in the game.
Due to the limited number of multiplayer games that are currently compatible with the Bluetooth-enabled gamepad, I didn’t use the Kunai Gamepad much. Developers might be able to provide compatibility in that area, but I don’t think you need to spend more money on the controller.
The Certa 2 gaming headphones are an excellent addition to the ROG accessory collection and work well with the entire set. I leave it to you to decide whether you want to spend more money on these gaming headphones.
Verdict:
Instead of appearing like a brand-new smartphone, the ROG Phone 5 appears to be an incremental improvement. The flagship processor and a few design tweaks are refreshing, but a ROG Phone 3 already has these features. To be honest, there aren’t many high-definition games with high performance requirements that really test the ROG Phone 5’s hardware.
While there is no denying that the ROG Phone 5 excels in terms of performance and provides a smartphone gaming experience that few others in this price range can match, I believe that the phone is ahead of its time.
The company’s objective has not changed; to create the best smartphone for gaming. Unfortunately, there are not enough games available to truly test the ROG Phone 5. The ROG Phone 5, at Rs 49,999, should only be purchased by those who intend to pursue a career in mobile gaming. Aside from that, there are a lot of other phones on the market that can play high-definition games without breaking the bank.
