Hot off their announcement of the official ROG Phone 6 MLBB M5 edition, Moontoon is taking it a step further by announcing that their upcoming Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) M5 World Tournament will be officially using the smartphone for their upcoming tourney.
The new partnership saw the launch of a special MLBB edition of the successful ROG Phone 6 with design cues taken from playable MLBB hero – Yu-Zhong. The gaming smartphone will give players top-of-the-line specifications and performance with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and 12GB of RAM. ASUS has also introduced better latency and features with more sensitive air triggers and better WiFi connection technology.
Moontoon claims to have given the gaming smartphone rigorous testing before choosing it for its official partnership. The smartphone will be used for the first time for MLBB’s M5 in the Wild Cards which will take place from 23 to 26 November, 2023, in Malaysia. This Wild Card will see players from all around the globe battle it out to earn their place in the Group Stage of the MLBB M5 World Tournament. The ROG Phone 6 will then be used throughout the tourney.
The ROG Phone 6 MLBB Special Edition was announced earlier last week. The new bundle will see ROG’s successful ROG Phone 6 in an exclusive bundle with MLBB-inspired merchandise and accessories. The most notable of which is the DEVILCASE which comes emblazoned with Yu-Zhong, one of the playable heroes in Mobile Legends Bang Bang. The Bundle will be retailing for MYR2,299.
The ASUS Zenfone series of smartphones hasn’t really been a mainstay in the tech market. In fact, Malaysia hasn’t seen a Zenfone release since the Zenfone 5. However, the series has been making waves in recent years thanks to ASUS’s dedication to making it a rather compact flagship. That said, it looks like ASUS might be ending the Zenfone altogether.
According to a report from Technews.tw, the company has already inched closer to ending the Zenfone lineup with some internal restructuring. The internal restructuring has resulted in layoffs in the mobile phone department effectively shutting down the Zenfone division. The same report indicates that the mobile phone department is split into two divisions – ROG Phone and Zenfone. It seems like the ROG Phone lineup should stay its course for now. However, if reports of the shutdown of the department shutdown and layoffs are true, the recent Zenfone 10 from ASUS could mark the last Zenfone flagship ever.
In its heyday, the Zenfone series had more than just its numbered entries. ASUS had the Zenfone GO as an affordable option as well as the Zenfone Max and Zenfone Live for those who wanted the larger screen and live streaming respectively. The numbered Zenfone series rounded out the series with higher-end, flagship-class specifications. It was also one of the most experimental series with ASUS introducing features like the flip camera in the Zenfone Flip.
Source: ASUS Global
The Zenfone series seems to be a casualty of the ongoing restructuring at ASUS which was first reported sometime in June. While we are optimistic the company will come out better on the other end of it, it’s hard to say whether the Zenfone series will be the last casualty.
ASUS launched their flagship smartphone, the ROG Phone 7 last month in April 2023. As promised, ASUS has brought the new flagship gaming smartphone into Malaysia. They are also available for purchase now as we speak; if you are interested, you can check out their roadshow happening now to the end of this weekend (14th of May 2023) at Pavilion Bukit Jalil.
To recap, the ROG Phone 7 comes in two variants, the regular vanilla ROG Phone 7, and one ROG Phone 7 Ultimate flavour. The vanilla ROG Phone 7 is still a powerful device packing Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. You still get up to opt for up to 16GB in LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB in storage space if you do not mind spending a little bit more money.
Whichever ROG Phone 7 series device you pick, it comes with a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display that offers Full HD+ resolution at 165Hz refresh rate and up to 720Hz in sampling rate for a smooth and near instant input feel. The AMOLED display also offers the best-in-class viewing experience with up to 1,500 nits in brightness and ΔE<1 colour accuracy. For the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, you get an extra matrix display shooting visuals out of the back of the device (ROG Vision).
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also has a trick up its sleeve over the regular ROG Phone 7. You not only get the latest AeroActive Cooler active cooling solution and attachment for your ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, but the cooler also activates a flap they call the AeroActive Portal that will increase an airflow channel to allow for better cooling. The result is up to 20% thermal efficiency from the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. That, alongside the Boron Nitride thermal compound, bigger vapor chamber,a graphite sheets on the CPU means that the CPU can be pushed to its limits for longer periods of time without compromising gaming performance.
Other updates on the series include better audio tuned by Dirac Virtuo, X Sense software, better AirTrigger, and new gesture controls including Gyroscope aiming. Within the new ROG Phone 7 devices are 10 motion controls with an X-axis liner motor for powerful and immersive haptic feedback like the one you get on your console controller. You can even adjust the haptic feedback for better response, or just all-around better feel for your controls.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the ROG Phone 7 series is now available in Malaysia. You can get your vanilla variant of the ROG Phone 7 in either white or black colour options. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate will be available 15th of May 2023 onward in Malaysia. There is no colour option for this one, unfortunately, just white. The white does bring the ROG Vision out a little bit more though. The ROG Phone 7 will start at MYR 3,599 (12GB + 256GB) while the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate starts at MYR 4,999 and comes with the AeroActive Cooler 7 out-of-the-box. More information on the ROG Phone 7 series can be found on their website.
If you are looking for a flagship smartphone experience like no other, you are spoiled by choice today. You can choose between offerings from Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, HONOR, Xiaomi, and even Apple, if you please. The thing is these manufacturers make rather similar smartphones. They always come in the same recipe – metallic frame, glass backing that houses a high-resolution camera, and a glass front that protects a rather large high-resolution display. They also always promised some sort of state-of-the-art cooling solution. If you are looking for something different, the flagship from these manufacturers might not cut it.
For a while now, if you have been looking for a different flavour on your flagship smartphone, you can go the route of gaming smarpthones from the likes of Razer, Blackshark, and most recently, Lenovo. But these manufacturers have sort of phased out too. There are no more Blackshark smartphones for 2023, Razer has not updated their Razer Phone line up, and Lenovo has yet to update their latest handheld gaming creation. The only one we can look to right now is ASUS and their ROG Phone. In that case if you want a unique flagship smartphone for 2023, ASUS’ ROG Phone series is the one for you.
Welcome to the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series, the latest creation from the skunkworks of ASUS. It is the latest and currently the most powerful gaming smartphone you have ever seen. As with any previous ASUS ROG Phone devices, it is one of the most striking looking devices you have laid your eyes on, at least amongst all the flagships you can find in the current market.
Formidable Power
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
It packs an immensely powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. Alongside the powerful system on a chip (SoC) is a 16GB LPDDR5X RAM (up to) and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. All these are designed so that the top-of-the-line ASUS ROG Phone works through games as fast as the current technology allows. It is made to be the ultimate expression of a gaming handheld that is also a smartphone.
Wrapped around the powerful uniquely tuned internals is something ASUS calls the GameCool 7 thermal control system. That means you get even an even better gaming performance out of the ROG Phone 7 smartphone than any other flagship you can find in the current market. At the same time, the new cooling system keeps the smartphone running at a lower temperature over regular flagship smartphones while keeping power consumption lower than even regular smartphones. They say the new GameCool 7 system offers a new rapid-cycle vapor chamber design that offers 168% heat dissipation efficiency that the ROG Phone that came before.
Better Audio, Better Cooling, Better Controls
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
The result is a quite a beefy shell with a few tricks up its sleeves. Within the beefy device is a new stereo speaker that is said to be 50% more powerful than before. The new speaker system is also tuned by Dirac, an audio specialist. You can also turn it into a 2.1 channel system when you attach the new AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory to the device. If you prefer a more personal experience in a crowd, the Dirac tuned Dirac Virtuo 3.5mm headphone jack offers an unparalleled theatre-like spatial sound experience. If you prefer a more wireless approach, the Snapdragon Sound technology offers super-low-latency high-fidelity Bluetooth audio experience.
The new AeroActive Cooler 7 attachment is one of the things that makes the ROG Phone 7 series even more unique than ever before. It offers a cooling solution that does not just cool the glass surface of the device’s back, the new fan design allows for more effective basic active cooling, but a unique AeroActive Portal air inlet system allows the fan to cycle even more air throughout the device’s internals for even more efficient cooling.
ASUS also kept certain things that kept the ROG Phone unique since its inception. One of them is the Air Trigger ultrasonic buttons at the side of the device that offers even more control avenues and options of the ROG Phone device. It is also what gives users of the ROG Phone even more advantage in an already overpowered gaming device in games. It is not the basic haptic feedback touch buttons that they used to be in the first ASUS ROG Phone though. The latest AirTrigger offers a slew of gesture controls including Dual Action, Press and Lift, and even Gyroscope gaming, just like the Nintendo Switch and even the Steam Deck for fine tuning your aim. Within the ROG Phone 7 series devices are 10 motion controls and X-axis liner motors that offers powerful haptic feedback like no other smartphone can.
The Best Display Ever
All these things great hardware goes into creating the most immersive gaming experience you can have on a smartphone with a large Samsung AMOLED display that offers up to 165Hz in refresh rate. The panel also offers up to 720Hz in sampling rate for the lowest-in-class input latency, useful in gaming. The Pixelworks tuned AMOLED panel also offers ΔE<1 and a maximum of 1,500 nits in brightness for not only stunning, colour accurate visuals indoors, but also outdoors.
For the ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate there is an additional matrix colour display that sits at the back of the device they call the ROG Vision. The feature, first presented in the ROG Phone 6 Ultimate offers users extra information like charging status, incoming calls, X Mode activation, personalized animations, and even more.
Price and Availability
ASUS Malaysia has confirmed that the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series will make its way to Malaysia by the 10th of May 2023. There is no official pricing just yet for Malaysia. In Europe though, prices start at EUR€ 999, which is about MYR 4,849*. It will be available in Phantom Black and Storm White colour options. For more information on the ROG Phone 7 series, you can always visit ASUS’ website.
*Approximately based on the exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.85 on xe.com as of 18/04/2023
The ROG Phone 6 was announced earlier this year with impressive specifications and a sharp focus on gamers. It seems like that’s not enough for ASUS as they’ve just announced another version of the ROG Phone 6 – the ROG Phone 6D. It’s not just the Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ that’s changed on the phone either, ASUS is taking major design risks with the 6D.
Built for Power on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ Chipset
The biggest change coming to the ROG Phone 6D series is the processor. The D in the name comes from MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ processor which brings a boost in performance. The new flagship chipset from MediaTek brings high clock speeds of up to 3.2GHz complete with 5G connectivity. The processor is complemented with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of internal storage for the ultimate gaming experience.
The Mediatek-powered ROG Phone 6D series comes with a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The display has an FHD+ resolution of 1080×2448 pixels and also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Of course, the ROG Phone 6D series continues to come with the AirTriggers for quick, customisable gaming buttons. In addition, it also comes with high colour accuracy with a ΔE value that’s below 1. It also supports HDR playback.
On the camera front, the ROG Phone6D comes with a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor which is complemented by a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. On the front is a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
The biggest change comes in the form of a brand new approach to cooling on the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate. The new 6D ultimate comes with a unique vent that allows the AeroActive cooler access to a heat sync. The direct access allows the cooler to directly cool the processor and circulate air within the phone resulting in 30% better cooling and more power from the processor.
Holy Special Editions… It’s Batman!
In addition to the regular ROG Phone 6D series which consists of the regular 6D and the 6D Ultimate, the lineup is also getting a special DC collaboration. The collaboration sees the Caped Crusader take over the regular ROG Phone 6D with a special wallpaper and the Bat Symbol replacing the ROG emblem on the dot-matrix display on the back.
The special Batman edition also comes in a special box which is emblazoned with the Bat symbol and also a special Bat symbol SIM ejector tool. The box has design accents that bring the City of Gotham to life complete with a fully functional Bat Signal to call Batman when you need him.
Pricing & Availability
The ROG Phone 6D series will be available starting on 9 November 2022. The ROG Phone 6D (12GB +256GB) will be priced at MYR3,499 while the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate (16GB + 512GB) will be priced at MYR4,999. Both will be available in Space Gray.
The Batman edition of the ROG Phone 6 with 12GB RAM and 256GB of onboard storage will be on sale for MYR4,799.
ASUS’s smartphone offerings were bolstered by the initial release of the ROG Phone back in 2018. The unique, gamer-centric smartphone not only brought a more performance-centric smartphone, but it also brought along a whole ecosystem focused on extending the mobile gaming experience. This year, the company is announcing the new ROG Phone 6 series which brings an offering for every price point and continues to keep gamers front and centre.
Power-packed Entries Staying True to ROG’s Gamer-first Ethos
The new ROG Phone 6 series consists of two smartphones: the ROG Phone 6 and the ROG Phone 6 Pro. These smartphones continue to offer the highest-end performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The new processor brings improvements in power efficiency and performance over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This is enhanced by ROG’s X mode which unlocks performance on the smartphone. In X mode, the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro are able to average 59.4 fps on Genshin Impact – one of the most demanding games on mobile right now. On the ROG Phone 6, the processor is complemented by up to 16GB RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. The Pro, on the hand, comes with a whopping 18GB of RAM with 512GB of storage.
On the display side of things, the ROG Phone 6 series comes with a Samsung AMOLED display made of E4 materials. This allows for increased brightness and high refresh rates. Speaking of, the 6.78-inch display comes with a 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch-sampling rate giving users an edge when it comes to games. The display is also colour accurate coming with a ΔE below 1 which means that the colour accuracy is virtually indiscernible from real life. It’s also got a 111% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and always on HDR technology. The graphical performance is also enhanced by the Pixelworks i6 image processor. It’s also got HDR10+ compatibility.
Completing the Mobile Gaming Experience
The ROG Phone 6 Series brings back some of the features that we’ve come to expect with the series. One of which is the Air Triggers. These Ultrasonic Buttons enable more robust controls in-game. It does this by acting like triggers we’re used to on controllers; allowing users to tap and enable mapped functions in game. This allows for a more natural gaming experience on the smartphone itself. It’s also bringing a a whole slew of gestures that are aimed at making mobile gaming more intuitive.
Together with the improved Air Triggers and gestures, the ROG Phone series is once again bringing back its ecosystem. The new ROG Phone 6 Series also comes with a slew of accessories that make it a portable console. The ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad allows players to pair a more complete controller to the smartphone akin to the Nintendo Switch. The newer design brings slight refinements which make the Gamepad more natural and ergonomic.
Of course, an ROG Phone wouldn’t be an ROG phone without its signature AeroActive Cooler. The new AeroActive Cooler 6 has been improved with more robust design. It comes with features that not only make it more conductive but cool more efficiently. The AeroActive Cooler 6 now comes with a thermal conductive pad and copper plate to better conduct heat with a Peltier Element, Cooling fins and a centrifugal fan for better heat dissipation. ASUS touts that these elements allow the cooler to reduce heat by up to 25°C on the back cover. On top of that, the cooler now comes with 4 physical triggers to help make gaming a little more immersive while using it.
Deepening Immersion while Empowering Personal Expression
It also incorporates better, more immersive sound with its Dirac Virtuo spatial audio system and dual speakers. This allows for more immersive sound dynamics with higher clarity and contrast as well as deeper bass. It also brings an Audio Wizard and Equalizer to customise the sound for your personal tastes. It also comes with a special low latency mode for better fidelity over Bluetooth. This comes in addition to support for Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive and Hi-Res Audio.
The ROG Phone 6 series comes with a more robust ROG Vision display on the back. On the 6 Pro, the ROG Vision display is a PMOLED display. This allows users to express themselves with full RGB visuals. Users are able to customise this on the smartphone itself with their own visuals or with a myriad of preset animations. On the regular Phone 6 this is replaced by an illuminated RGB ROG Logo.
In addition to all the gaming features, ASUS is also equipping the ROG Phone 6 series with pretty respectable camera sensors. On the back is a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixle Sony IMX766 main sensor complemented by a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 13-megapixel macro sensor. These cameras will be front and center as gamers look to capture meaningful moments or create content. On the front is a 12-megapixel Sony IMX663 camera.
Pricing & Availability
The ROG Phone 6 will be available in Storm White and Phantom Black. The phone will be available in two variants: 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB. The 12GB + 256GB will be retailing at MYR3,599 while the 16GB + 512GB will retail at MYR4,399. The ROG Phone 6 will be available starting in September 2022 in Malaysia.
The ROG Phone 6 Pro will only be available in Storm White with 18GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. This will be retailing for MYR4,999 starting in September 2022.
Pre-orders of the ROG Phone 6 will start on 6th July 2022. You can pre-order online at ASUS’s official Shopee store or at participating retailers. Pre-orders will be entitled to freebies worth MYR548. This includes 1 year extended warranty worth MYR199 and the AeroActive Cooler 6 worth MYR349. Online pre-orders are also entitled to a 10% discount on the ROG Slash Hip Bag which retails at MYR499 and the ROG Slash Crossbody Bag which is priced at MYR399.
With Google announcing the stable release of the latest version of their mobile operating system, Android 12, manufacturers have started announcing their own plans for the update to roll out to their stable of devices. The latest one to do so is ASUS.
ASUS has previously proven that they will be providing two years of updates for their phones. That roughly equates to two major updates. They have also provided security patches for about three years. That said, ASUS will continue to use this policy for their devices moving forward.
Source: ASUS
With the rollout of Android 12, it looks like the Zenfone 6 has reached the end of its life; so there will be no update for the smartphone. According to their official press note, the phones receiving the update are the Zenfone 7, Zenfone 7 Pro, ROG Phone 3, ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition, Zenfone 8, Zenfone 8 Flip, ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone Ultimate, ROG Phone 5s, and ROG Phone 5s Pro. That’s pretty much their latest lineup of devices since 2019.
According to their announcement, the ASUS Zenfone 8 and 8 Flip will be the first of their devices to get the update. It is scheduled to get the update starting in December 2021. The ROG Phone 5 and 5s are slated for Q1 2022. The ROG Phone 3, ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition, Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro are set to have the update in the first half of 2022.
Source: ASUS
ASUS didn’t detail much when it came to features that will be coming with the Android 12 update. However, they did mention that “this update inherits the major functional changes introduced in the official version of Android 12, as well as continuing the popular ASUS battery- and performance-management features.”.
ASUS is arguably one of the first companies to make a gaming smartphone. The original ROG Phone launched back in 2018 to much acclaim and praise and with a customised chipset from Qualcomm. This year, ASUS refines its ROG Phone series with more features and more affordable price points.
The ROG Phone 5 series is the first in the ROG Phone family to officially be introduced with more than one entry into the line up. The series will consists of the ROG Phone 5, the 5 Pro and the 5 Ultimate which are differentiated by a few features and key specifications. On the outside, the ROG Phone 5 series continues to inherit the ostentatious design queues which have become its signature. Over on the back you have the angular accents of the camera modules and the angular design of the new ROG Dotted Matrix Design which allows for some extensive customisation. The Pro and Ultimate variants, this is replaced by angular lines which surround the ROG Vision screen.
Specc’d to Game
When it comes to the phone itself, the ROG Phone 5 series comes equipped with a Samsung AMOLED screen. The screen is a 6.78-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2448×1080 pixels. The phone boasts one of the only displays with a 144Hz refresh rate. On the protection side of things, it comes with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for better scratch and shatter resistance.
The new entries are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with either 8GB, 16GB or 18GB of RAM with up to 512GB of internal storage. It doesn’t seem to support memory expansion with a microSD card – making it the third flagship this year to eschew the microSD card. The ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate are available with 512GB of internal storage with 16GB and 18GB of RAM respectively. The ROG Phone 5 caps out at 256GB with 16GB RAM. The series is also the first in the ROG Phone series to support 5G connectivity.
Perfecting Audio
The new ROG Phone continues to support better audio features by not only retaining the 3.5mm audio jack but also introducing even more audio centric features. Of note is the inclusion of a high-end ESS9280AC Pro DAC on the 3.5mm jack for better audio fidelity. It also supports symmetrical dual front-facing speakers. These are some of the largest speakers on smartphones coming in at 12x16mm. ASUS promises a louder, more rounded experience with these speakers. Also along for the ride this time is a DIRAC tuned AudioWizard with customizable equalizer for your perfect sound. DIRAC is providing optimisations on the ROG Phone 5 series to minimise crosstalk and widen the sound stage of the audio experience on the ROG Phone 5.
Of course, the ROG Phone 5 series comes with all the bells and whistles of its predecessors including improved Air Triggers and motion controls. In addition, ASUS is also introducing a new AeroActive cooler which come with two physical buttons for the triggers when plugged in.
Accessories, Accessories, Accessories
As with previous ROG Phones, ASUS is bringing a whole slew of gaming oriented accessories to enhance the ROG Phone 5. The first, is the AeroActive cooler which helps cool the phone down during intense gaming sessions while allowing you to charge the phone. This year, there are actual buttons on the AeroActive Cooler to provide a more tactile experience when it comes to using the triggers.
This year sees an improved ROG Kunai 3 controller. The controller allows you to have the versatility to play in a more console like way on the gaming smartphone. If you’d rather a more attached experience, the ROG Clip gives you a controller with a clip for the smartphone. It can attach via the USB-C port on the side of the ROG Phone 5.
ASUS has also opted to include more audio centric accessories this year with the ROG Cetra II earphones which comes with active noise cancelling with ambient mode. The wired earphones come with LSR drivers for premium sound quality and embedded microphones. ASUS also introduced the ROG STRIX GO BT with the ROG Phone 5. The wireless headphones come with up to 45 hours of battery life and AI noise cancelling microphone technology.
For those looking to upgrade from the ROG Phone 3, take note that not all accessories are forward compatible. Notably, the TwinView Dock 3, Mobile Desktop Dock and AeroActive Cooler 3 are not supported. The Kunai GamePad II, on the other hand, is partially supported by the 5.
Pricing & Availability
The ROG Phone 5 series will be available starting March 2021. The regular ROG Phone 5 will be retailing for MYR2,999 (USD$726.84) for the 8GB/128GB version and MYR3,799 (USD$920.73) for the 16GB /256GB version. Both will be available in Phantom Black and Storm White. These versions do not come with the AeroActive Cooler. Internationally, the ROG Phone 5 will be retailing for €799 (USD$950.16) for the 8GB/128GB, €899 (USD$1,069.02) for the 16GB/256GB version and €999 (USD$1,187.94) for the 16GB/256GB version.
The ROG Phone 5 will be available for pre-order in Malaysia from 11 March 2021 to 25 March 2021. Pre-orders of the ROG Phone 5 will come with a free Kunai 3 GamePad. You can pre-order the phone exclusively on the ASUS store on Shopee.
The Pro will be retailing for MYR4,499 (USD$1,090.39). It will be available only in Phantom Black and comes with the AeroActive Cooler in the box. The Pro will be available starting in May 2021. Internationally, it will be costing €1,199 (USD$1,425.83).
The Ultimate will be retailing for MYR4,999 (USD$1,211.51). It will be available only in Storm White and will come with the AeroActive Cooler in the box. It also comes with the limited edition ROG Ultimate Fan Gift box which hosts a whole bunch of ROG swag. Internationally, the Ultimate will be costing €1,299 (USD$1,544.75).
Update (10 March 2021): More rumors are continuing to surface about the ROG Phone 5 in the days leading up to its release. The first is that the new gaming phone will have a variant with 16GB of RAM. Something we highlighted in our original article. In addition to this, we’ve got our first look at the phone thanks to leaker @IshanAgarwal on Twitter. It seems like the phone will be coming in a new, sleek white color similar to the Zephyrus G14/15. The official renders also show a new AeroActive Cooler with a slight redesign.
And here is the ASUS ROG Phone 5 White Color Variant!
ASUS’s ROG Phone is arguably one of the most popular gaming phones on the market. ASUS launched the first ROG Phone to much fanfare in 2019 creating a new niche for loud, gamer-proud devices. They also pack specifications and software features that allow users to get the most out of their phones when it comes to performance and comes with software optimizations for gaming. Don’t forget the plethora of gaming-centric accessories that is now a signature of the ROG Phone lineup.
In the past, ASUS has announced their gaming smartphone closer to mid year. However, this year, the company has already announced that they will be revealing their new entry into the ROG Phone line up on March 10 at 7pm. With that in mind, we thought it’s be an opportune time to round up the rumours and everything else we know so far about the ROG Phone 5.
Bringing New Design Cues from Successful Laptops
Yep. You read that right. No you didn’t miss a ROG Phone somewhere in between. Instead, ASUS has decided to skip straight to 5 as the number 4 in Mandarin and other Chinese dialects sounds similar to the word for death.
With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. You’d have realised that ASUS has been teasing the ROG Phone 5 for about a week now. If you’ve been paying attention, it looks like the AniMe matrix from the ROG Zephyrus G14 is coming along for the ride. It seems to be the hallmark design feature of the phone and will be replacing the RGB logo which was one back of the phone.
From the leaks, it looks like this may be complemented by a small display. The small strip could be used as a notification ticker or possibly in a similar way that the HTC One Ultra used it for interactive features. However, there’s no confirmations so far on the functionality of the display.
This would be an excellent complement to the triggers that we already know will be coming to the ROG Phone 5. It also seems like there is an extra red button on the phone’s lower left edge. Keep in mind, that the ROG Phone series has historically come with a side mounted USB-C port.
Specc’d to Kill
As is the usual, it seems like the ROG Phone 5 is specced to kill – in a matter of speaking. We know the phone will be coming with a Snapdragon 888 processor. However, what we don’t know is whether the processor will come with a special build like previous years. Typically, ASUS and Qualcomm have launched the ROG Phone 5 with a “plus” or + variant of the year’s top processor. However, this year, the ROG Phone seems to be coming with the run of the mill Snapdragon 888.
We know from TENAA documentation that there will be an 8GB version of the smartphone, possibly the Tencent or STRIX version which we’ve seen in the past. However, we also have an inkling through rumours that ASUS is likely to have a 16GB and 12GB versions as well. Of course, they will be using the UFS 3.1 standard of memory for that snappy runtime. We will definitely see versions with 256GB and 512GB of internal storage however we wouldn’t put it past ASUS to offer a whopping 1TB version too perhaps paired with 16GB of RAM.
When it comes to the battery, we know for a fact that ASUS hasn’t shied away from large battery capacities. This year’s ROG Phone seems to be coming with a 6,000mAh battery if rumours are to be believed. ASUS is apparently achieving this by doubling up on 3,000mAh battery modules. Of course, the phone will be able to support up to 65W Fast Charging and come with Quick Charge 4, USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 and maybe even reverse charging. However, we don’t expect to see wireless charging in the ROG Phone 5 if ASUS keeps to its trends.
Source: ASUS
On the display front, it looks like ASUS might be equipping the ROG Phone 5 with a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen. However, rumours point to the gaming smartphone only coming with a Full HD+ resolution. That said, the display may be getting a boost from the HDR10+ feature it’s rumoured to be touting. It also looks like the smartphone will be coming with Android 11 out of the box.
Thanks to DxO Mark’s audio review, we know that the ROG Phone comes with stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack – hooray~! In addition, it looks like the phone will be equipped with an ESS DAC for better quality sound and it will also have at least four microphones. On the optics side of things, not too much detail is known. However, we do have leads showing that the phone will be coming with a triple sensor setup. It will be fronted by a 64-megapixel main sensor. The remaining sensors are unknown but if we are to go with what came in the ROG Phone 3 and similar phones this year, we’re betting on an ultrawide sensor and a macro sensor.
Pricing & Availability
While nothing much has been said about the price, we’re expecting ASUS to maintain the general price point of the ROG Phone 5. The ROG Phone came with a price tag of $999 in the U.S. and €999 in Europe at launch. In Malaysia, pricing was about MYR4,499 at launch.
However, given Samsung’s move to make the barrier to ownership a little lower this year, we can probably expect that ASUS may do the same; either with a lower specc’d entry or a very slight price decrease. We’ll have to wait and see.
