This story was originally published and last updated .
There is no doubt that the Asus ROG Phone 5 is an animal – as a game phone it contains everything of the latest and greatest hardware, and that makes it a very chunky boy. Asus has a laser focus on game-oriented features that will satisfy its demographic core, but the ROG 5 is also not a complete nightmare to use outside of the game. The ROG Phone 5 offers a stable everyday use with the added benefit of killer specs that can be customized and customized like a game console. It is indeed a phone for gamers, but it does mean that it does not have many popular features, and that the software has some rough edges. It may be the right phone for the right person, but it’s hard to sell for most, with a price tag of over $ 1,000.
Design, hardware, what’s in the box?
Asus offers a whole family of ROG phones this year: Standard, Pro and Ultimate. The Pro is unlikely to come to the US, and the Ultimate is a limited edition worldwide, so I would not hope to catch one. This leaves us with the Standard, which is available in two variants, one with 12 GB of RAM and one with 16 GB, both of which hold 256 GB of storage. We have the 16 GB version for review.
The ROG 5 offers a fairly clean look with a slight game aesthetic, thanks to the optional RGB logo lighting. Both the on / off button and the sim slot offer a sharp blue tone that contrasts with the white back and black front for a bit of color. The design is much less aggressive “gamer” than the previous ROG phones – it’s just interesting enough to stand out without being too flashy.
The ROG 5 is a large phone with a 6.78 inch screen. This 1080p OLED screen looks sharp enough and the colors are equal on all brightness levels. This is an improvement over last year’s model, which had a grain problem with low brightness. This display offers a refresh rate of up to 144Hz, and you can lock the device at this speed for smoother animations. This means that fast-paced games can be easier to play – your opponents may only see 60 frames per second, but in some games you get more than twice as much. High refresh also makes the phone’s user interface much more responsive.
Just like last year’s ROG 3 (yes, Asus skipped a number), the ROG 5 offers two USB C ports, two touch-based triggers, an unobstructed screen (there are no cameras in the screen, but there are enough ring), dual front speakers, a notification LED and an on-screen fingerprint reader. You also get a 6,000 mAh battery which is actually two 3,000 mAh packs on each side of the phone. They charge at 65W with the included charger, plus you can use throughput to power the device during play to reduce the heat.
Sound is a major highlight of the ROG phone 5. We not only have dual speakers on the front, but the device includes a DAC that supports high volume, and there is some built-in software that can play the sound from the front implement. -speaker speakers to ensure they deliver the best possible output. The ROG 5 sounds great no matter how you listen.
Asus still pushes peripherals with the ROG 5, like the Kunai 3 Gamepad case (see below). There’s also the AeroActive Cooler 5 fan of the fan, a controller clip that supports Xbox and PS controllers, a Lightning Armor case that offers its own backlight, a few different Cetra headphone models, and a dock.
The most notable here is the Kunai 3 Gamepad. It’s a split path that works in the same way as the stock controllers for the Nintendo Switch, and connects them via USB C or Bluetooth. This means that you can move the split controllers in the supplied phone case for a Switch-like hand experience, or you can attach it to a separate control frame running Bluetooth. Both methods worked well with native Android games as well as Stages. Latency was also never an issue.
It is also noteworthy that the AeroActive Cooler 5 can be attached while using the Kunai 3 Gamepad, and therefore the phone offers two USB-C ports. The resulting contraption is bulky in your hand, but it does provide a little extra cooling while you sit down for a long play session. The lever is similar to the Switch Lite.
If you prefer to go without the extra peripherals, you can expect to receive the phone, the 65W charger, a clear case, a few stickers and a variety of instruction manuals in the ROG Phone 5 box.
Software, performance and battery
Asus again offers two UI choices when setting up your device. There’s a classic theme similar to Android shares, and then there’s the standard theme, which provides a game aesthetic. I chose Classic, and it works just like stock Android, Google Discover and all. I wish more manufacturers offer a similar choice.
Classic left, default right
The software of the phone contains many game-centric options. The majority of these settings can be customized in the Armory Crate app, which you can easily upload via a Game Genie menu when in a game. The options inside are numerous. You can adjust your temp control, CPU / GPU performance, RAM performance, fan speed, and best of all, you can combine your networks for a dual mode that should improve network stability and speed. Asus clearly has a lot of resources to the play functions, but the function set is rather barebones out there.
Armory Crate app on the left, Armory Crate in the game on the right
Of course, who uses all of these options unless you can see the results of your changes? This is why I absolutely love that Asus has included a real-time information widget that can be displayed in the game at all times. This way, you can adjust the settings in the Game Genie slider while keeping track of the percentage of your frame rates, heat, and CPU / GPU. This extreme customization will make gamers happy, but it is not useful for your average smartphone user.
Real-time information widget at the top of the screen
The ROG 5 is coming with Android 11. Asus has confirmed that the ROG Phone 5 line will see at least two years of software support, although previous devices have missed quite a few updates, so I hope not much for Android 12 or faster security updates.
In terms of overall performance, the ROG 5 flies, especially if you close the screen refresh rate at 144Hz. Smooth as butter is a phrase that is thrown around a lot, but the show is exactly that. Programs load fast and all the games I tested far exceeded my expectation.
Nothing slowed down this phone, not even Genshin Impact, which had a pretty solid 60 fps at its highest graphical setting (although there was a bit of a stutter when loading assets). When I tested dead cells, I could play with maximum graphics at 144Hz all the time. Of course, many games keep your frames at 60 or 30, so you may not always benefit from a high rating, but the performance is quite surprising if you can.
Playing mobile games with the highest possible settings costs the battery, and therefore you get 6000 mAh. Pressing 144 fps for a few hours in any demanding game is going to chew battery life, but maybe not as much as you would think. I can not say that I was ever afraid to get juice on, and even if it ends up being a problem, charging the device will load quickly on the device. Using the device as a regular phone gave me over two days for free, and even with heavy spelling tests, it was also not a problem to get through all day.
Left: battery grade for normal use (slider bar), right: heavy game battery level (slider bar)
Cameras
During the unveiling of the ROG Phone 5, Asus acknowledged that the cameras for the ROG Phone line are not a priority. Apparently the company only wants to offer the best camera available in a gaming phone, which is a low beam. Although I can say that the front and rear cameras are usable, I would expect better performance for the price of the device. But then again, gaming phones regularly compromise on the cameras.
The primary sensor is 16MP with off / 1.8 aperture and 1.6um pixels, which allows good photos in outdoor lighting, although poor light is a weak point, just like on the ROG 3. The second rear sensor is ultra wide at 16MP with an f2.4 aperture, and the third sensor is a 5MP macro with an f2.0 aperture. The front camera features 24MP with an off / 2.45 aperture, which allows for fairly detailed selfies, as long as the lighting is good.
Should you buy it?
The ROG Phone 5 is easily the best gaming phone I have used so far, but it costs a price, and I’m not just talking about the high price. The Asus ROG brand is almost exclusively applicable to gamers, therefore the cameras are not a focus and we will probably never see wireless charging or waterproofing. Whether you are willing to live with these compromises is a matter of case.
If your goal is to has the best possible mobile game experience, this is the phone for you. Whether you’re a mobile streamer, a mobile eSports player or just a hard gamer, the ROG Phone 5 offers a plethora of options and peripherals to ensure you see the best performance in all your favorite mobile games.
But here’s the thing; this phone is going to be expensive. Can be also expensive, even. Asus says there are still decisions on US prices, but the Euro price is $ 1,069 for the 12 GB model and $ 1,188 for the 16 GB version I received. Asus has confirmed two years of software support, but this support is often missing slowly or completely, so it’s a bit more challenging to recommend the phone.
As a gamer, I still think the ROG Phone 5 is a high point in the new gambling market. Personally, I’m glad Asus is releasing such a fantastic gaming phone, and the compromises do not bother me too much.
Buy it as:
- You want the best possible Android gaming experience.
- You like to tinker with settings to get the best game performance possible.
- You are a mobile game streamer or are heavy in the eSports scene.
Do not buy it if:
- You need fast and reliable OS updates.
- You prefer small devices that do not weigh much.
- You take a lot of pictures.