ROG Phone 5 Review and Comparison

The ROG Phone 5 is a beast of a device, with a massive 6.55-inch AMOLED display that's perfect for gaming on the go. Its 144Hz refresh rate ensures silky-smooth visuals, making it ideal for fast-paced games.

The phone's performance is also top-notch, thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor, which delivers lightning-fast speeds and efficient battery life. This means you can play games without worrying about lag or overheating.

One of the standout features of the ROG Phone 5 is its massive 6000mAh battery, which provides up to 12 hours of gaming time on a single charge. This is a game-changer for gamers who are always on the move.

The ROG Phone 5's design is also noteworthy, with a sleek and durable construction that can withstand the rigors of gaming and daily use. Its weight and size make it comfortable to hold and use for extended periods.

The ROG Phone 5 has a 6.78-inch display with a Full HD Plus resolution and up to 144 Hz, making it a great choice for fast-paced gaming.

The display reaches up to 806 cd/m² with a pure white display and enabled ambient light sensor, and an even distribution of bright and dark areas (APL50) brings it up to 1,088 cd/m².

The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate's display has a 98% brightness distribution, which is comparable to the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2's 98% brightness distribution.

Here's a comparison of the ROG Phone 5's display to other similar devices:

The ROG Phone 5's display response time is better than the average of all tested devices, making it well-suited for fast-paced gaming.

The design of the ROG Phone 5 is a key aspect of its overall appeal.

The ROG Phone 5 Lighting Armor Case is a testament to this, with its ability to "light up and toughen up" the phone.

The case is designed to make a statement, adding a touch of personality to the phone's sleek design.

The Lighting Armor Case is a great option for those who want to add some extra protection to their phone without sacrificing style.

It's a great way to customize your phone and make it stand out from the crowd.

The 144 Hz AMOLED display on the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is a real showstopper. It measures 6.78 inches and boasts a Full HD Plus resolution, making it perfect for gaming and other visually demanding activities.

The display is incredibly bright, reaching up to 806 cd/m² with a pure white display and enabled ambient light sensor. This is especially impressive when compared to other devices, which can only muster up to 463 cd/m².

If you're sensitive to OLED flickering, you can switch to DC dimming mode, but be prepared for a reduced refresh rate of 60 Hz. This is a small price to pay for the added comfort, but it's worth noting nonetheless.

Here's a comparison of the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate's display with other devices:

As you can see, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate's response time is lightning-fast, making it perfect for fast-paced gaming. In fact, it's even faster than the average smartphone, which takes 20.4 ms to respond.

The display also boasts an impressive brightness distribution, with a score of 98. This means that the screen is evenly lit, with no dark spots or hotspots that can detract from the viewing experience.

Overall, the 144 Hz AMOLED display on the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is a true highlight of the device. Its fast response times, high brightness, and excellent brightness distribution make it perfect for anyone who wants a top-notch gaming experience.

The Asus ROG 5 packs top-tier specs and gets top-tier performance, making it competitive with 2021’s best smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S21 range in terms of sheer muscle.

It achieved a multi-core Geekbench 5 score of 3732 with 16GB of RAM, handily beating the S21 Plus with 8GB of RAM’s 3170 score. The phone hummed through everything, from switching apps to browsing the web to watching media to playing games for long sessions.

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The ROG 5 starts with 128GB of storage, which is a baseline for most 2021 Android phones, but can be expanded to 256GB - but despite the brightly-colored SIM tray on the bottom of the right side of the phone, there is no expandable storage via microSD.

The phone is 5G-capable, but only sub-6 frequencies – there’s no mmWave connectivity, which might be a drawback for some users.

The ROG 5 has a 6,000mAh battery, which has been redesigned internally to achieve better charging performance. It can recharge faster with both units charging at the same time, refilling over two-thirds (4400mAh) of the battery in 30 min using the 65W in-box charger.

The phone stays pretty cool during casual play sessions, with only the metal frame warming up a bit after the session. However, if you want to recharge your phone as fast as possible, that 65W charger isn’t just for show: we started at 6% battery life and shot up to 75% in half an hour.

The ROG 5 also features slow charging, which lets you fill up at a slower rate, like if you were plugging it in overnight. This is a nice option to have, especially if you want to preserve your battery life.

The phone also has a new feature called scheduled charging that lets you enter a wake-up time, and if the phone is plugged in, it will start charging to top off right around the time you select.

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The ROG Phone 5 has a solid camera setup, featuring a triple lens on the back with a 64 MP Sony sensor, an ultra-wide-angle lens, and a macro lens.

The main camera delivers good imaging performance and high resolution, allowing for useful enlargements even without an optical zoom.

Selfies are also good, but backlit shots may show burned-out areas that can't be compensated by the algorithms.

Videos are recorded in Full HD at up to 60 FPS on the front and 8K at up to 30 FPS on the back.

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The ROG Phone 5 has some amazing features that make it stand out. One of the pros is its remarkable performance, making it a great choice for gaming and other demanding tasks.

The phone also has neat built-in gaming features, which can enhance your gaming experience. Additionally, it has a great display and speakers, making it perfect for entertainment.

Here are some of the pros of the ROG Phone 5 in a list:

You can also customize the display with your own images or messages, making it a unique feature of the phone.

The Asus ROG 5 is an impressive device with several standout features. It boasts remarkable performance, making it a top choice for gamers.

Here are some of the key pros of the Asus ROG 5:

One of the things that sets the Asus ROG 5 apart is its massive 6,000mAh battery. This means you can enjoy extended gaming sessions or media binging without worrying about running out of power.

The phone's 65W in-box charger is also a game-changer, allowing you to quickly recharge the battery when it does run low. And with a 3.5mm headphone jack, you can enjoy your favorite games or shows with high-quality audio.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 has some notable cons that might make you think twice about buying it. Here are a few things to consider:

The phone still lacks a telephoto lens, which might be a disappointment for those who want a better camera experience.

If you're not a fan of the "gamer chic" design, you might find the ROG Phone 5's aesthetics a bit too much to handle.

The phone is also quite large, heavy, and dense, which might make it uncomfortable to hold and use for extended periods.

Here's a quick rundown of the cons:

The high-end ROG Phone 5 Ultimate model comes with 18GB of RAM, but it's unclear if this is really necessary for most users.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 is available in the US, but only in a single configuration, the highest-end model with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage for $1,000.

You can find this model on Asus' website, where it's currently on sale.

The standard price of the Asus ROG 5 starts at €799 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage, which is equivalent to around $950/£684/AU$1,233.

The prices vary depending on the region, but in the US, the highest-end model is the only option.

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The Asus ROG 5 Pro will cost €1,199 for 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, which is roughly the same price as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Unfortunately, the Asus ROG 5 Ultimate is out of stock at the Asus-eStore, but you can still find it available at TradingShenzhen or HandyGermany.

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The ROG Phone 5 is a beast of a phone, but how does it stack up against other high-end devices?

It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor, which provides lightning-fast performance and efficient battery life.

In our benchmarking tests, the ROG Phone 5 consistently outperformed other flagship devices, making it a great choice for gamers and power users.

The phone's 6.78-inch AMOLED display is also a standout feature, offering vibrant colors and a 144Hz refresh rate that's perfect for smooth gaming and video playback.

Ultimately, the ROG Phone 5 is a top-notch device that's worth considering if you're in the market for a new smartphone.

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In this section, we'll take a look at some of the possible competitors to the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2, for example, weighs in at 259g, slightly heavier than the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate's 239g.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate has a higher rating of 88.9% compared to the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2's 87.7%. This suggests that the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate might have some advantages over its competitor.

Here are some key specs for comparison:

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4, on the other hand, has a lower rating of 86.3% but a lower weight of 210g. This could be a good option for those who prioritize portability.

When comparing the performance of different devices, it's essential to consider their networking capabilities. The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate boasts an impressive 1318 MBit/s transmit speed on Wi-Fi 6E.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is a clear winner in terms of transmit speed, with a range of 1273-1386 MBit/s. In contrast, the Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro lags behind with a transmit speed of 1129 MBit/s.

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The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 falls even further behind, with a transmit speed of 680 MBit/s on 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax. This is a significant drop of 48% compared to the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate.

On the receiving end, the Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro shows a surprising boost in performance, with a receive speed of 953 MBit/s on Wi-Fi 6E. This is a 21% increase compared to its transmit speed.

Here's a quick comparison of the devices' Wi-Fi speeds:

Overall, the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate stands out as the top performer in terms of networking capabilities, with a strong transmit and receive speed on Wi-Fi 6E.

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The Asus ROG 5 comes in three main versions: the standard, Pro, and Ultimate. Each version has its own unique features.

The standard ROG 5 starts at €799 (around $950 / £684 / AU$1,233) for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It can be configured with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage for €899, or 16GB RAM and 256GB storage for €999.

The ROG 5 Pro costs €1,199 (around $1,426 / £1,027 / AU$1,849) for 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. The ROG 5 Ultimate has 18GB RAM and 512GB storage, priced at €1,299 (around $1,545 / £1,112 / AU$2,004).

Asus has been working tirelessly to deliver the ultimate smartphone gaming experience for four years now.

The ROG Phone 5 is a testament to their success, and it's clear they're committed to pushing the boundaries of what a gaming phone can do.

Asus has been relentless in their pursuit of gaming excellence, with the ROG Phone 5 being the latest iteration of their efforts.

Their dedication to gaming performance is evident in the ROG Phone 5's design and features.

The Asus ROG 5 has top-tier specs that make it competitive with the best smartphones of 2021.

The standard version starts at 8GB of RAM, but you can also get it in 12GB and 16GB configurations, all using the latest LPDDR5/UFS 3.1.

The ROG 5 runs Android 11 out of the box, with a minimal Zen UI overlay that's attractive and simple.

The phone is 5G-capable, but only supports sub-6 frequencies - there's no mmWave connectivity.

The ROG 5 starts with 128GB of storage, which can be expanded to 256GB, but there's no expandable storage via microSD.

The ROG 5 Pro and Ultimate have 512GB of storage.

The ROG 5 with 16GB of RAM achieved a multi-core Geekbench 5 score of 3732, beating the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus with 8GB of RAM's 3170 score.

The Asus ROG 5 is a beast of a phone, packing top-tier specs that make it competitive with the best smartphones of 2021. It gets top-tier performance, humming through everything from switching apps to playing games for long sessions.

The phone's specs are impressive, with a powerful processor and a choice of 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of RAM. The 16GB RAM version is particularly potent, achieving a multi-core Geekbench 5 score of 3732.

You can get the ROG 5 with 128GB of storage, which is a standard amount for most 2021 Android phones, or upgrade to 256GB or 512GB of storage on the ROG 5 Pro and Ultimate versions.

The ROG 5 runs Android 11 out of the box, with a minimal Zen UI overlay that's easy to navigate. It also comes with the Armoury Crate gaming software and some cool gamer-chic wallpapers.

The phone is 5G-capable, but only with sub-6 frequencies, so you won't get mmWave connectivity.

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