For now, admit it or not, gaming phones are synonymous with the ASUS ROG Phone. ASUS' consistency in continuously rolling out the ROG Phone Series to the market makes its presence in the gaming segment even stronger.
As a result, when the ROG Phone 6 review unit landed on the editorial desk, we were very excited to test the next generation of ROG Phone 5, which we also reviewed. We believe that the gaming phone image that has been so attached to the ROG Phone has become a heavy burden for the ASUS team in designing this new series. This also aroused our curiosity when we tested it.
Has ASUS succeeded in presenting a capable gaming smartphone? Does it live up to expectations? Come on, see our review below.
ASUS ROG Phone 6 Review
Technically even down to the design, the ROG Phone 6 review unit is designed with specifications and features for gamers. But before testing further, let's take a peek at the sales package. The sales box looks quite premium in black with the ROG logo. So what's in the ROG Phone 6 box?
When we disassembled it, we found an ASUS ROG Phone 6 smartphone. Then there was the warranty card, manual and ROG card. Then there is HyperCharge 65W, USB Type-C data cable and headset.
And, most interestingly, there is a carbon-style protective case with a fairly sturdy material. The design is attractive, strengthening the smartphone design style that is already very 'gaming'. That's it in the sales package, now we go deeper into every important aspect of this device.
Body Design
ASUS ROG Phone 6 is designed with a premium design in mind. As soon as you look at the exterior, the aura of a gaming smartphone immediately radiates. Designed with a futuristic look with cool matrix and RGB patterns.
The front panel of the body is covered with Gorilla Glass Victus scratch-resistant glass. While the back panel is wrapped in Gorilla Glass 3 glass panels. This series is also splash resistant thanks to IPX4 certification.
To make it more quality, the frame is designed from aluminum material. We happen to be holding the Phantom Black color, but for those who like other colors there is also a Storm White option. The unit we are holding has a glossy rear view. There is a touch of pink in the sim tray area on the bottom left and the power button on the right side.
We can set this RGB lighting color, turn on and off the lighting color according to taste in the X Mode settings. There are also two USB Type-C ports – one on the bottom and one on the left side of the smartphone. A 3.5 mm audio port is also visible at the bottom.
As a complement, ROG Phone 5 is armed with several gaming accessories, including AeroActive Cooler to Kunai. This series is also supported by the latest generation of NFC, Bluetooth and Wifi.
Displays
ROG Phone 6 offers a screen area to pamper gamers. First, the wide display with a 6.78-inch span is enhanced by HDR 10+. Using high-quality AMOLED technology made by Samsung which is tuned by ROG. The color composition, details and visuals look realistic, clear and sharp.
Even more impressive, this ROG Phone 6 review unit also apparently adopted a screen with a 165Hz refresh rate. Also touch sampling rate up to 720Hz and touch latency of 23ms. For hardcore gamers, the above aspects are very crucial and highly adored. This high refresh rate and fast response really spoiled us when we tried it.
There is almost no lagging and response delay when playing, especially in first person shooter (FPS) games that require fast responses. For watching videos or streaming, visuals and animations also look smoother. Unlike the low frame rate screen where the animation on the screen seems to be broken.
Performance
The performance of ROG Phone 6 has been improved from its predecessor using Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The most powerful chipset today is also equipped with an Adreno 730 GPU. Technically, this chipset delivers 10% faster CPU and GPU performance and 30% better efficiency than its predecessor.
In fact, in order to maintain stable performance, vendors have embedded a GameCool 6 cooling system. The fifth generation of the GameCool system features state-of-the-art cooling technology. The internal structure has been further improved for efficient heat dissipation. The new, redesigned 360-degree CPU cooling system focuses on a dual-PCB layout placed in the center.
Utilizes a proprietary method to fill the air gap between two PCBs with a special thermal compound. Its performance is further enhanced up to 10°C. Furthermore, the ROG Phone 6 review unit we tested embedded 256GB of internal memory, as well as 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Unfortunately there is no microSD slot.
The combination of high performance components we recognize keeps all games from casual to high graphics games running with the best quality and performance. From our experience, this ROG Phone is a very powerful gaming 'machine'. Benchmark results also show quite special performance when launched in X Mode.
Evidently when encouraged to play heavy games even though there is no excessive heat. Even playing intensely for a long duration is still comfortable. The temperature of the ROG Phone 6 review unit is still reasonable. We tested with popular games such as Genshin Impact, Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile, Free Fire. Everything can run at the highest refresh rate.
Gaming Features
ROG Phone 6 adopts a special gaming feature, namely Air Trigger which is a special sensor in the side area of the body. Can be used as an additional button when playing games. The new AirTrigger 6 technology offers better sensitivity, better positioning, and lots of Motion control.
In fact, with AeroActive Cooler 6 installed, we can map up to eighteen specific touch points on the screen. The AirTrigger 6 system can also be used outside of games to activate useful actions or apps by squeezing the smartphone while in portrait mode. There are many scenarios of using AirTrigger starting from pressing the ultrasonic activation button and different actions when lifting the finger from the button.
Not only that, another new addition is the gyroscope. We can control the point of view. By pressing and holding the ultrasonic button we can then control the display area by moving or tilting the device. In addition, there is also a special USB Type-C port on the side of the ROG Phone 6 body. It functions as a facility to charge while connecting various special accessories. When playing games, there is Game Genie which will launch automatically when the user plays the game and can be accessed easily by simply sliding it out from the top corner of the screen.
There are many functions that are presented in the latest Game Genie, such as shortcuts back to Armory Crate, blocking all notifications and incoming calls, preventing sudden brightness changes. In our opinion, the burst of audio is very powerful and kicking. This is thanks to GameFX Audio providing advanced speaker setup and tuning by Dirac.
The ASUS ROG Phone 6 review unit is supported by two symmetrical 5-magnet 12×16 Super Linear Speakers. Features a Cirrus Logic CS35L45 mono amplifier. Not surprisingly, the sound is wide, clear, and has a depth of sound unmatched by other smartphones.
Camera
The camera may not be a priority for gamers. But the ROG Phone 6 review unit still includes a camera configuration that is capable enough to provide a perfect smartphone experience. This series features a 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor that offers a 12.5MP main mode. Uses Quad Bayer color filter or 50MP native mode.
Furthermore, there is a 13MP ultra-wide angle camera that has an area of view of up to 125 degrees and an additional 5MP macro camera. While the front camera relies on the Sony IMX663 sensor with 12MP power. Vendors also embed various features from portrait, macro, night mode to HDR. There is a slow-mo that can record 4K up to 120fps. Timelapse with 4K resolution. For video recording, it can reach 8K at 24fps.
ASUS ROG Phone 6's resources rely on an MMT design consisting of two 3000 mAh batteries. The total capacity is 6000 mAh but it brings several benefits. Not only is the charging temperature lower, this technology enables 65W charging, but discharging will generate less heat during heavy tasks like gaming.
Technically according to ASUS, the two-cell design also allows for positioning the motherboard in the center of the frame for a balanced body and better cooling. Charging is relatively fast. Charging from 0 – 100% using the HyperCharge 65W adapter only takes about 40 minutes. From our tests, for normal use (internet, playing games as needed, youtube, social media, tethering, being left out of bed at night, etc.) the battery can last more than 24 hours.
This ROG Phone 6 review unit also includes battery management. Like steady charging which makes charging safe when left behind. There is a Charging Upper Limit, there is a Scheduled Charging feature to Bypass Charging.
Recommended Accessories
For accessories that make the gaming experience more perfect, ROG provides the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad for ROG Phone 6. This is a modular Gamepad with two sizes that can also be attached to a smartphone with a special bumper. Kunai can control any game with ASUS Game Genie Key Mapping feature. Now, Kunai comes in a white color variant.
There's also AeroActive Cooler 6 to further optimize heat dissipation and improve performance. The new AeroActive Cooler 6 has an integrated Thermoelectric AI Cooling System, which is based on the Peltier cooling chip inside the cooler. Connects with ROG Phone 6 via USB-C connection, and can lower ROG temperature significantly. This optional accessory is cord-free and runs on power from the device battery.
