Asus has launched the ROG Phone 5. The gaming flagship has been redesigned to improve performance and ergonomics and now comes in multiple models with the Ultimate edition featuring 18GB of RAM.

Asus ROG Phone 5 Launched

Asus ROG Phone 5 Specs and Features

Breaking down the different versions. The vanilla Asus ROG Phone 5 has three main configurations or versions A, B and C as Asus calls them. The difference between them is the memory configuration.

Performance

A has 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB storage, B adds a basic 8/128GB model and C comes in 8/128GB and 12/256GB configurations. Note that most models use UFS 3.1 storage, except the version C phones and the 128GB version B model.

Next up is the Asus ROG Phone 5 Pro, which has a single memory option – 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS storage. Finally, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate increases the RAM to the record-equaling 18GB (storage remains at 512GB, there’s no 1 TB option and no microSD slot).

Asus ROG Phone 5 ultimate
Asus ROG Phone 5 ultimate

The trio are powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, no surprises here. Asus designed the phone to have a performance advantage thanks to other components and, surprisingly, the biggest win came from the battery.

It has a 6,000 mAh total capacity, split between two cells. This split allowed Asus to position the motherboard closer to the center of the phone, which has two advantages. First, it allows the AeroActive Cooler 5 to get as close to the chipset as possible. Second, the heat that is produced is kept away from the user’s fingers.

The AeroActive 5 Cooler can reduce chipset temperature by as much as 10oC
The AeroActive 5 Cooler can reduce chipset temperature by as much as 10oC

The split design also allowed the company to double the charging speed to 65W. As before, you can use the USB-C port on the bottom of the phone for charging or the USB-C port on the side (which enables you to play and charge comfortably). The side port can also be used to hoop up an external monitor over HDMI, to connect headphones or to power the AeroActive Cooler 5. We’ll get back to the cooler in a second, let’s look at the display.

Display and Design

The ROG Phone 5 goes big with a 6.78” Samsung-made AMOLED display, up from 6.59” on its predecessor. It is HDR10+ certified and has 111% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, 151% of sRGB. And it is brighter than the old display, achieving 800 nits at APL100 (that is a full white display).

The resolution and refresh rate remain at 1080p+ and 144Hz (1 ms response time), while the touch sampling rate has gone up to 300 Hz (up from 270 Hz). According to Asus, the touch latency is 24.3 ms. A note about the resolution: there’s no adaptive refresh rate, the display can run at 60, 120 and 144 Hz (with an Auto mode that can switch between them based on content).

Asus ROG Phone 5 features

The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and has a special coating that keeps your fingers gliding effortlessly even if they get sweaty.

Despite increasing the screen diagonal, Asus managed to shave 25% off the bezels so the ROG Phone 5 is only a couple of millimeters taller and actually a millimeter narrower than its predecessor. Weight is essentially the same at 238g.

The Pro and Ultimate versions will come bundled with the AeroActive Cooler 5. When Asus tested it, it found that the fan reduces surface temperature by 15ºC and chipset temperature by 10ºC. The cooler also packs two physical of shoulder buttons, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a kickstand. Without the cooler you still get shoulder buttons – the AirTrigger 5 ultrasonic buttons. These can be used as shortcuts outside of games too, e.g. by squeezing the phone in portrait mode.

If you want more accessories, the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad is compatible with the ROG Phone 5 (and there’s a redesigned version available). The ROG Clip will allow you to use a PS4, Xbox or Stadia controller if you have one handy. There is also the Professional Dock with an HDMI port and two USB ports. The TwinView Dock 3 is not supported.

Asus ROG Phone 5 accessories

Cameras

There’s not much to say about the camera aside from “it’s the same”. The main module has the same 64 MP Quad Bayer sensor (Sony IMX686) with 2×1 OCL autofocus, the lens aperture remains at f/1.8. Next up is a 13 MP ultra wide camera (125º, 11 mm), still without autofocus. Finally, there’s the 5 MP macro cam.

Asus ROG Phone 5 camera details

The selfie camera is essentially the same it has a 24 MP sensor (with Quad Bayer) and a dimmer fixed-focus f/2.45 lens. The main rear camera can record 8K/30 fps video or 4K at 60 fps (and 120 fps for low motion), video stabilization is electronic.

Audio

The camera is clearly not the focus of the Asus ROG Phone 5, but an excellent audiovisual experience is. To that end, there’s a 3.5 mm headphone jack on board with an ESS Sabre ES9280AC Pro Quad DAC. The Class G amp automatically detects the impedance of your headphones and switches to the appropriate mode (it supports headphones between 8 Ohm and 1,000 Ohm).

Also on board are front-firing stereo speakers powered by two Cirrus Logic CS35L45 amps, each of which can deliver 21% more power to its speaker than on the previous generation. If you want to use a Bluetooth speaker or headset instead, aptX Adaptive, LDAC and AAC codecs are supported.

More Features

We need to go back to the differences between the three models again. The vanilla phone has an RGB backlit Republic of Gamers logo, same as the 2020 phone. The other two have small touch-enabled displays on the back dubbed ROG Vision.

The ROG Phone 5 Pro has a color PM-OLED display, while the supposedly fancier Ultimate model has a monochrome PM-OLED display. The displays show customizable graphics for incoming calls, during charging or while a game is loading.

The three models are launching with Android 11 out of the box and give you a choice between using the gaming-inspired ROG UI or the stock-like Zen UI.

Asus ROG Phone 5 Specifications

Network Properties

  • 2G bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2
  • 3G bands:
    • HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 – Version A
    • HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 1700 – Version B, Version C
  • 4G bands:
    • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66, 71 – Version A
    • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48 – Version B, Version C
  • 5G bands:
    • 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA – Version A
    • 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA – Version B, Version C
  • Speed: HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A, 5G

Launch

  • Announced: 2021, March 10
  • Status: Exp. release 2021, March (Vanilla version), April (Pro), May (ultimate)

Design

  • Dimensions: 172.8 x 77.3 x 10.3 mm (6.80 x 3.04 x 0.41 in)
  • Weight: 238 g (8.40 oz)
  • Colors: Phantom Black, Storm White
  • SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
  • RGB light panel (on the back)
  • Pressure sensitive zones (Gaming triggers)
  • Touch sensor on back cover (Pro and Ultimate variants)
  • ROG Vision monochrome PMOLED display (Pro and Ultimate variants)

Display

  • Type: AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+
  • Size: 6.78 inches, 109.5 cm2 (~82.0% screen-to-body ratio)
  • Resolution: 1080 x 2448 pixels (~395 ppi density)
  • Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

Operating System

  • Android 11, ROG UI

Hardware

  • Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)
  • CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680)
  • GPU: Adreno 660
  • Storage: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM
  • Memory Card slot: No
  • UFS 3.1

Cameras

  • Main Camera: Triple
    • 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF
    • 13 MP, f/2.4, 125Ëš, 11mm (ultrawide)
    • 5 MP, f/2.0, (macro)
  • Features: LED flash, HDR, panorama
  • Video: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 720p@480fps; gyro-EIS
  • Selfie Camera: Single – 24 MP, f/2.5, 27mm (wide), 0.9µm
  • Features: Panorama, HDR
  • Video: 1080p@30fps

Multimedia

  • Radio: No
  • Loudspeaker: Yes, with DTS:X stereo speakers (2 dedicated amplifiers)
  • Audio 3.5mm jack: Yes
  • 24-bit/192kHz audio

Connectivity

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
  • Bluetooth: 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive
  • GPS: Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, GNSS
  • NFC: Yes
  • USB: USB Type-C 3.1 (side), USB Type-C 2.0 (bottom), accessory connector

Features

  • Sensors: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Battery

  • Battery Type and Capacity: Li-Po 6000 mAh, non-removable
  • Charging: Fast charging 65W
  • Reverse charging 10W
  • Power Delivery 3.0
  • Quick Charge 5

Models: ASUS_I005DB, ASUS_I005DA, I005DA, I005DB

Asus ROG Phone 5 Price and Availability

Here are the prices for the three main versions of the Asus ROG Phone 5. Note that the Pro and Ultimate come bundled with the AeroActive Cooler 5, while the vanilla model gets only the Aero case and HyperCharger. The vanilla model will be available later this, Pro is coming in April and the Ultimate limited edition goes on sale in May.

ROG Phone 5

  • 8/128 GB – €800
  • 12/256 GB – €900
  • 16/256 GB – €1,000
  • Colors: Phantom Black, Storm White

Asus ROG Phone 5 in colors

ROG Phone 5 Pro

  • 16/512 GB – €1,200
  • Colors: Glossy Black

Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate

  • 18/512 GB – €1,300
  • Colors: Matte White

The comes in two colors, Phantom Black and Storm White.

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