Asus ROG Phone 6 Series Review: Plenty of Power, but Is It Too Late?

Asus ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro aren’t exactly new — these powerful gaming phones were launched globally in July, and they finally went on sale in India on Friday. Both phones feature top-of-the-line specifications and support a few useful gaming peripherals, which could come in handy for mobile gamers. While the Asus ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro were touted to be one of the first phones with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, we now have a list of smartphones that will feature the next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC by the end of the year, or in January.

On this week’s episode of Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, guest host Pranav Hegde talks to Senior Reviewer Sheldon Pinto and Reviews Editor Roydon Cerejo to learn more about Asus’ latest gaming smartphones.

Roydon says that the Asus ROG Phone 6 comes with a more toned-down gaming aesthetic, which means that you get a more premium feel compared to older ROG phones. This is a phone that will appeal to a very niche audience, and they have all the features and specifications required to deliver that performance, he adds.

These models are quite expensive, Sheldon points out. You’ll have to spend at least Rs. 71,999 on the vanilla ROG Phone 6, which means if you don’t want to buy the previous generation ROG Phone 5s that is powered by the Snapdragon 888+, you will end up spending about Rs. 14,000 more for the latest model that comes with 18GB of RAM. Pranav and Roydon both point out that you probably don’t need that much RAM, and even a phone with 12GB of RAM should be more than enough for most gamers.

In terms of performance, Sheldon says that you can play games like Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact, and Asphalt 9 Legends, which all work well on default settings on the Asus ROG Phone 6. You can also play these games on the highest settings, and the phone lets you play at 120fps and above without throttling. It does heat up at the back, but it’s kind of expected, he says, which makes the AeroActive cooler accessory quite useful.

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Pranav asks about the impact of the accessories on the phone’s weight, especially for gamers who might feel fatigue after playing for a while. Sheldon says that if you have the cooler attached, and the Kunai controller, you will find the combination quite heavy. It’s worth noting that the phone itself weighs over 200g, without any of the peripherals attached.

Having used the Asus ROG Phone 6 briefly, Roydon said that he found it offered versatile customisation options, and notes that the phone has been reengineered for improved performance. He also says that this year’s AeroActive cooler makes more sense compared to older models, thanks to the Peltier chip.

Gaming on the Asus ROG Phone 6 is similar to that of the iPhone 14 Pro, Sheldon says. Both phones let you play at 120fps, with medium to high graphics. That’s something that you can’t do on most Android phones, he adds. You also get some of the best stereo speakers on a phone, along with an OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, as Roydon points out.

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Sheldon said he was looking at the Red Magic 7S phone that is sold globally, but isn’t available in India, which features slim bezels and a front-facing camera located under the display, and is powered by the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. On the other hand, the Asus ROG Phone 6 has larger bezels. It is also at least 10mm thick, which means you won’t be comfortable sitting down when this phone is in your pocket.

Camera performance is quite good, Sheldon says. The camera actually adds value to the phone, especially the primary camera, which lacks optical image stabilisation. However, it might just be the best camera performance you can get on a gaming smartphone, he adds.

We also discuss whether it makes sense buying the Asus ROG Phone 6 or the ROG Phone 6 Pro in November or December, especially when phones with the newly announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC are expected to make their debut in the next couple of months. Should you buy a phone with previous-gen specifications instead?

You can listen to all of that in detail and more in our episode by hitting the play button on the Spotify player embedded above.

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