Gaming and performance go hand in hand, so when a gaming smartphone hits the shelves, you know it’s going to be beefed up.

The new Asus ROG Phone 6 recently went on sale in South Africa, and is one of the first dedicated gaming smartphones you can buy locally. It carries a price tag of R23,000.

The device falls under the company’s Republic of Gamers sub-brand that focuses on gaming hardware and components, including laptops, monitors, headsets and peripherals.

  • The Asus ROG Phone 6 is available in South Africa now and carries a R23,000 price tag.
  • It is one of the first gaming smartphones that is truly optimised for performance.
  • Its core specs are a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, Adreno 730 GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage.

Gaming and performance go hand in hand, so when a gaming smartphone hits the shelves, you know it’s going to be beefed up.

The new Asus ROG Phone 6 recently went on sale in South Africa, and is one of the first dedicated gaming smartphones you can buy locally. It carries a price tag of R23,000.

The device falls under the company’s Republic of Gamers sub-brand that focuses on gaming hardware and components, including laptops, monitors, headsets and peripherals

What’s in the box?

The box is covered in the ROG branding, and unlike other manufacturers who are going green and shrinking down the box size, this one is rather large. Inside, you find the phone with a cover, an ROG branded SIM tool, user manual, an AR card, a braided USB-C cable and a 65W fast charging plug that will charge from 0 to 100% in just 42 minutes.

When I held the ROG Phone 6 or the first time, I could definitely feel the weight of 239g, mostly made up of its big batteries. It has a large 6.78-inch high-resolution display.

When you flip the phone over, you’ll see the details on the back that make it stand out from other premium smartphones. It has red accents, RGB lights, Republic of Gamers branding, a protruding camera so it never sits flush, and the words “dare to play” are printed in neon purple. If all of this is a bit much, you can use the muted textured cover included in the box, which is probably a good idea given how much the phone costs.

It is a well-built phone and feels premium, complete with some of the highest spec available on a mobile device. It has a powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, Adreno 730 GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and a 165Hz screen refresh rate. The same Snapdragon chip can be found on Samsung’s current Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 flagships.

Is it really better as a gaming phone than a standard high-end?

You know it is a gaming phone from when you start the set-up. There are videos playing and experiences offered, unlike what you get on a regular phone.

There is an AR card in the box that you can scan with your phone to watch a quick video on its gaming features. The AR card explains AirTriggers, which are two ultrasonic sensors used for gaming. When held vertically during gameplay, it supports tap, swipe, horizontal or vertical slide, dual action, dual partition, dual control, press and lift, and gyroscope aiming. It sounds like a lot to take in but this is what sets it apart from a premium smartphone.

The Android 12 powered device only supports gestures, and there are no soft buttons like what you see on a regular Android.

The phone’s Armoury Crate app is the dedicated gaming zone. The icon can be found bottom middle of the screen so you can’t miss it. Here you can go into the games library, console, connect, featured games, and your profile.

You can search for games in the chosen categories based on what is important to you: 165Hz, 144Hz, 120Hz, ROG Select, GamePad, or AirTriggers.

Finding games feels tedious though. You have to keep scrolling through the lists as there is no search bar. Once you tap on a game, it installs via the Play Store.

The Phone 6 has dedicated performance modes: X Mode for the best gaming performance; Dynamic is optimised for daily use; and Ultra Durable will preserve power. If you want the best gaming experience, X Mode is where it’s at – RGB lights glow in this mode. You can also individually tune it to your preference.

I tried a mix of different games, like Call of Duty Mobile, Hero Wars, Asphalt 9, Tower Wars and Hill Climb Racing. The Phone 6 has a bright AMOLED display, and with its 165Hz screen refresh rate, games appear smooth with no lag. I was also pleasantly surprised by how good the sound quality was. I didn’t bother setting it up with a pair of earphones.

The phone has a built-in cooling system but despite this, the phone can heat up depending on how resource-intensive a game you play.

Is it a decent high-end phone when you aren’t gaming?

The phone is incredibly well-specced for performance, so it’s safe to say it won’t let you down on that front. I had a bunch of apps always running in the background, including active games. I didn’t have to actively kill apps in the background because I never felt the need to, like I do with an iPhone.

The phone’s battery life is excellent. It has a 6000mAh battery, which is the largest I’ve used on any smartphone. Even with X Mode enabled, battery life is decent, and if you want to preserve it, switch to ultra-durable mode. But to be honest, with that 65W power brick, you’re going to be fully charged in less than 45 minutes anyway, so you don’t need to go into it.

When it comes to the cameras, it features a 50MP main shooter; 13MP ultra-wide; and 5MP macro. For basic point and shoot with HDR on, it looks fine and doesn’t appear over saturated. I didn’t like the macro shots I took indoors, because some came out blurry. You always need to shoot them with a steady hand.

The front 12MP selfie-cam does the job, and portrait mode supports all those unrealistic face enhancing features found on Asian smartphones like changing skin tone, softening or brightening skin, making your eyes bigger and cheeks thinner.

The rear camera shoots videos in 8K and the front in 4K, which is good for livestreaming. The cameras are fine for a gaming phone, but it doesn’t come close to Samsung’s crisp Z Fold 4 cameras. Just keep in mind: a gaming phone is not about the photography.

The AirTriggers can be used for multiple shortcuts like launching apps, choosing modes or performing actions. It has 5G support, including dual SIM by way of two physical nano slots.

Interestingly, there are two USB-C ports, one at the bottom and a faster one on the side, which allows you to game and charge without it getting in the way.

Sound quality is so good that you won’t need headphones, but it has a lesser spotted 3.5mm audio jack. Though placement isn’t great at the bottom right. When gaming horizontally it gets in the way. If you are out and about, you may want to pair Bluetooth headphones to it.

Should I buy this rather than a flagship Samsung or similar?

The Asus ROG Phone 6 is a true gaming phone. The unique Armoury Crate app and AirTriggers is what sets it apart from a premium smartphone. You can go straight into X Mode from a shortcut, and performance-wise, it won’t stutter, making it ideal for multimedia access.

If gaming is your primary function, this is the phone to get. Don’t expect a top-notch snappy camera or familiar soft touch buttons found on other Androids.

The phone appeals to a very niche market, and performance alone isn’t a reason to buy this phone if you don’t game. If you want all-rounder smartphone, look at a Samsung. Otherwise, for its intended purpose, the Asus ROG Phone 6 is worth the R23,000 price tag.

Published here: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/the-new-asus-rog-phone-is-built-for-gaming-performance-but-youll-have-to-fork-out-r23k-2022-12