Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) has revealed three new smartphones for gamers: the ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate.
The ROG Phone 5 series is powered by the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform featuring advanced 5G communications and premium Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features. The upgraded GameCool 5 cooling system along with the new performance manager in Armoury Crate ensure maximum performance is available for any gaming scenario, says Asus.
The ROG Phone 5 series is equipped with a Samsung-built 144 Hz / 1 ms AMOLED HDR10+ certified display with a 300 Hz touch sampling rate and ultra-low 24.3 ms touch latency. Gamers can play longer with the ROG Phone 5 series thanks to the 6,000 mAh battery, and the phones come with a 65-watt HyperCharge adapter that tops up the battery in the shortest possible time.
The ROG Phone 5 series continues the ROG built-for-gamers design philosophy with ROG Vision, a rear matrix display — available exclusively on ROG Phone 5 Pro and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate — that shows customizable animations in response to a variety of system and in-game events. There are also massive enhancements to the AirTrigger 5 control system, and the GameFX audio system has also been overhauled to deliver more immersive sound.
The ROG Phone 5 series harnesses the massive power of the latest flagship Snapdragon 888, which packs innovations in 5G, AI, gaming, and camera technologies. Snapdragon Elite Gaming affords ultra-smooth play at HDR quality levels, with desktop-level capabilities. It also debuts Qualcomm Game Quick Touch, so players can experience up to a 20% increase in touch responsiveness and lower latency. With up to a 35% increase in GPU performance and 25% in CPU performance, even demanding 3D mobile games run smoothly with maxed-out settings, Asus notes.
To enable maximum sustained performance, the GameCool 5 cooling system in the ROG Phone 5 series now has an optimum thermal structure featuring a centered CPU with the battery split into two parts, one located on each side of the CPU. This ensures that the heat generated by the CPU is transferred to all the edges and corners of the chassis simultaneously for higher thermal efficiency. The reshaped 3D vapor chamber and extensive graphite sheets also help to spread the heat evenly across the device to reduce heat build-up in the middle.
The revamped AeroActive Cooler 5 now intakes and expels air directly onto the centre of the phone — right where the CPU is — to deliver 10°C drop in the CPU temperature. The new performance manager in Armoury Crate now includes X Mode, with multiple system profiles to give gamers more performance settings and performance tuning tools, so they can instantly adapt the phone to the task at hand. Additionally, ROG Phone 5 Ultimate uses 18 GB of LPDDR5 RAM.
The ROG Phone 5 series offers a 300 Hz touch-sampling rate, the 144 Hz / 1 ms AMOLED display — built by Samsung — delivers a super-smooth gaming experience, with an ultra-low touch latency. Tuned in collaboration with leading visual-processing company Pixelworks, the visuals are enhanced further with Delta-E 1 colour accuracy, the always-on HDR technology that improves non-HDR visuals, and a screen that’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
To extend both screen-on time and the lifespan of the monster 6000 mAh battery, ROG Phone 5 series is optimized using new software optimizations and power-saving mechanisms, including a charging upper limit, steady charging, and enhanced scheduled charging. There are also passive power-saving mechanisms to limit inactive apps and deliver up to 67% more power savings. The ROG Phone 5 series always optimizes itself for the best power efficiency, however it’s being used.
Rapid charging is possible via the bundled 65-watt HyperCharge adapter, which gets gamers up and running again in the fastest possible time.
The exclusive ROG Vision is a rear matrix display that’s never been seen on any phone until now. ROG Phone 5 Pro features a colour ROG Vision display, while ROG Phone 5 Ultimate has a monochrome version. ROG Vision can display a variety of cool animations that show whether the phone is charging, if there’s an incoming call, whether X Mode is enabled, and more. Owners can even create custom animations to make their phone even more personal.
The upgraded AirTrigger 5 control system now gives gamers up to four distinct ways to interact with their ROG Phone 5. The AeroActive Cooler 5 now also features two extra physical buttons to allow a genuine console-like gaming experience.
The ROG Phone 5 series supports a total of 10 different motion controls, so gamers can easily pick the moves to fit their game. In a racing game, for example, they can swivel the phone to steer or pull it towards them to brake.
ROG Phone 5 Pro and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate additionally features innovative hidden rear touch sensors on the back cover, which provide L2/R2 trigger functions, just like a game console controller. These also work together with the ultrasonic sensors, the AeroActive Cooler 5 buttons and the motion controls to provide full control for a total gaming experience.
The GameFX audio system in the ROG Phone 5 series now incorporates symmetrical seven-magnet dual speakers for balanced stereo sound effects, optimized in collaboration with audio specialist Dirac. There’s also a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a hi-fi-grade ESS DAC for lossless audio processing. The AudioWizard audio-tuning app has also been revamped to optimize sound for different audio styles, including Game, Cinema, and Music settings. GameFX audio on ROG Phone 5 series delivers in-game sound effects and powerful aural soundscapes.
For the ROG Phone 5 series, Asus has teamed up with popular game titles to give owners a series of different theme packs for customizing their device with their favorite characters and screens. Gamers can also share, discuss, and interact via ROG Connect, an online community that’s built into the ROG Phone 5 series.