As had been previously revealed, ASUS' ROG division today held an online event to launch the latest iteration of its gaming smartphone lineup, the ROG Phone 5 series. Many of the devices' specs leaked ahead of the official reveal, but the presentation still contained some new information. The lineup consists of the ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and limited-edition ROG Phone 5 Ultimate.
As expected, the ROG Phone 5 series is packing a Snapdragon 888 chipset, delivering the top-tier performance you'd expect of a gaming phone, and ASUS has placed the CPU in the middle of the phone to make it easier to dissipate heat evenly. ASUS has also built plenty of performance tuning features into the Armoury Crate app, letting users adjust whether they prefer saving battery or getting more performance.
On that note, the ROG Phone 5 comes with a 6,000mAh battery, which is split into two units. This enables 65W charging for the first time, and that means the phone can go from 0% to 50% in just 15 minutes, in addition to the battery being much larger than most other phones.
The phone promises to deliver up to 144 frames per second in games, and the 6.8-inch AMOLED display from Samsung once again features a 144Hz refresh rate to go along with that, as well as a 300Hz touch sampling rate. The display also features a Delta E below 1, 1ms response times, and HDR10+ support with SDR to HDR conversion.
The rear of the phone features a pixel dot display with the ROG logo which now has two RGB light zones for extra customizability. The ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate also have a customizable display on the back which lets users create imagery for different scenarios like incoming calls or gaming sessions.
For audio, ASUS has done something you'd probably not expect. In addition to the stereo speakers built into the phone, the company has brought back the headphone jack that was removed last year, complete with an ESS DAC. ASUS says this was possible thanks to the 5G modem now being fully integrated and a redesign of the PCB. ASUS has also implemented a new haptic audio feature that generates vibration to go along with certain audio effects in games.
Continuing with gaming features, ASUS has kept the ultrasonic air triggers on the side of the phone, so they're on the top when using the phone in landscape orientation. However, the ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate also have two additional touch areas near the bottom of the phone for even more control options. There are also more motion control options now.
Cameras are never the focus of a gaming phone, and the ROG Phone 5 series ticks to a similar setup to last year's. The main camera uses the same sensor as the ASUS Zenfone 7 Pro from last year, and there's also an ultra-wide camera and a macro sensor.
Should you be interested in the ROG Phone 5 series, it will start at €799 for the ROG Phone 5 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage; €899 for the 12GB/256GB variant; and €999 for the 16GB/256GB model. The ROG Phone 5 Pro will cost €1199 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and the ROG Ultimate will be the world's first phone with 18GB of RAM, while keeping the same 512GB of storage for €1299. In addition to the usual black, the ROG Phone 5 will now come in a white model, and the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will not only be exclusively available in white, but also use a matte finish for the first time.
ASUS also announced a new lineup of accessories for the phones including a new cooling fan, wireless earbuds with and without RGB lighting, an updated Kunai controller, and more.
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