The legend has evolved! The ROG Phone 6 is the latest incarnation of world-beating gaming phone. It harnesses the brute gaming power of the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, with a new class leading GameCool 6 thermal system that lets you smash every barrier and break every limit, and a 165 Hz display for a revolutionary visual experience. For total control, there’s the AirTrigger 6 system and the Armoury Crate app, and for marathon gameplay, there’s a monster 6000 mAh1 battery. Dare to choose the mighty ROG Phone 6, and you will be rewarded with an experience that befits a true legend.
Design
As far as gaming phones go, the ROG Phone 6 is one of the more elegant options around with its curved, smooth, pearlesque, frosted glass back, and its rounded metal sides. If you close your eyes while holding it, despite being big, it’s still a comfortable, premium smartphone – nothing too standout. Open your eyes though, and you’ll be sucked into a world of RGB lighting, second-screen action, and Stargate-style glyphs.
Measuring 173 x 77 x 10.3mm, the ROG Phone 6 is a tall, relatively narrow thing that’s thicker than most smartphones, but doesn’t quite feel unwieldy. At 239g, it’s one of the heaviest phones on the scene, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max weighing just one gram more at 240g.
The curvy, frosty back and matte sides do make the ROG Phone 6 feel rich and alluring, but it is pretty slippery, so you’ll want to put a case on as soon as you start using it. Luckily, in the box, you get a lightweight, hard plastic shell that protects the corners and adds a little extra grip.
The ROG Phone’s screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, and while the phone doesn’t sport IP68 water or dust resistance, it’s the first gaming phone with IPX4 splash-resistant certification. As for color options, the standard ROG Phone 6 is available in Phantom Black and Storm White, while the 6 Pro is available exclusively in Storm White.
Display and Camera
Asus ROG Phone 6 gets a 6.78 inches AMOLED screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass setup. The bezel-less display of the device features a 20:4:9 aspect ratio, a 395ppi pixel density and a resolution of 1080 x 2448 pixels.
Asus has incorporated a triple camera configuration on the rear side of the device, comprising a 50MP Primary Camera, a 13MP Ultra Wide Angle Lens and another 5MP Macro Camera. Continuous Shooting, Face Detection, HDR mode, LED Flash, Touch to Focus, Digital Zoom are some of the back camera functionalities. There is a massive 12MP selfie-shooting lens on the front.
Performance and specs
The Asus ROG Phone 6 introduces Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, a higher-clocked version of the 8 Gen 1 found in flagships like the Sony Xperia 1 IV and Xiaomi 12 Pro.
While the original 8 Gen 1 has become known for getting hot under pressure, Asus has done a lot to help the ROG Phone 6 keep its cool, despite its mightier iteration of Qualcomm’s processor.
Asus has repositioned the processor (the heat source) to the middle of the phone. This does a few neat things: it moves the heat further away from your hands, especially when playing in landscape orientation. It also moves it further from the metal frame (a heat conductor) and positions it exactly under the optional fan accessory. We were dubious at first, given the fact that it has no ventilation channels, but have been impressed with the ROG Phone 6’s heat management during our time with it.
Audio
The GameFX audio system on ROG Phone 6 features symmetrical dual speakers that fire forward for truly balanced stereo sound effects, and there’s also a convenient 3.5 mm headphone jack. The sound has been optimized via a collaboration with audio specialist Dirac, making ROG Phone 6 a rare beast: a gaming phone with truly impressive audio quality. In addition to the premium sound quality, GameFX lets you individually fine-tune the EQ bands for different scenarios effects, such as game, music, or cinema, so you can enjoy the crystal-clear sound effects and powerful aural soundscapes that no other phone can match.
Gaming
One of the most-loved features of ROG Phone is Armoury Crate. It’s now been massively revamped with a cooler-looking and more futuristic interface, with a visual style that matches the PC version. You can set up and customize scenario profiles for each app, not just games, and individually tune performance settings and more.
Game Genie, one of the most advanced gaming enhancements features available, gets a new User Interface as well! We’ve made it look more like the HUD on a spacecraft to match the sci-fi and futuristic style on ROG Phone 6 series.
Battery
The Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro packs a pretty monstrous 6,000 mAh battery, one of the largest in any flagship phone currently. Couple that with the new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, and Asus is on to a winner. I’ve seen as high as eight hours of screen on time from my heavy usage, though it’ll typically be between four and six hours — still very good. That includes gaming, a lot of photography, a lot of messaging, media consumption, and more.
As for charging, the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro packs a 65W USB PD-compliant charger in the box. You can use it to charge all of your other USB PD devices too, making it one of the best USB PD chargers out there. I use it to charge my laptop as well, so it’s the only charger that I need to bring with me when I got out. Basically, you’ll get it from 0% to 100% in under 45 minutes, which is incredibly fast and on-par with pretty much all other flagship phones on the market right now.
Accessories
You can augment the ROG Phone 6 Pro’s gaming ability with two accessories, the Kunai Controller 3 and the AeroActive Cooler 6, and both are purchased separately from the phone.