ROG 6 review: Beyond the cyberpunk vibes, a powerful gaming phone

The ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers) gaming phone debuted back in 2018 and became a favourite among gamers, despite the fact that the rest of the world wasn’t ready for gaming phones yet.

Times change, though, and we were therefore quite excited to get our hands on the latest flagship ROG gaming phone coming to South Africa this month.

ROG Phone 6 review

The new series includes the ROG Phone 6 and the 6 Pro, currently being marketed as the most powerful ROG phones ever made.

If you’re in the market for a top-notch gaming phone (see what we did there?), here’s what you need to know.

ALSO READ: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Packs a powerful punch in a lightweight package

Design and display

The ROG 6 is wrapped in a neat package featuring a 6.78-inch (17.22cm) AMOLED display which uses exclusive ROG tuning technology for a whopping 165 Hz refresh rate.

The screen is gorgeous and gets bright enough to game outdoors. The 165hz refresh rate makes games pin sharp and buttery smooth and while only a few games make use of all of the refresh rate it makes a noticeable difference to the overall use of the device.

The Rog Phone 6 doesn’t get too hot and with a 6 000maH battery, you’ll get unmatched performance for longer – nothing takes you out of your game. From casual games to intense ones this phone dominates every other android phone and is the reason why this phone exists. Its place is cemented on the tippy top of the pyramid, so if you’re anything like me, you’ll get your hands on one because it’s the best one yet.

Cameras

The ROG 6 has a triple-camera array on the rear of phone with a 50MP main wide-angle Sony lens, along with a 13MP ultrawide lens and a 5MP macro camera.

The phone also has a 12MP selfie (front-facing) lens, perfect for high-quality group selfies and live-streaming videos.

Performance and battery

Trust us when we say this is one impressive phone. The base model coming to SA sports the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU, a true premium-tier powerhouse.

The other techy specifications you need to know:

• The Snapdragon Gen 1 chip features up to 3.2 GHz CPU clock speeds
• It also has 16GB of Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR) RAM,
• along with 512GB of storage

That LPDDR abbreviation (sometimes called mobile DDR, or mDDR) means the ROG 6 phone runs faster than its competitors and is more power-efficient, too.

And sure, you could wait for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but it’s really not necessary. We had absolutely no hick-ups with the Gen 1’s capabilities.

Add to this a powerful, long-lasting battery of 6 000 mAh and you can rest assured the Rog 6 will survive your toughest of gaming sessions.

Gaming

According to ASUS, the ultrasonic sensors fully support various gestures, including new features such as Dual Action, Press and Lift, and Gyroscope Aiming.

It’s highly specced too, sporting the latest 8+ Gen 1 chip from Qualcomm paired with a 50MP Camera that performs surprisingly well.

The very first thing that stood out for me was the weight, this is a beastly device, weighing in at 239g. For reference that’s only 10g heavier than a Samsung S22 ultra for example, but that extra weight is felt as the phone is physically fatter as well.

Don’t get me wrong it’s not uncomfortably big and heavy, just noticeably so. It’s a fingerprint magnet as well and if that sort of thing bothers you it does come with a case in the box.

All of my trepidation dissolved the second I turned the device on. You can tell the attention to detail that went into this device, the care that was taken for sound and light greeting you.

Even the cable, it’s a gorgeous braided cable that feels super nice and premium and while I could talk forever about the cable and the lighting, this is a gaming phone and gaming is where it shines.

There are 2 charging ports one at the bottom and one on the side so if you are using it in a gaming case it can be charged as well, the air triggers have been upgraded from last year’s model these make for a supreme experience.

Additional features

Other bits and bobs you need to know, include:

• 3.5mm headphone jack
• GameFX audio system
• Dirac Virtuo spatial audio solution
• Snapdragon Sound technology
• HDR10+ Video Mode

ROG 6 Phone review: Conclusion

ROG 6 Phone availability

Back in November, Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced that only one model of the gaming smartphone will be available in South Africa.

The ROG Phone 6 is available on pre-order (R22 999) in South Africa, via the official ASUS South Africa e-commerce store.

This is a limited run, so get it in Phantom Black before stocks run out.