Asus’ smartphone series has always stood for pocket-sized gaming technology. The gaming technology experts only launched the ROG Phone 3 in August 2020. The newcomer naturally has a lot of power on board. Besides the powerful Snapdragon 888 from Qualcomm, Asus wants to convince with 18 GB of RAM and a display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, among other things. More power is hardly possible. An optional fan is supposed to prevent high temperatures under the hood. The cool RGB lighting provides visual highlights.
“Republic of Gamers” lives up to its name
It quickly became clear with the ROG Phone 3 that Asus’ subsidiary has created a tailor-made solution for demanding gamers. The manufacturer scored with a lot of power here. This basic idea is stringently continued in the ROG Phone 5. Many will wonder why Asus does not launch ROG Phone 4 before number 5 is already on the market. The reason is quite simple. The number 4 is considered unlucky in Asia. The leap to the number 5 is therefore quite understandable. In terms of technology, ROG relies on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 with 5G. The power CPU is supported by an impressive 18 GB of LPDDR5 DRAM in the maximum features. On paper, nothing should go wrong here even with demanding games.
Impressive display without jerking
But what’s the point of the enormous hardware power if the display can’t output correspondingly beautiful moving images?! ROG is also aware of this importance. For this reason, an impressive display is used here. This already starts with the proud 144 Hz. This refresh rate is anything but standard for smartphone displays. So far, the vast majority of devices do not have more than 120 Hz.
Besides 144 Hz, the response time of 1 ms should also ensure a particularly smooth gaming experience. Apart from motion pictures without jerks, top performances are also supposed to be delivered in terms of contrast and color splendor. The reason for this is the high-quality AMOLED display. Asus relies on Samsung panels for the display. Accordingly, you can expect great results from the screen with a resolution of 2448 x 1080 pixels.
Smartphone with sophisticated cooling system
Of course, the hardware that works in the small case also provides for a high heat development. You have to cope with this especially when you use the ROG Phone 5 for gaming for hours. Owners of a gaming PC will of course simply resort to a reliable cooling system in this case. What might sound absurd for the average smartphone owner, Asus has simply put into practice. Without further ado, the manufacturer has installed the cooling system called GameCool 5. This is supposed to ensure an even and above all reliable heat distribution throughout the device. Other components are supposed to provide a sophisticated and effective heat management. The ROG Phone 5 has a 3D VaporChamber and graphite plates. Heat buildup is supposed to be effectively avoided with this.
Special control option
The hidden touch sensors, which are supposed to be on the back of the ROG Phone Pro 5 as well as in the Ultimate Edition, sound exciting. These are supposed to enable an operation that is similar to the control via a classic controller. The different models are once again similar in terms of sound quality. All variants rely equally on a dual-speaker system. In combination with seven built-in magnets, this is supposed to provide a great sound.
Away from the controls and sound, the camera naturally plays a big role as well. Of course, the ROG Phone 5 will not be the very first choice for spontaneous selfies due to its proud weight of 238 grams alone. However, camera enthusiasts can take appealing pictures with the help of the installed triple camera. The triple camera consists of a main camera (64 MP), ultra-wide-angle camera (13 MP) and macro camera (5 MP). Those who like to shoot videos will be happy about the possibility to record them in 8K.
Prices and availability
Those who are interested in the new gaming smartphone can now strike in the online store of Asus. Here you have the choice between different versions. The cheapest ROG Phone 5 offers 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage and comes at an MSRP of 799 Euros. Asus charges an MSRP of 899 Euros for the version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. Those who want 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage will have to cope with an MSRP of 999 Euros. The ROG Phone 5 Pro version is supposed to go on sale in April and will be available at an MSRP of 1,199 Euros. However, you also get 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage for that. Those who can wait until May should also take a look at the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. Asus charges an MSRP of 1,299 Euros, but you get 512 GB of internal storage and 18 GB of RAM.
