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ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate – Review

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Normally, I would write a long and in-depth review about [INSERT REVIEWED ITEM HERE], but on some occasions the written word just doesn’t cut it. And as much as I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate doing video reviews because I am soooo the wrong person for that, I have had to sit my ugly mug in front of the camera and review one of the most powerful phones around… The ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) Phone 5 Ultimate.

TL;DR Version: Great phone for gamers and non-gamers alike, but definitely aimed at the gamer / tech-head rather than the broader population. Depending on where you look, it is not insanely priced. I do wish ASUS would sell them direct or push more units out the door. They are quite hard to find in the wild from a trustworthy source.

You can check out the video here:

YouTube player

TECH SPECS:

Weight and Dimension

239g,
173.00 x 77.00 x 9.90 mm

Operating System

Android 11

Processor

Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888 5G Mobile Platform
Qualcomm® Adreno™ 660

Memory

LPDDR5 18GB

Storage

UFS3.1 512GB

Display

6.78″ 20.4:9 (2448 x 1080) 144 Hz / 1 ms Samsung AMOLED. Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus. Delta-E < 1

Rear Camera

Main Camera : Sony® flagship IMX686 64 MP image sensor – 1/1.73” large sensor size, 0.8 µm pixel size. F1.8 aperture.

Front Camera

24 MP. 27mm equivalent focal length in 35mm film camera

Audio

Speaker:
Symmetrical dual front-facing speakers with Dirac HD Sound
7-magnet stereo speaker with Cirrus Logic amplifier for louder, deeper and less distorted sound effect

Audio Output:
Hi-Res Audio up to 384 kHz / 32-bit for 3.5mm output
High-end ESS DAC 9280AC Pro for lossless sound output
AudioWizard with multiple listening profiles

Microphone:
Quad microphones with ASUS Noise Reduction Technology

Video Recording

8K UHD (7680 x 4320) video at 30 fps for main rear camera
4K UHD (3840 x 2160) video at 30 / 60 fps for main rear camera, at 30 fps for second rear camera
1080p FHD video recording at 30 / 60 fps
720p HD video recording at 30 fps
3-axis electronic image stabilization for rear cameras
Time Lapse (4K UHD video)
Slow Motion video (4K at 120 fps; 1080p at 240 / 120 fps; 720p at 480 fps)
Take still photo while recording video

Wireless Technology

802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Supports Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive
Bluetooth® 5.2 (HFP + A2DP + AVRCP + HID + PAN + OPP)
Wi-Fi Direct
NFC

Navigation

GNSS support GPS (L1/L5), Glonass (L1), Galileo (E1/E5a), BeiDou(B1i/B1c/B2a), QZSS (L1/L5) and NavIC (L5)

SIM Cards

Dual slots: 5G*+5G or 4G dual-SIM / dual-standby support
Slot 1: 5G/4G/3G/2G Nano SIM card
Slot 2: 5G/4G/3G/2G Nano SIM card

*5G services are only supported in 5G network-enabled locations in 5G-ready countries.

Network Standard

GSM/GPRS/EDGE; WCDMA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+; FDD-LTE; TD-LTE; 5G Sub 6 SA/NSA
ASUS phone 5G/4G band compatibility varies by region, please check compatibility with local carriers.
A version: (TW, JP, AU, EMEA, APAC, HK, IN, ID, BR)

Supports EN-DC (6DL+FR1, 2FR1)

FR1: DL up to 3.8 Gbps / UL 542 Mbps
LTE: DL 7CA Cat20 up to 2.0 Gbps / UL 2CA Cat13 up to 150 Mbps
Gigabit LTE
DC-HSPA+: DL 42 Mbps / UL 5.76 Mbps
4×4 MIMO and CA with 4×4 MIMO support
5G (Bands N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N71, N77, N78, N79)
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48)
WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)
EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
supported 4×4 MIMO | HPUE | HO RxD
B version: (US)

Supports EN-DC (6DL+FR1, 2FR1)

FR1: DL up to 3.8 Gbps / UL 542 Mbps
LTE: DL 7CA Cat20 up to 2.0 Gbps / UL 2CA Cat13 up to 150 Mbps
Gigabit LTE
DC-HSPA+: DL 42 Mbps / UL 5.76 Mbps
4×4 MIMO and CA with 4×4 MIMO support
5G (Bands N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N28, N38, N41, N66, N71, N77, N78, N79)
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48)
WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)
EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
supported 4×4 MIMO | HPUE | HO RxD
C version: (CN)

Supports EN-DC (5DL+FR1, 2FR1)

FR1: DL up to 2.8 Gbps / UL 542 Mbps
LTE: DL 7CA Cat18 up to 1.4 Gbps / UL 2CA Cat13 up to 150 Mbps
Gigabit LTE
DC-HSPA+: DL 42 Mbps / UL 5.76 Mbps
4×4 MIMO and CA with 4×4 MIMO support
5G (Bands N28, N41, N77, N78, N79; N1, N3, N7, N8, N20, N38 roaming only)
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28)
TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48)
WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 8)
EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Sensor

In-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, ambient-light sensor, ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger 5 and grip press
ZS673KS

Battery

6000 mAh (typical) high-capacity battery, supports Quick Charge 5.0 and PD Charging

Power Adapter

Output: 3.3-21V 3.25A, supports up to 65W QC5.0 / PD 3.0 / Direct Charge adapter
USB power adapter (65-Watt)

In the Box

Ejector pin (SIM tray needle)
USB power adapter (65-Watt)
USB-C to USB-C cable
AeroActive Cooler 5
Transparent case

The Good

  • 144hz Display
  • Fast Snapdragon 888 CPU
  • Insane amount of RAM
  • Heaps of Storage
  • Those Speakers!
  • BATTERY LIFE!!!!
  • Headphone Jack Still Lives On
  • Clear & Bright Display
  • Not As Bad On Wallet As You Might Think
  • Camera Better Than Expected

The Bad

  • Heavier Than Most Current Phones
  • No Wireless Charging
  • No IP Water Rating
  • Only 2 Major Android Version Updates
  • Couldn't Find Anywhere To Purchase Extended Warranty
  • I Don't Own One
9
___
10

Written by: Kurt Frohloff

A Founder of MKAU, a gamer, a family man. I have a love of all things gaming and a wish of mine is to have more time to actually play the games we review here!

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