Asus has today unveiled its new range of gaming smartphones consisting of the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate which pack in much the same hardware which includes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, and a massive 6,000mAh battery. The Ultimate does offer a few extra features such as the ROG Vision display on the rear panel which shows notifications and personalized animations.
The AMOLED display boasts a 165Hz refresh rate, 720Hz touch sampling, and a peak brightness of 1,500 nits which should make it great for gaming even when outdoors.
Accompanying the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory as well as up to 512GB of speedy UFS 4.0 storage. That big 6,000mAh battery supports 65W fast charging which is a little low by some standards but still quicker than what is offered on phones from Samsung, Google, and Apple. There's a pair of USB-C ports (one on the side, the other on the bottom), and there's even space for a 3.5mm audio jack.
What stops the phone from overheating while gaming?
Firstly, there's a new GameCool 7 thermal system to help cool the chipset from every direction; this means longer, more intense gaming sessions are possible at full throttle. A Boron Nitride thermal compound on one side of the CPU reduces the need for throttling in shorter sessions while the enlarger vapor chamber and graphite sheets take care of mid-length sessions. There's also the AeroActive Cooler 7 which attaches to the phone, bringing AI-powered active cooling to the party.
The Ultimate takes cooling a step further with the ‘world-leading' AeroActive Portal which is an air-inlet that automatically activates when the AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory is attached. This helps to stream a constant flow of cool air onto the cooling fins of the vapor chamber.
What makes the ROG Phone 7/7 Ultimate a gaming smartphone?
Besides the cooling elements and the gamer-centric design, the phones also boast super-low latency, as well as AirTrigger Ultrasonic controls to give gamers fingertip control over their gaming experience. The controls support gestures such as Dual Action, Press and Lift, and Gyroscopic Aiming, while the X-axis linear motor provides powerful haptic feedback.
Let's not forget audio because the ROG Phone 7 series benefits from twin front-firing speakers with 50% more effective volume than previously. The speakers are aided by a five-magnet, super-linear 13 x 38mm sub-woofer which is housed in the AeroActive 7 cooler and enhances bass volume by 77%. There's also support for spatial sound, Snapdragon Sound (super-low latency Hi-Fi Bluetooth 5.3 audio).
Tired of gaming? Don't worry, the ROG Phone 7 series also sport a 50MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro lens on the rear panel along with a 32MP front-facing camera.
Price and Availability
Pre-orders for the ROG Phone 7 series are already live in China and Europe with pricing starting from €999 for the vanilla variant and €1,399 for the Ultimate which will come boxed with the AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory included.
| ROG Phone 7 | ROG Phone 7 Ultimate | |
| Software | Android 13 with new ROG UI, Armoury Crate Performance Manager | Same |
| Display | 6.78-Inch AMOLED, 2448 x 1080 Resolution (FHD+), 20.4:9 Aspect Ratio, 165 Hz Refresh Rate, 720Hz Touch Sampling, 1,500 nits Peak Brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, Always-On HDR Display, | Same + ROG Vision |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Octa-Core, 3.2GHz, Adreno 740 GPU | Same |
| Memory | Up to 16GB RAM (LPPDR5x) | Same |
| Storage | Up to 512GB (UFS 4.0) | Same |
| Rear Cameras | 50 MP Main Camera (Sony IMX766), 13MP Ultra-wide, 120° FoV, 5MP Macro Lens | Same |
| Front Camera | 32MP (Uses Pixel Binning to output 8MP Images) | Same |
| Audio | Dual front-facing speaker (with Dirac HD Sound), support spatial audio (Dirac Virtuo), | Same |
| IP Rating | IP54 | Same |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, WiFi : 802.11 be/ax/ac/a/b/g/n, (2.4GHz + 5GHz + 6GHz) | Same |
| Sensors | In-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, | Same |
| Gaming Controls | Ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger 5 and grip press | Same |
| Side Ports | Type C connector – USB3.1 gen2/DP 1.4(4K)/Hyper Charging/ Quick Charge 5.0 (QC4/QC3/PD3.0) Pogo Pin – for AeroActive Cooler 7 | Same |
| Bottom Ports | Type C connector – USB 2.0 / HyperCharge / QC5.0, 3.5 mm audio jack | Same |
| Battery | 6,000mAh | Same |
| Charging Speed | 65W HyperCharge | Same |
| Dimensions | 173 x 77x 10.4 mm | Same |
| Weight | 239g | Same |
| Colors | Phantom Black, Storm White | Storm White |
| Pricing | From €999 (~$1,085) | €1,399 (~$1,520) |
