This is Asus’ latest attempt technically its fourth, but it’s skipping that number in the name for superstitious reasons at building a console-like experience into a phone for a niche but thriving global crowd of mobile gamers. It offers more power and customization than other large-screened phones, both in terms of hardware and software. It’s a real spec sandwich.
For example, it has multiple USB-C ports to let you charge it in either landscape or portrait mode. This model also includes a snap-on fan cooler (its sole job is to keep the phone from overheating when you overclock it), and the fan packs USB-C passthrough charging, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and two remappable trigger buttons. In addition to that, there are some ultrasonic sensors around the phone that can replace some touch controls to make games feel more like you’re using a controller. And for this year’s model, its Armoury Crate app can boost its processor and graphics speed, increase the screen’s refresh rate, and more on a per-game basis.
The Ultimate is Asus’ highest-end ROG Phone 5 coming in May for 1,299 euros (which is around $1,583). But other less expensive options will ship before then, starting in March for around $950. How does Asus justify the $600 price delta? This is the only configuration that has a matte white colorway with a few blue details sprinkled around the phone. And it’s the only one in the lineup and perhaps the only phone other than RedMagic’s new 6 Pro that has 18GB of RAM. It’s an impressive spec to find in a phone, but I’m still searching for a use case that requires having this much RAM. The cheaper versions of the ROG Phone 5 ship with 16GB and 12GB of RAM, respectively, which I’m betting doesn’t make a huge difference in performance.
Pros:
Powerful and feature-packed
The most elegant gaming phone yet
The ROG Vision OLED is a cool flex
Excellent front-facing speakers
Cons:
18GB of RAM isn’t necessary for today’s apps and games
The value is tough as ever to justify
It’s total overkill for cloud game streaming
The Ultimate is Asus’ highest-end ROG Phone 5 coming in May for 1,299 euros (which is around $1,583). But other less expensive options will ship before then, starting in March for around $950. How does Asus justify the $600 price delta? This is the only configuration that has a matte white colorway with a few blue details sprinkled around the phone. And it’s the only one in the lineup and perhaps the only phone other than RedMagic’s new 6 Pro that has 18GB of RAM. It’s an impressive spec to find in a phone, but I’m still searching for a use case that requires having this much RAM. The cheaper versions of the ROG Phone 5 ship with 16GB and 12GB of RAM, respectively, which I’m betting doesn’t make a huge difference in performance. The Ultimate, in particular, seems to be made for only the most diehard of ROG fans. The phone comes with a laptop-sized box filled with a ROG-themed ball cap, towel, face covering, stickers, and more goodies. Aside from the aforementioned specs, the ever-so-slightly less expensive (but still around $1,420) ROG Phone 5 Pro, coming in April 2021, is very similar to the Ultimate. Both phones include two additional ultrasonic sensors on their backs near where your ring fingers might rest while holding them in landscape mode, as well as the rear-facing OLED screen I mentioned earlier called “ROG Vision.” It’s a thumb drive-sized display that’s a spin on Asus’ “Anime Matrix” effect used in the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop, possibly attracting even more eyeballs at this bizarre-looking phone.
