After ASUS announced the launch of the ROG Phone 8 series of mobile phones equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 1+ Gen 6 processor, the author actually obtained the standard ROG Phone 6 for unboxing.
Differences between ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro
The one being unboxed this time is the standard ROG Phone 6, and the box design has also changed from the previous magazine shape to a regular box design. However, if it is the upgraded ROG Phone 6 Pro, it will still maintain the magazine shape box design.
Asus' ROG Phone 6 series will initially only include the standard ROG Phone 6 and the upgraded ROG Phone 6 Pro, but it is expected that high-end models with the same positioning as the previous Ultimate version will be launched later.
The overall design of the ROG Phone 6 continues the Cyberpunk style elements used in previous models. At the same time, the ROG Vision design introduced last year also appears on the back of this new phone. The standard model can only light up the ROG logo and the "Dare to Play" slogan on the back. Only the ROG Phone 6 Pro can use the ROG Vision custom display created by the POLED panel. It is basically the same as last year's launch.ROG Phone 5 seriesThe design is the same.
The main difference between the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro lies in the different back cover designs. The ROG Phone 6 is available in black and white, and is available with 12GB or 16GB of memory, and 256GB or 512GB of storage capacity. The ROG Phone 6 Pro is only available in white, with 18GB of memory and 512GB of storage capacity.
As for other specifications, both use a 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED display with a resolution of 2448×1080, supporting a 165Hz frame refresh rate and a 1ms display response time. They also use Pixelworks imaging chips to improve the display effect. At the same time, the touch response rate can reach up to 720Hz, and it also supports constant HDR display effects. It still uses a full display block design and is equipped with an under-screen fingerprint recognition function.
Continuously enhance the gaming experience
To address the heat generated by the high-performance Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, ASUS has introduced a three-stage cooling structure in the ROG Phone 6. This includes adding thermal insulation to the phone's motherboard and antenna layers to prevent heat from affecting network communication efficiency. This is coupled with a 30% larger heat sink and 85% larger graphene thermal conductive material. This, combined with the centrally placed processor design, allows for more efficient and even heat dissipation within the phone.
Paired with the newly designed external active cooling fan, the AeroActive Cooler 6, it can achieve a maximum temperature reduction of 25°C. In actual use, the back cover temperature, which is around 44.8°C, can be brought down to around 36.2°C. However, since the fan is powered directly by the phone, it will significantly increase the phone's power consumption if not plugged into a power source.
Similar to the fan accessory launched last year, this time's fan accessory also features four sets of physical buttons. Combined with the two sets of ultrasonic button functions originally featured on the ROG Phone 4 series' body frame, users can customize up to six sets of operation buttons, allowing for faster and more intuitive gaming operations.
In addition, the ultrasonic button function has been added with press-and-slide operation gestures, as well as an operation mode of holding down the ultrasonic button and tilting the body to aim or change the viewing angle. In addition, it is combined with the built-in gyroscope function of the mobile phone to add operation methods such as horizontal movement, tilting, rotation, or shaking the phone.
For gaming needs, users can also use the built-in Armoury Crate interface to set different performance modes or customize hardware operation. They can also set button definition configurations, command macros, sound output, and connect a mouse, keyboard, and monitor to use the phone as a desktop. Other functions include setting phone lighting effects and quickly running games.
Performance comparison
Compared with the Snapdragon 22 Gen 8 processor used in Samsung's annual flagship mobile phone Galaxy S1 Ultra at the beginning of the year, although there will be different impacts on the design of the body, cooling system, etc., we can still see the difference in execution performance reflected by the processors used in the two mobile phones.
In addition, the ROG Phone 6 is positioned as a gaming phone after all, so many of its designs are optimized for the gaming experience. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, on the other hand, takes into account all-round usage needs and adopts a relatively stable usage demand design. Therefore, the performance of the two will inevitably be different.
The changes in battery and camera are not big
As for the battery, it still maintains the structure of two sets of 2mAh batteries with a total capacity of 3000mAh. It still supports 6000W wired fast charging (can be charged through the USB-C port on the bottom or side), but still does not add wireless charging function. However, this time the body has an IPX65 level splash-proof design and also supports NFC induction communication function.
As for the USB-C port on the bottom, it still maintains a side-biased design, so it can only be compatible with the Kunai 3 gaming controller launched by ASUS, and cannot be compatible with other controller accessories made by other manufacturers on the market such as Razer.
The camera specifications haven't changed much, but the main camera's wide-angle lens has been changed to 5000 megapixels and a Sony IMX766 sensor, and is paired with an ultra-wide-angle lens and macro lens of 1300 megapixels each. The video lens has been changed to 1200 megapixels and a Sony IMX663 sensor design. As for the shooting function, there is not much difference from the previous one.
Actual unboxing
Accessory compatibility
ASUS has also launched a variety of peripheral accessories for the ROG Phone 6 series of mobile phones, including a dedicated mobile phone protective case, AeroActive Cooler 6 active cooling fan, and an exclusive protective case that can be used with AeroActive Cooler 6.
Among them, AeroActive Cooler 6 will also provide a compatible version for the ROG Phone 5 series launched last year, but the exclusive protective case used with AeroActive Cooler 6 cannot be directly used for the ROG Phone 5 series due to the difference in the design of the phone's back cover.
Similarly, the newly launched Kunai 3 control handle is compatible with the ROG Phone 6 series, ROG Phone 5 series, and ROG Phone 3 via Bluetooth connection. However, the dedicated protective case cannot be directly used with the ROG Phone 5 series or ROG Phone 3 due to the differences in the design of the phone back covers.
The TwinView Dock and extended accessories such as the Desktop Dock, which have been discontinued since the ROG Phone 5 series, are also no longer available in the ROG Phone 6 series. However, the ROG Cetra True Wireless Pro true wireless Bluetooth earphones, which can be used in true wireless form or converted to wired mode through accessories, and support IPX4 waterproof and active noise reduction functions, are available for all series of mobile phones.
summary
From the original ROG Phone to this year's ROG Phone 6 series, ASUS has continued to evolve this series of gaming phones. In addition to incorporating more ROG Republic of Gamers design elements, the ROG Phone 6 series can further enhance the gaming experience.
This time, by adopting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, combined with TSMC's 4nm process technology, and increasing the operating clock speed, the processor's execution performance can be more fully output, allowing the ROG Phone 6 series to have more stable performance in game execution efficiency.
Furthermore, the ROG Phone 6 series has evolved over time, accumulating extensive user experience. Consequently, many of its designs reflect real user needs. For example, the issue of phones easily overheating under intense use has been corrected, along with a splash-resistant design. The long-used camera lens has also been adjusted.
