ROG Phones are the pinnacle of gaming smartphones — the competition may have backed away, but Asus keeps churning out at least one new top-tier smartphone year after year.
You know the drill — they are packed to the brim with absolutely insane hardware and offer a plethora of software features exclusively catering to gamers and their needs. But are they worth actually buying, or are you better off just admiring them from afar? With a price-tag that comfortably sits north of $1,000, it has been hard to recommend a ROG Phone for someone that wants what other flagship smartphones have.
Since last year, Asus has begun steadily improving some aspects of the ROG Phones that make them... well, more like smartphones. And now, it's much easier for us to recommend you grab one than it was before. Let's dive in!
The Good
The 165 Hz AMOLED HDR10+ screen is excellent
Top tier performance
Incredibly good speakers, plus subwoofer in the cooler accessory
Camera is adequate even though it's a "gaming phone"
Massive battery, good battery health options
Buttons and controls for handheld gaming
The bad
The edgy gamer design is a taste thing
Camera is adequate, but is outclassed by other flagships
No wireless charging
What’s new about the device
AeroActive Portal from ROG 6D Ultimate arrives to the main ROG 7 Ultimate line
Improved speakers, AeroActive Cooler now also acts as a subwoofer.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
IP54 certification - safe from water sprays and some dust particles.
Software update commitment - 2 years of OS updates, 4 years of security patches.
Vibration areas on screen - get feedback from virtual buttons, pick different vibration strengths for each area.
Size and Weight
6.81 x 3.03 x 0.41 (173 x 77 x 10.3 mm); 8.43 Oz (239 g)
Display
6.78" AMOLED, 165 Hz, 720 Hz touch sampling, 1500 nits max brightness
Processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM, Storage - 16 GB LPDDR5X / 512 GB UFS 4.0
Software - Android 13 with ROG UI
Cameras
50 MP wide camera 13 MP ultra-wide camera 8 MP macro camera 32 MP front camera
Battery Size - 6,000 mAh
Charging Speeds - 65 W fast charging
Asus ROG Phone 7 Battery
6,000 mAh — that's a powerbank in a phone
The ROG Phone 7 doesn't feature wireless charging — there's hardly room inside for that — but what it does have is a dual battery with two 3,000 mAh cells that make for 6,000 mAh total capacity. These are charged up by a 65 W brick that actually comes in the box.
So, you have plenty of endurance and fast charging to top up between sessions:
Asus ROG Phone 7 Audio Quality and Haptics
After the ROG Phone 6, we didn't really think Asus could do anything to improve the sound in these devices. Well... we were wrong.
Surprisingly, the ROG Phone 7 — somehow — sounds better than the 6. The front-firing stereo speakers blast out a balanced, detailed sound, with wide stereo separation and a satisfactory bottom end. No shrill highs or distorted high-mids. It is great to just set aside and listen to music from!
To top it off, the AeroActive Cooler 7 enhances that musical experience with an integrated subwoofer, which really enhances the bottom end of the sound. It becomes a low-key multimedia package.
As for haptics — Asus have those nailed. In fact, there's a new setting within the Armory Crate where you can have the phone vibrate differently depending on where on the screen you tap. So, if you're playing a game and would like to have some feedback for tapping specific on-screen buttons — you can have the ROG Phone 7 give you that feedback with various levels of vibration.
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