The Asus ROG Phone 6: A Gaming Powerhouse with a Refined Camera but a Hefty Price Tag
The Asus ROG Phone series has been steadily evolving for years, with subtle updates that refine its winning formula. As gaming brands like Nubia’s Redmagic and Black Shark have exited the Indian market, Asus’ ROG Phone remains the undisputed king of high-end gaming smartphones. This leaves Asus with minimal competition, allowing them to take their time and perfect their phone without needing drastic changes to stay relevant.
While the latest Asus ROG Phone 6 doesn’t represent a radical departure from its predecessor, the Asus ROG Phone 5s, it still boasts the expected performance enhancements. We see a new processor, improved internal cooling system, and updated cooling accessories. The design echoes the previous model, with only a few minor adjustments. But what truly elevates the ROG Phone 6 is its improved camera setup, blurring the lines between dedicated gamer phones and premium all-rounders. This is crucial given the notable price increase compared to its predecessor.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Price in India
The Asus ROG Phone 6 comes in a single configuration: 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at Rs. 71,999. It’s available in two colors: Storm White and Phantom Black, with the latter being the one we tested. There’s also a ROG Phone 6 Pro variant launched at Rs. 89,999, which differs from the standard model with a unique back panel design featuring an additional 2-inch OLED display, more RAM (18GB), and storage (512GB).
This year’s base ROG Phone 6 is priced closer to last year’s Pro model (Rs. 79,999) than the ROG Phone 5s, which launched at Rs. 57,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration. Combined with Asus’ delayed release in India (the phone was announced in July 2022), the ROG Phone 6 needs to be exceptionally appealing to capture the attention of its niche gamer audience.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Design: Familiarity with a Twist
Asus continues its pattern of subtly refining the ROG Phone design, but this year feels slightly different. The camera module on the back protrudes more than before and is quite large compared to previous iterations. There are now two RGB elements on the rear panel: the iconic “fearless eye” logo, now sporting a dot-matrix treatment, and a second customizable RGB element beneath the ‘Dare to Play’ slogan.
The Gorilla Glass 3 back panel is still a smudge magnet, and the phone feels chubby (10.3mm thick) and heavy (239g), close to a quarter of a kilogram. However, the ROG Phone 6 finally receives an IPX4 rating, making it slightly more resistant to splashes of water and pushing it closer to a premium flagship status.
Despite the IPX4 rating, the phone remains large and heavy for everyday use. Even with the larger battery capacity, it’s not comfortable to carry in pockets, especially for those with smaller hands. Even during gaming sessions, its weight can be noticeable after extended play.
The thick bezels at the top and bottom of the display feel dated for a phone launched in 2022. While slimmer bezels can make a phone look more modern, the thick bezels here do serve a purpose: hiding the large speakers. However, the bezels detract from the phone’s overall aesthetic. A transparent bezel revealing the hardware would have been a much cooler design choice.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Specifications and Software: Power and Familiar UI
The Asus ROG Phone 6 gets an upgrade from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ in the ROG Phone 5s to the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. While this SoC is relatively new, the delay in the phone’s launch in India might make some buyers wait for phones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, expected to appear in premium devices by the end of the year.
The ROG Phone 6 features LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, offering the best performance available on premium devices. Communication standards include support for multiple 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and two USB-Type C ports. There is no dedicated microSD card slot, but the built-in 256GB of storage should be sufficient. It’s powered by a 6,000mAh battery and comes with a 30W charger in the box (in India). While the phone supports 65W fast charging, that charger needs to be purchased separately.
The Asus ROG Phone 6 runs Android 12 with overlays of the brand’s ROG UI and Zen UI. The interface is typical Asus with ROG UI elements prominently featured in the Armoury Crate app, where all gaming-specific hardware adjustments can be made. Those who enjoy tweaking settings will find this app a haven, offering everything from adjusting touch sensitivity to modifying battery performance modes.
While the Armoury Crate app remains largely unchanged, the Game Genie slide-out dashboard has been redesigned. A swipe from the top-left corner of the display while in a game brings up the dashboard, where you can quickly switch performance modes and activate game-specific settings. Although the layout now pops up from the bottom and is wider, some options and toggles are hidden in scrollable menus, making them easily overlooked.
The regular Android software interface is straightforward and runs fluidly, even with multiple apps and games open in the background. However, the lack of Android 13 on a phone launched towards the end of 2022 is notable compared to other flagships in this price range. Asus has not shared any information regarding an Android 13 update.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Performance: A Gaming Beast
As anticipated, the Asus ROG Phone 6 excels in benchmarks, easily surpassing most high-end Android premium flagships. While the phone usually forces X Mode when running benchmarking apps, we managed to obtain regular scores as well. AnTuTu, exclusively running in X Mode, returned a score of 10,83,480, the highest we’ve seen from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 device. The phone scored 1,220 and 3,719 points in Geekbench’s single and multi-core tests (without X Mode), and 1,325 and 4,284 points (with X Mode). Other tests also showed a noticeable performance boost when running X Mode.
The phone’s 6.78-inch AMOLED display is slightly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s panel but, due to the thick bezels, it feels much larger. In the default color mode, it displays slightly saturated colors, but these can be adjusted in the Display Settings. It boasts HDR10+ certification, which is supported in streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube.
The 165Hz refresh rate makes the software experience incredibly smooth. However, this panel is not of the LTPO variety, meaning it can switch between 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and 165Hz, depending on the application. Interestingly, even Asus’s 165Hz game library rarely sees titles exceeding 144fps. Most popular games run flawlessly at 120fps.
Games themselves run seamlessly on the Asus ROG Phone 6. The phone does warm up on the back, but the heat is distributed evenly, making it comfortable to hold. The display offers a 720Hz touch sampling rate. With X-mode enabled, we maxed out the screen’s touch sampling rate, resulting in impressive performance in FPS titles like Call of Duty: Mobile.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Cooling and Accessories: Keeping Things Cool and Controlled
Asus provided the Aeroactive Cooler 6, and we were eager to try it out. In theory, it’s an impressive piece of kit with a peltier cooling setup similar to those found in smaller fridges. While the technology has been miniaturized for efficiency, our tests revealed it kept the phone cool enough to run Genshin Impact at the highest settings, outperforming any other premium flagship we’ve used.
This cooler includes four additional buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2) that can be mapped to various functions in games. However, the cooler’s thickness makes them difficult to reach, especially when trying to use the phone’s built-in AirTriggers simultaneously. We also discovered that the cooler randomly disconnected, becoming a significant issue during competitive gaming. This disconnect also deactivated the buttons, completely disrupting gameplay. It’s possible this is an isolated issue with our specific accessory.
The cooler’s build quality is questionable for its Rs. 5,999 price tag. One button popped out during the review period, and the fold-out kickstand felt flimsy and at risk of breaking with minor pressure. For better controls, we recommend using only the Kunai Gamepad accessory, while the cooler is a must-have for keeping the phone cool during demanding games at maximum graphics and hardware settings.
The Asus ROG Phone 6 comes with a quality plastic case in the box. The phone’s dual speakers, located on either side, are possibly the best we’ve heard on a smartphone. Asus claims to have added more cubic space for enhanced bass, and we can confirm that it delivers. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack for those who prefer wired gaming.
The phone’s massive battery easily provides two days of casual use with moderate gaming and camera usage. Extended gaming sessions and the cooler’s use did drain the battery faster (a 10 percent drop every 15 minutes compared to 5 percent without the cooler). Our HD video loop battery test resulted in an impressive 17 hours and 41 minutes of runtime with the display set to 165Hz refresh rate.
Charging is surprisingly quick with the bundled 30W charger. It charges to 44 percent in 30 minutes and completes the charge in about 1 hour and 7 minutes, impressive for such a large battery. Asus also offers a bypass charging mode that directly powers the phone from the adapter, reducing heat during demanding games. This mode can be activated in the Game Genie dashboard.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Cameras: Beyond Gaming
Asus has upgraded the cameras on the ROG Phone 6. There’s a Sony IMX766 50-megapixel primary camera (surprisingly lacking optical stabilisation (OIS)), a brighter 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. Selfies are handled by a 12-megapixel camera. The camera interface is typically Asus and Zen UI with customizable camera modes and easily accessible controls. Video recording quality maxes out at 8K 24fps, and the phone can also record HDR video.
Daylight photos with the primary camera show good detail and sharpness. The dynamic range is excellent, capturing plenty of detail in shadows. Colors are accurate and not overly saturated. Close-ups are detailed, and the macro camera performs adequately, delivering average detail and dynamic range. The ultra-wide-angle camera captures quality photos with slightly less detail than the primary, but good in their own right. Barrel-distortion is well-managed, but minor purple fringing appears around brightly lit objects. We were impressed by the consistency of color tone between the cameras, an unexpected feat for a gaming smartphone.
In low light, the primary camera continues to impress with good detail and dynamic range in street-lit conditions. However, difficulties arise in darker, dimmer areas. Night mode triggers automatically in most cases, but we encountered instances where the phone indicated a three-second automatic night mode exposure but instead took a regular photo with less detail and dynamic range. The lack of OIS is evident here, as images appear soft with smudged textures even after using Night mode.
Selfies in daylight using portrait mode are impressive, with good dynamic range and excellent edge detection. However, they are quite average in low light. Video recording quality is good in daylight and showcases good stabilization even at 4K resolution. While 4K video recordings offer detail, sharpness, and dynamic range, they exhibit abnormally saturated color tones that feel like a vivid filter has been applied. HDR video recordings capture more detail in the darker areas, but the quality is not ideal, and the colors appear unnatural. 8K video recordings are unusable due to choppy footage caused by the low frame rate. Video quality in low light is far from the best in this price range, with footage lacking detail, riddled with noise, and appearing soft overall.
Verdict: A Gamer’s Dream, But a Pricey One
With anticipated gaming upgrades, Asus surprised us with a quality primary camera in the ROG Phone 6. It offers good daylight performance and respectable low-light quality, which is rare for a gaming smartphone.
For gamers prioritizing performance and exceptional battery life, this might be enough. However, for everyday users, the camera performance pales in comparison to similarly priced flagships like the Vivo X80 Pro, which also offers excellent gaming performance (minus the ROG bells and whistles), outstanding photography, a more pocketable design despite a large screen, and an IP68 rating.
The Asus ROG Phone 6 might not appeal to casual gamers or average consumers, but it remains the only phone offering this level of hardware and software customization, which professional gamers will appreciate. It’s a must-have for serious mobile gamers who don’t mind carrying its bulk. For those seeking a premium gaming phone at a lower price point, last year’s Asus ROG Phone 5s, now available for Rs. 49,999, is a solid alternative.
