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ROG Phone 6 Pro review - The best gaming phone?

Can the new ROG phone live up to the hype? We find out.
Ernest Doku author headshot
Written by Ernest Doku, Broadband and mobiles expert
Updated on 7 March 2023
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Mobiles - reviews - ROG Phone 6 Pro review - The best gaming phone?

Pros

  • Great battery life

  • Headphone jack support

  • Fast charging available

  • 165 Hz gorgeous panel

  • Fastest processor, making for a gaming powerhouse


Cons

  •  No microSD slot

  •  Mediocre cameras

  •  No wireless charging support

The Asus ROG lineup is one specifically built for gaming. And with each phone, they tend to surprise audiences with some of the most overpowered specs to cater to the voracious needs of gamers.

Well, the ROG Phone 6 Pro is no exception.

Let’s see if it’s as good a phone as it is a gaming device!

ROG Phone 6 Pro display and design

The ROG Phone 6 Pro is an impressive specimen of a device for those who like a particularly overengineered aesthetic. This look is the preserve of gaming tower PCs, replete with LEDs, liveries, go-faster fans and aggressive angles.

It is heavier and larger than most flagship devices. That makes sense since the phone is built for gaming.

It features a glossy black or white finish and, surprisingly, isn’t a fingerprint magnet.

There’s also a small screen on the rear which offers notifications for incoming calls and other stuff.

The design features a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen that goes with 1080 x 2448 and a whopping 165Hz refresh rate.

There’s a lot to unpack here for the uninitiated. So let’s give it a try… The phone’s screen can be set to 60, 90, 120, and 144Hz, and up to 165Hz to show its true potential. While a lot of games don’t support 165Hz or even 144Hz, Asus decided to make the phone future-proof when it comes to refresh rate. And naturally, the smoother the display can update, the better the gaming experience.

The display goes up to 800 nits of brightness and has a 720Hz touch sampling rate.

So the delay between tapping the screen and something happening is so minute as to make games infinitely playable to the highest standard. Impressive stuff throughout.

ROG Phone 6 Pro processor and specifications

The ROG Phone 6 Pro is one of the best devices performance-wise. When we talk about its hardware, it is using the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, making every single game a charm to be played on the device. Coupled with the Adreno 730 GPU, games like PUBG, Fortnite, and Call of Duty Mobile will run smoothly on their highest settings.

Moreover, the device comes with 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is just ideal for gamers. The phone also supports UFS 3.1, which will be great for the storage speed and at the end, you’re also getting NTFS support for external storage options.

So this only serves to highlight that that the specifications of the ROG Phone 6 Pro are top-notch, and deliver on all fronts to those looking for a top-flight experience.

ROG Phone 6 Pro cameras

This is where we see some corners cut, as ROG Phone 6 Pro has a Sony IMX766 sensor – far from flagship in the imaging stakes.

The camera’s main sensor is a 50-megapixel. There’s also an ultra-wide camera with 13-megapixel and a 5-megapixel macro effort to round things out. All in all, the camera performance is great in decent lighting. In low light, however, the phone will not perform as well as similarly-priced competitors.

To make it up, the company decided to add a night-mode feature, which does enhance and brightens the overall image. But it is nowhere near the level of flagship devices, like the S22 Ultra.

On the front, you have a smashing 12-megapixel camera. It will work just fine for your picture-taking experience or Twitch streaming. The videos can be captured up to 8K at 24FPS or 4K 60FPS so that’s a solid addition to see. This shows us the power of the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.

ROG Phone 6 Pro battery and charging

The Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro has a battery that has been turned into two pieces. Both pieces are 3000mAh, making it a total of a whopping 6000mAh.

It can easily last you more than a day of regular usage and at least a full day of heavy gaming.

However, it depends on how you use the device as it can drain the battery quickly if you turn on the data, crank up the brightness and play a heavy game title like Apex Legends. The phone also supports 65W fast charging, which will take your phone from 0-100% in just 42 minutes according to Asus’ claims. And to be fair, was only slightly longer in a real world setting.

But the phone lacks wireless charging and other fancy features that will make you buy it. However, if you’re a gamer, you’ll be well satisfied with the phone’s battery life.

Pricing and release date

The phone is around £1,100 in price and it was first released on 13 July. However, due to the popular games coming out, the device has been getting increasingly popular due to what it is capable of – meaning stock is in and out…

Final verdict

All in all, the ROG Phone 6 Pro will handle anything you throw at it. It does everything that a normal phone does but it has its twists of its own to cement itself as the last word in modern gaming smartphones.

In the end, if you’re a hardcore gamer and want an all-in-one solution with a fairly decent camera, performance without compromise and a beautiful screen, the 6 Pro is the way to go.