ASUS ROG Phone 5 – Reviewed

ASUS. ASUS ROG Phone. The first time I even heard of this was when I wrote the review for the ROG Phone II in December 2019. Almost two years ago. Here I am, again; this time reviewing the ASUS ROG Phone 5.

Bringing over my experience from the previous review (also conversations with various friends who were well-aware of just the kind of ROG Phone is), I knew that this phone is purely compatible for gaming, gaming and more gaming.

So, let’s get down to business *hums Mulan’s Let’s Get Down to Business*.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 – deets

ASUS has obviously decided that they needed to do better for their gamers and they did!

There are two models for the ROG Phone 5; the base model that retails at SGD$1,499 and the ultimate edition that’s going for SGD$1,799. Pricey? Well-worth the money if you’re a hardcore gamer. Why do I say that you ask? Read on.

The first time I reviewed the ROG Phone II, I was shocked. Flabbergasted. Mind-BLOWN at the price of the phone. Now, I know better than to be shooketh (do the young’uns even use that anymore? Sis old, ugh). Anyway, moving on.

Dimensions: 172.8 x 77.3 x 10.3 mm

Weight: 238g

Screen Size: 6.78″

CPU: 2.84 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform with 5nm, 64-bit Octa-core Processor

RAM: 12GB/256GB

Camera: Main rear camera (64MP SONY IMX686 sensor) + Second Rear Camera (13MP, 125° ultrawide camera) + Third Rear Camera (5MP Macro) + Front Camera (24MP)

Battery: 6000mAh

First Impressions

My first thought when I saw the box was, woohoo! Although I loved the aesthetic of the ROG Phone II box, I have to admit that I had so, much, trouble taking the phone out of the box. Then, there was also the issue of me fearing for my life cause, sis clumsy yes? Sis drop phone how? Sis d-i-e issit?

The simple black box that opened up to show this immensely cool comic strip had me squealing, “Look, look, look!” to my husband. I was also extremely happy to not be so nervous whilst handling this expensive phone.

Moving on to the weight of the phone. Is it heavy? Not really no. You do feel the difference but I don’t feel that it’s a ‘chonk’. Considering its CPU and hardware and what is inside, there has to be some weight in it. I’m using a Samsung Galaxy S20+ and while the ROG Phone 5 is slightly longer, you would still be able to use it one-handed. I wouldn’t say that the ROG Phone 5 is bigger cause it kinda fits the same way my phone fits in my hand.

As always, the ASUS ROG Phone 5 has that sleek-looking, futuristic look of a gaming phone. But, mmm, looking back at my review in 2019, I gotta say that the design looks super similar. This is the fourth edition to the ROG Phone (fun-fact, the company skipped the ‘4’ altogether due to the Chinese superstition that the number “4” is unlucky since it sounds similar to ‘death’ in Mandarin), so I kind of expected that ROG would come up with a new design. Seeing that I have seen their gaming laptop designs, the uber-cool CPU; maybe they should rock the boat and come up with a new design this time round instead of sticking to the tried-and-true.

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The Performance

So, y’all ready for the results of the tests? Cause I gotta admit, this mama was speechless when she saw the results.

Let’s start with PCMark.

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As you can see, the phone does last quite a long while (almost 10hours to be exact) and comparing the score to the ROG Phone II, it is higher. Almost a 20% increase to be exact. The reason why I’m comparing it to ROG Phone II and not the ROG Phone 3 is because, sis didn’t review that yeah. Sis busy puking that time so sis said no to my EIC lolol.

A little more detailed results from the PCMark test.

Moving on the results from 3DMark. Oooo boy, hold on to your seats people cause the results are hella wild. Remember, ASUS ROG Phone 5 is a gaming. It is supposed to be for gaming. Specially for gaming. So the results, oh man.

So the Sling Shot Extreme.

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MAXED. OUT. Graphics – maxed. Physics – maxed. Overall? MAXED.

Yeah, okay sure. We’ll do the Wild Life test based on your recommendation.

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Wild Life concluded that the ROG Phone 5 basically outperforms 97% of phones. 97 is basically closer to 100 than 90. But even 90 would be hella alot. But of course, there’s that little result where based on the same test for the same model, ours performed 60% better than the rest. Wonder why, hmm?

Daily usage. Scrolling through social media aka IG, FB, Twitter and, my latest obsession, Tik-Tok was breeze. Not that it wasn’t with my other phones but it’s smooth. I can’t really say much bad things about it because there was no lag. The sound is great, super loud at times but still acceptable. Images were clear too.

Speaking of images, there was one thing that I didn’t like about the ROG Phone II and that was the pictures in night mode. The picture in ROG Phone II came out super grainy and sis was not impressed. So I decided to try again and, yeah… I’m so sorry ASUS but still not impressed.

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The sunset was awe-inspiring today so I took the chance. Hate to say it, but damn. The quality is ugh. Whyyyyyy ASUS???

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Gameplay

Again, I took a two-minute recording of the gameplay. I tried Call of Duty: Mobile on the ROG Phone 5, similar to what I tried on ROG Phone II.

I might not be a gamer, still a noob two years on, but I knew that the FPS really changed the whole ball-game. The graphics were also really clear and vibrant; you could also say that it was detailed.

The sound effects was loud; the husband could hear me playing from inside the room with the door closed and air-condition switched on lol. There was no sign of heating but, I do assume that eventually there will be with prolonged usage – which is why ASUS came out with the AeroActive Cooler 5.

Also, the moment you switched on the game, the phone will automatically switch over the pre-programmed X-Mode for gaming. That basically amps up the phone performance for all your gaming needs.

The Bottom Line

Again, do I like the phone? Yes. It’s still a yes for me because even though I am *still* a noob, I am now an experienced noob – if that is even a thing. I am not and will not put the ROG Phone 5 down simply because I am a simple, casual phone user who uses her phone mainly for social media and the occasional photo-taking.

In the almost two years of talking to people who are actual gamers, they will most often say that ROG Phones are one of the best gaming phones to have. The ASUS ROG phones is *the* phone when someone participates in gaming competitions and/or is passionate about gaming.

So, if you are a gamer that wants to get a phone for your gaming needs or to upgrade, coming from here, go for it. It’ll set you back a pretty penny but it’ll be worth the price.

TL;DR

ASUS came out with the ROG Phone 5.

The Good:

• The performance in gameplay.
• The X-Mode & X-Mode+ (also the Advanced if you know how to tweak)

The Bad:

• The price

Previously, I mentioned the fact that this was not for a casual user was a bad point but I’m completely taking it out. Again, because this phone is purely gaming. If you’re a casual user, I’m impressed you made it this far. Sis, I would have stopped at the price long ago.

ASUS, you’re a magician with those futuristic design. Maybe a new design for next, yeah?