Cases And Accessories

Asus ROG Cellphone 6 vs Asus ROG Cellphone 5: What’s new and improved in 2022?

Source: Pocketnow

ROG Phone 6 vs ROG Phone 5/5s

CONTENTS CLOSE

The Asus ROG Phone 6 comes with improvements that help extend its lead into the gaming phone market. There are improvements and features that add to the experience it provides, and in this article, we will be going through the changes made since the last generation.

In 2022, the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, which featured a RAM upgrade and an exclusive color option, doesn’t have a follow-up, with only a ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro in the lineup; this change is also in line with the mid-cycle refresh seen with the release of ROG Phone 5s and 5s Pro.

design

ROG Phone 5s and 5s Pro

If there’s one thing that hasn’t taken a significant shift in these models over the year is their design language. The ROG Phone 6 series remains highly similar in dimensions to its predecessors, with the angular segments still being a significant part of the look. Flipping around to the front of the phone will showcase the stereo speakers and the expansive display.

POCKET NOW VIDEO OF THE DAY

The back of the two phones show some differences, but the RGB logos on ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 5/5s serve similar functions. The ROG Phone 6 Pro also features a redesigned POLED display, but the functionality remains the same.

Source: Pocket Now | Original image by Asus

But one significant difference with the design this time is that the ROG Phone 6 has an IP rating, it’s only IPX4, but it does add a little peace of mind.

As for ports, users can find a 3.5mm headphone and USB-C along the bottom. And like in ROG Phone fashion, the left-hand side features the primary USB-C connector. The power button, volume rockers, and air triggers are on the right side. This is common to ROG Phone 5, 5s, and ROG Phone 6.

screen

ROG Phone 5

All phones from ROG Phone 5, 5s, and 6 series feature a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel made by Samsung, boasting a Delta E value that is less than one. They also have Gorilla Glass Victus protection to keep scratches off your playing surface. As for refresh rates, all models here can refresh frames above 120Hz. ROG Phone 5 and 5s are capped at 144Hz, while the ROG Phone 6 ups the ante to 165Hz.

To point toward another difference between these displays. While the touch latency here is a low of 24.3ms, the touch sampling rate has consistently improved between the generations. ROG Phone 5 had a touch sampling rate of 300Hz, ROG Phone 5s marginally increased this to 360Hz, and ROG Phone 6 doubled it to 720Hz.

The improvements made this year mean the screen will continue to offer a playing experience that’s fluid, bright, and highly enjoyable. The increased touch sampling rate means the panel is more likely to notice your fingers tracking across from one point to another as you make quick movements in intense titles.

performance

Source: Pocketnow

Coming to performance, Asus has again chosen to go with Qualcomm’s hardware for handling the processing requirements on its gaming phone. The ROG Phone 5 series shipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, and the ROG Phone 5s improved it with the 888+, while the ROG Phone 6 makes a substantial leap by choosing the 8 Plus Gen 1. The new processor promises a significant upgrade and increases in efficiency while prioritizing thermal performance.

In terms of percentages, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 already provides a 15% CPU improvement and 30% efficiency improvement over the 8 Gen 1, and the 8 Gen 1 itself offered 10% better performance than the Snapdragon 888.

All in all, the ROG Phone 6 series can provide about a 20% to 25% improvement. Reviews have also indicated the phone features significantly better thermal performance, which makes holding it for long gaming sessions a breeze.

As for RAM and ROM, the base 8GB RAM model is still available for ROG Phone 6, alongside storage options going up to 512GB — this was missing on ROG Phone 5, though the 5s did add it. For the ROG Phone 6 Pro, like with the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate and ROG Phone 5s Pro, users can only choose the 18GB RAM and 512GB ROM SKU. The ROG Phone 5 Pro, a model which seems to have disappeared from Asus’ websites, was capped at 16GB of RAM.

Redesigned Cooling System on ROG Phone 6 Source: Asus

It is common for many users to turn their attention to the added convenience a smartphone brings to their user experience once they’ve understood the performance and visuals that have been brought to the table. With the ROG Phone lineup, the extras cater to the gaming crowd, with triggers built into the frame and unique cooling systems that aim to avoid any thermal throttling.

Speaking about the buttons first, the ROG Phone 6 series brings Air Triggers 6 to the smartphone’s frame. The OEM says the primary upgrades this year are better sensitivity and positioning for the hardware. Air Triggers were also present on the ROG Phone 5 and 5s. But the Pro models from the last generation — 5 Pro, 5 Ultimate, and 5s Pro — featured additional buttons via touch-sensitive areas that are missing this year.

Next up, a major concern for many with the Snapdragon 888 SoC was the heating tendency it showcased on the ROG Phone 5. With the ROG Phone 6, not only has the OEM chosen a processor that seems to deal with thermal throttling but it revamped the interior of the smartphone to better transmit the heat to the outside — it implements multiple graphite sheets, a redesigned vapor chamber, and a compound to this effort.

cameras

Source: Pocketnow

Now, while we understand that cameras aren’t of primary importance on gaming smartphones, for users looking for that all-round experience, the optics of the situation do matter.

On ROG Phone 6, Asus has opted to switch the 64MP IMX686 to the 50MP IMX766. The other two lenses, the 13MP Ultrawide and 5MP Macro, remain unchanged. The front camera also changes to a 12MP Sony IMX 663 from the 24MP sensor.

The new camera is an upgrade on paper and a marginal improvement over what was previously offered in terms of imaging quality. The ISP of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 is also bound to make a difference.

batteries

Source: ASUS

And lastly, we touch upon the batteries for these phones. The total capacity available to users is a massive 6000 mAh enabled by the split 3000 mAh cells. The charging speed remains at 65W, but some changes made within the hardware allow the latest generation to charge a lot faster. Asus says the ROG Phone 6 series can go from 0 to 100% in 42 minutes. The previous generation took closer to an hour.

verdict

Overall, the ROG Phone 6 is surely a great addition to the gaming phone series and promises a tier of stability that’s hard to beat. If you’ve been eyeing a gaming phone for those sessions with zero compromise, ROG Phone 6 is an easy device to recommend. The gains made in terms of performance and thermals are significant to consider this device over its predecessor.

ROG Phone 6

ROG Phone 5

ROG Phone 5s

ROG Phone 6 Pro

ROG Phone 5s Pro

Related Articles