Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro review

Competition

The ROG Phone line is a lot of things to different people, but it has never been cheap and affordable. To be fair, pricing, especially including optional accessorizing within the now significantly smaller ecosystem, has been coming down to more reasonable levels. Still, the ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro are very much luxury products.

Left to right: ROG Phone 3 • ROG Phone 6 Pro • ROG Phone 5 Pro

The ROG Phone 6 start at €999 in Europe for the base 12GB plus 256GB configuration. The ROG Phone 6 Pro will be only available in one configuration - the 18GB/512GB white model we are reviewing with an MSRP of €1299 (w/ VAT).

If you find yourself considering the ROG Phone 6 Pro, we can already assume that (1) you are after a gaming phone and that (2) money is no object. Well, holding on to the second assumption, let's look into other gaming alternatives starting with the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro. Some of its important highlights include a 6.67-inch, 10-bit, 144Hz, HDR10+ OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe SSD storage, stereo speakers, a potent 108MP main camera and slide-out magnetic physical triggers for game mapping. It costs a lot less than the ROG Phone 6 Pro, but you could also save a bit more and get most of the same experience with the vanilla Black Shark 5 too.

Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro • ZTE nubia Red Magic 7 • Lenovo Legion Y90

Another big name in gaming is ZTE's gaming brand Nubia. Currently, its headliner is the Red Magic 7, which despite its lower price and relative market position, honestly looks like a better deal than the Red Magic 7 Pro. Compared to its sibling, it has a faster 165Hz, 6.8-inch, 10-bit AMOLED display and better battery endurance, despite its smaller battery. Other than that, it is also rocking a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset with up to 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, stereo speakers, programmable gaming capacitive triggers, and an internal fan.

Lenovo has a challenger in the ring as well in the Legion Y90. The Legion line is a bit newer to the market and still lacks the kind of pedigree some of its rivals have, but that shouldn't reflect poorly on the device itself. We haven't reviewed the Y90, though, so we don't have any first-hand experience to share.

Our verdict

Not a lot has changed going from the ROG Phone 5s to the new ROG Phone 6/6 Pro. There is the mandated chipset change to the latest and greatest Qualcomm has to offer and a few specs touch-ups here and there, plus a newfound IPX4 ingress protection rating. Fundamentally, the core formula hasn't changed, and that's arguably a good thing.

Even with stiffening competition in the realm, we maintain that ASUS remains king of the mobile gaming hill. Granted, the once fantastic accessory ecosystem is but a shadow of its former glory, but other than that, the sheer laser focus on gaming is ever so impressive.

The ROG Phone 6 Pro leverages some of the best possible hardware in a unique way, optimizing everything from low-level integration to high-level software for the best possible gaming experience. The flexibility and number of tuning options on offer are still unmatched, and so is the versatility of the in-depth control mapping and macro system.

Honestly, the ROG Phone 6 Pro has very few shortcomings. There is the arguably inferior thermal management compared to previous generations that sort of necessitates the additional purchase of the AeroActive Cooler 6. And then there is also the modest camera setup compared to any 2022 flagship.

And that leads us to price. Starting at €999 for a base ROG Phone 6 and €1299 for the ROG Phone 6 Pro, we are looking at a device that rubs shoulders with the best of them. Luckily, beyond its gaming prowess, the ROG Phone 6 Pro is also a very well-rounded device with one of the best displays and audio setups around and a truly amazing battery life. In that sense, maybe it can even compete with the Galaxy S22's and iPhone 13's of the world. Whether or not that's a fair competition in your view is an entirely personal stance. As it currently stands, the ROG Phone 6 Pro gets two thumbs up from us, and we'll leave it at that.

Pros

• Toned-down, but still ROG-inspired gamer's design with great build quality. White variant now widely available.
• IPX4 certified body - first on a gaming phone.
• AirTigger 6 ultrasonic touch sensors remain industry-leading, are very precise and versatile. Motion controls are extended and improved from last gen.
• Simplified side port is now just a regular Type-C port - major durability improvement over last gen.
• Industry-leading stereo speaker performance, complete with gaming-specific sound tweaks.
• One of the best around 10-bit, HDR10+, AMOLED screen, 165Hz refresh rate.
• Amazing battery life, even at full 165Hz. Rich battery health prolonging options. Very fast charging (65W charger bundled).
• Fastest-available Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
• Great Android implementation, an unparalleled number of game tweaks, control-mapping and performance options.
• Solid daylight photos, as well as low-light images. Impressive selfie quality.
• Very good video quality, impressive EIS.

Cons

• Available accessory ecosystem is not as wide as for older models.
• AeroActive Cooler 6 does not come bundled.
• Thermal management is not as good as on the older ROG Phone 5/5s. AeroActive Cooler 6 is now required to make the most of the available hardware.
• Rather basic camera setup, compared to typical 2022 flagships. 8K video recording is capped at 24fps.