Asus is now the one firm nonetheless promoting cumbersome, highly effective, devoted gaming telephones in India. The ROG Phone 7 sequence arrives proper on time, with the newest flagship Qualcomm SoC, exhibiting that the Taiwanese big continues to be dedicated to creating enhancements whilst its rivals have fallen again. However, is a gaming telephone nonetheless related in 2023, and would you be happier with a extra mainstream telephone that is rather less highly effective however much more inexpensive and simpler to hold?
If you are accustomed to any of the earlier Asus ROG Phone fashions, you will see that the corporate has saved to its components by way of design and options. There’s nothing utterly new or disruptive right here. Two variations have been launched – the usual ROG Phone 7, and the ROG 7 Ultimate which has extra RAM and storage, a small PMOLED show on the again and a vent that may bodily open for higher cooling (extra on this later). The Ultimate unit is available in a extra elaborate field, and the AeroActive Cooler 7 is included. It’s additionally out there solely in a silvery-white matte glass end, whereas the usual ROG Phone 7 is available in Storm White and Phantom Black.
While the bottom Asus ROG Phone 7 mannequin is priced at Rs. 74,999 in India, the Ultimate model prices a whopping Rs. 99,999. The AeroActive Cooler 7 by itself will price Rs. 6,999. Buyers can register their curiosity beginning at present, although items will solely go on sale on an unspecified date in May 2023.
Both variations have the similar core specs and dimensions. At 239g, the ROG Phone 7 is cumbersome, however surprisingly a hair lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max and simply 5g heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, so it is in the identical ballpark as different flagship telephones. The 10.4mm thickness can also be inside purpose. However, you won’t discover both of those variants as comfy in day-to-day-use. Having hung out with a number of earlier ROG Phone fashions, I can let you know that they are not very handy to hold round in a pocket and even simply studying or typing for an prolonged interval can get fatiguing.
The borders across the display are fairly thick by at present’s mainstream requirements however because of this there is not any notch or gap for the entrance digital camera, and also you get twin front-firing audio system for balanced stereo sound. Just like final 12 months’s variations, the ROG Phone 7 sequence all have 6.78-inch screens with a 1080×2448-pixel decision, 165Hz most refresh price and 720Hz most contact sampling price. What’s new is a 1500nit peak brightness and auto HDR conversion.
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (above) has a PMOLED show on the rear to show animations and alerts.
As anticipated, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with its built-in Adreno 740 GPU is the SoC that powers the ROG Phone 7 sequence, and in the event you’re paying this a lot for a gaming telephone you’d anticipate the newest and best. The customary ROG Phone 7 has 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage, whereas the Ultimate model has 16GB and 512GB respectively. There are two 3000mAh battery items, which Asus says makes for faster charging and improved warmth dissipation. 65W USB-PD quick charging is supported, although for some purpose you solely get a 30W charger within the field. There’s no wi-fi charging. For connectivity, Wi-Fi 7 is supported.
There’s Gorilla Glass Victus on the entrance and Gorilla Glass 3 on the again. Both ROG Phone 7 fashions have the identical IP54 score however that does not apply for the Ultimate when the cooling vent on the again is open.
That vent is supposed to permit the AeroActive Cooler 7, a somewhat massive clip-on fan attachment, to interface bodily with the telephone’s cooling system to conduct warmth out of its physique. Using it’s mentioned to drop the rear panel temperature by as much as 25 p.c, that too fairly quickly. The attachment additionally has a bunch of RGB LEDs, a small subwoofer, and 4 bodily set off buttons.
The AeroActive Cooler 7 is included with the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate however not with the bottom mannequin.
So what units the ROG Phone 7 other than different gadgets with the identical high-end {hardware}? For one, it is the gamer-centric design, which prioritises issues like front-firing audio system and extremely efficient cooling over lowering weight. You additionally get devoted “AirTrigger” sensors on the body which line up along with your forefingers, to behave as bodily controls in video games. Like with its predecessors, there is a second USB Type-C port on one facet so you possibly can cost your telephone whereas gaming.
Moreover, there are many software program tweaks, letting you do issues like program the AirTriggers and create macros, apply game-specific UI themes, select a efficiency preset, and fine-tune graphics and different {hardware} parameters. An overlay can present you efficiency stats in addition to estimated battery life. The ROG Phone 7 sequence introduces vibration mapping and computerized clip recording when sure enter sequences are detected.
On the draw back, Asus cannot promise that the ROG Phone 7’s cameras will match these of at present’s extra widespread premium Android telephones at this worth. The principal digital camera relies on a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor, and also you get solely primary 13-megapixel ultra-wide and 8-megapixel macro cameras. There’s a 32-megapixel entrance digital camera.
The ROG Phone 7 fashions actually aren’t for everybody. They solely make sense for many who worth gaming efficiency above all else. If you are extraordinarily aggressive, like having the ability to play video games comfortably for lengthy hours, and if you’ll use the triggers and software program tweaks, you might be Asus’ audience. At these costs, you can purchase a really succesful and slick trendy flagship Android gadget and even an iPhone. However, in the event you’re the sort to spend a couple of lakhs on gaming laptop computer and improve your desktop PC each few years, the ROG Phone 7’s worth will not really feel like such a stretch.
