The ROG Phone 5 brilliantly lets you control the battery and handful of different ways. You can set limits for how much of the battery charges, choose slow charging speeds and even schedule when it charges. One of the cooler features is something we also saw last year on the Sony Xperia 5 II. If you’re gaming and plugged into power, the ROG Phone 5 will run on power from the cable instead of charging the battery. This prevents the phone from getting warmer which can affect gaming performance. 

Like

• Amazing battery life

• 144Hz display

• Numerous controls for charging and performance

• Ultimate edition with ROG Vision display

Don’t Like

• Weight: It’s a heavy phone

• Cameras don’t live up to the rest of the phone

• US price is unknown, so it’s not clear if the phone is worth it

What do you do if you have a powerful gaming phone to review? You game. I played driving games, war games, problem-solving games, zombie games, vertical games and a weird silent movie game. Sometimes I played games with the fan attached and other times I used the nifty Kunai 3 Gamepad accessory, which Asus sells separately.

But it isn’t all fun and games with the Asus ROG Phone 5. There are some drawbacks. The ROG phone 5 is heavy. It weighs more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and last year’s ROG Phone 3. The ROG Phone 5 is the heaviest phone I’ve ever tested. And after a long bout of gaming, you feel that weight. Even more so when you add a case or a fan or the gamepad accessory.

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Asus ROG Phone 5 models

Phone	Price	RAM	Storage	AeroActive Cooler 5	Lighting
Asus ROG Phone 5	799 euros	8GB	128GB	None	RGB logo
Asus ROG Phone 5	899 euros	12GB	256GB	None	RGB logo
Asus ROG Phone 5	999 euros	16GB	256GB	None	RGB logo
Asus ROG Phone 5 Pro	1,099 euros	16GB	512GB	Included	Vision display color
Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate	1,299 euros	18GB	512GB	Included	Vision display black and white

Battery tests on the ROG Phone 5 for continuous video playback on Airplane mode clocked an average of 20 hours, 15 minutes and that was with the screen locked in at 120Hz. With the screen refresh rate set to auto, it averaged a time of 28 hours, 4 minutes. The longest time for any phone we tested this year and the second longest time for any phone in the past few years (just behind the LG V60).
Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate

144Hz screen and the longest battery life we tested

Asus ROG Phone 5
Asus ROG Phone 5 CNET Mobile
Asus ROG Phone 5

ROG Phone 5 has even more touch game controls

Asus ROG Phone 3

The ROG Phone 5 is heavy and cameras are mediocre

The ROG is capable of shooting up to 8K resolution at 30 frames per second, but the story was the same as photos. Take a look at the video below of video I shot with the ROG Phone 5. I wish Asus took advantage of all the power it has from the processor, RAM and GPU to help the ROG phones take better photos.
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Perhaps the biggest change this year is that there are three new ROG phones instead of just one. There’s the regular ROG Phone 5 with the ’80s punk vibe. Then there’s the ROG Phone 5 Pro that comes with a detachable fan called the AeroActive Cooler 5. And instead of a logo that lights up, the Pro has the ROG Vision display which is a mini color display strip on the back to show off graphics. It can display alerts and animations for incoming calls, when the battery is charging and more. In fact, you can even make your own custom graphics for the back display. It’s an absolute blast to use and my inner 9-year-old approves.

There isn’t a US price for the ROG Phone 5 yet

There are so many ways to control and interact with the games you play. AirTriggers, which are touch sensors located on the sides of the phone, are even easier to use this year because they’re larger and go edge-to-edge. If you’re using the Pro or Ultimate version, there’s an extra sensor on the back for input. Add the AeroActive Cooler 5 to the phone, and you get the addition of two mini paddle buttons. That said, I noticed a lot of mobile games have simplistic controls. But I imagine having more options for game control mapping will appeal to people who are into esports.
Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate