Asus on Tuesday unveiled two new gaming phones, the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro, with the latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor and Samsung AMOLED displays capable of running at a 165Hz refresh rate. In addition to the phone, the AeroActive Cooling 6 accessory clipped to the wire claims to reduce the temperature on the back of the phone by up to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit), while including tactile shoulder buttons.
Both phones also include a 6,000 mAh battery that charges 65 watts, and additional sensors that add game control via the phone’s gyroscope and the phone’s corners. They also include a 50-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and 5-megapixel macro camera, respectively. Both phones also include a 12-megapixel front-facing camera.
The main difference between the Standard 6 and 6 Pro is their storage and memory options: the Standard 6 starts with 256GB of storage, and models include 8GB and 12GB of RAM, while the 6 Pro includes 512GB of storage and 18GB of RAM. The Pro also has a second display on the back that can show notifications, system information, and animations. Instead, the 6 gets an LED logo that can be customized to light up in different situations.
Like other gaming phones, these are specs designed to prioritize power and performance in order to get the most out of Android gaming. The battery is particularly notable, with a 6,000mAH capacity on par with last year’s Asus ROG Phone 5. According to CNET reviewer Patrick Holland, the phone has one of the longest battery lives we’ve seen on an Android phone, and it’s done with two 3,000mAh batteries. Last year’s phone also had a very fast 144Hz screen, though, and this year’s faster 165Hz screen could affect how quickly it burns through a charge.
Having a 165Hz screen should also make animations very smooth, especially for games that can support that threshold. When I reviewed the RedMagic 7, which also has a 165Hz refresh rate, I found that since most phones are capped at 120Hz, only some Android games currently support the feature. 120Hz is smooth enough for most people, but for the gaming crowd this phone is aimed at, 165Hz does make what you see more precise.
While we’ll have to wait for the phone to get our hands dirty to see the Snapdragon chips in phones, this latest chip, along with higher refresh rate displays on displays made by Samsung, is interesting because they could both end up in more mainstream phones eventually.
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