Asus ROG Phone 7
The Asus ROG Phone 7 may not be the apex predator, but it still has a formidable payload including a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a feature-packed 6.78-inch screen, and a large 6,000mAh battery.The gaming-centric design not only looks the part, but also provides great haptic shoulder buttons and an efficient cooling system for demanding playing sessions.
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate offers everything the regular model does, and then some. It has the same core specs as the other phone (though packs more storage and RAM by default) but also adds in a dedicated cooling vent and a customisable mini-display on the rear.
If you’re in the market for one of thebest Android phones for gaming, chances are Asus’s ROG Phone 7, or its more capable and expensive sibling theROG Phone 7 Ultimate, has already crossed your radar. There’s a reason ROG stands for Republic of Gamers, after all, as gaming devices are Asus’s avowed specialty.
The Phone 7 is a powerful little package with specs that would make some tablets (and even laptops) blush, but is it worth the price spike to upgrade to the Ultimate version, or are you better off settling for one of the standard, vanilla SKUs?
Price, availability, and specs
You may notice that I said SKUs, plural, when referring to the vanilla version of the ROG Phone 7. That’s because, slightly confusingly, Asus offers not only the vanilla and ultimate versions of the Phone 7, but a slightly more capable version of the vanilla model that acts as a sort of middle choice between the two extremes.
The default ROG Phone 7 model packs 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and is currently available for $1,000. The higher spec version is $1,100, but bumps the phone up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
The Ultimate version, on the other hand, clocks in at a hefty $1,400 for a model with the same 16GB RAM and 512GB storage as the more powerful regular ROG.
Here’s a breakdown of how both phones attempt to justify their very serious price tags:
The design of either phone doesn’t vary too wildly, with one important exception.
While they both weigh in at an identical 239g and share the same 6.78-inch display (and are both rated at IP54 dust and water resistance), the Ultimate version of the phone features a flashy little LED screen on the rear of the phone.
It’ll flash little visual notifications of things like incoming calls or texts, or can be configured to show the current charge level. While at first it may seem like a purely cosmetic consideration, its actual functionality is quite welcome when you want to check the status of your phone or notifications at a glance.
One slightly off-putting quirk of the Ultimate is that, while the vanilla phone is available in either Storm White or Phantom Black, the Ultimate version is only available in the white color. While it’s an attractive design, this may be a dealbreaker for committed goths or edge lords in the Android gaming community.
Both phones have the signature pressure sensitive shoulder bumpers, a boon for gamers that don’t want to attach a third party controller to their tiny smartphone.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the $400 price difference between the two models, the screens of both are also identical. As previously mentioned, they both measure 6.78-inches diagonally, and both are 1080p AMOLED screens with a very gaming-friendly 165hz refresh rate, meaning most games will look silky smooth.
Though an FHD resolution is a little underwhelming, especially given the price point and the higher resolutions of competing phone’s displays, it does mean less battery drain, and on a screen measuring under seven inches, it’s certainly crisp enough.
The touch screen is also highly responsive, rated at 720Hz, important given how many Android games lean heavily into touch controls or onscreen, virtual controllers.
Software and performance
At the heart of both phones is the impressive and energy efficientSnapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s a very capable chipset that’s more than able to handle even the most demanding Android games, and it won’t drain your battery in record time running them.
The most important difference in terms of performance, and arguably the most crucial difference between the three versions of the phone overall, is the variation in memory and storage. The lower spec vanilla ROG Phone 7 packs 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of storage, while both the higher spec vanilla ROG Phone 7 and the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate come with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. While it hardly justifies the $400 price bump of the Ultimate, it certainly makes the case that upgrading to the higher tier vanilla option makes sense.
On the software side, both phones have full access to the Google Play store, as you’d expect, but both also come preloaded with Asus’s own Armoury Crate. While not a necessity, it’s hardly bloatware either. Rather, it’s a handy little all-in-one piece of monitoring software combined with a game launcher, and includes everything from an audio equalizer to a performance manager.
Tangentially related to performance, there’s the absolutely buckwild AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory, compatible with both the vanilla and Ultimate phones. It’s essentially a fan module that you strap to the back of your phone, and while it’s as bulky as it sounds, it also includes a built-in subwoofer and four physical buttons, so it actually makes your phone (in landscape mode) feel more like a proper gaming controller.
While it’s not a necessity, as both phones include GameCool 7, a combination of boron nitride thermal compound, a vapor chamber, and graphite sheets to disperse heat, it actually manages to move out of the gimmick realm to genuinely useful status, and even includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C port.
Asus claims that the additional cooling can improve thermal efficiency of either phone by up to 20%, with extra benefits for the Phone 7 Ultimate because it includes the ‘AeroActive Portal’, a small vent on the phone’s rear that can open up to allow the cooler direct access to the phone’s heatsink.
Battery and charging
Both phones boast impressive (and identical) 6,000mAh batteries, offering up to two days of usage even under demanding circumstances on a full charge. Both also come with speedy 65W chargers, which can max out a charge in just 42 minutes from empty. However, neither the vanilla nor Ultimate version support wireless charging.
Another arena where both phones are identical, the cameras on the ROG Phone 7, while certainly very respectable, are clearly not a central focus for Asus.
There’s a 50MP main sensor, a 13MP ultrawide and 5MP macro camera on the reverse, and a 32 MP front facing camera. While these are fairly in line with modern low- or mid-range smartphones, they don’t compare against similarly priced flagships like theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, with its 200MP main sensor.
It’s clear that Asus has prioritized performance and gaming specs above cameras, though at this price point I’d like to see at least an upgraded main sensor, if not a fully upgraded camera suite.
Which is right for you?
Given how little difference there is between the higher spec vanilla ROG Phone 7 and the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, and given that there is a very significant $300-400 price increase for the Ultimate, the more expensive model is very difficult to recommend.
That said, if you can afford to do so, I strongly recommend opting for the higher spec vanilla phone; doubling the storage is enough to justify the additional $100 spend by itself, and you also get 4GB more RAM thrown into the mix, which goes a ways towards future-proofing the phone for more demanding future gaming releases.
All the power you could ask for
If you’re a serious Android gamer, the Asus ROG Phone 7 is a worthwhile (though hefty) investment. It packs an excellent AMOLED screen, powerful internals to maximize performance, and a fascinating cooling system that includes an exterior mounted fan/subwoofer/controller. If you may, opt for the higher of the two vanilla specs, which packs 4GB of additional RAM and doubles the storage to 512GB for $100 more.
With the primary differentiator being the tiny LED display on the rear of the Ultimate, it’s hard to make the case that there’s $300 more hardware in the Ultimate than the more capable of the vanilla SKUs (or, for that matter, that there’s a $400 difference between the Ultimate and the basic vanilla option). Still, if you’ve got money to burn and want the best of the best, this is it.
Form over function
While the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is undeniably a powerhouse for Android gamers, there’s just not enough here to justify that steep price increase over the vanilla version (either $400 from the base model or $300 more than the upgraded SKU). Unless you strongly value the neat little LED display on the rear of the Ultimate, my recommendation is to save yourself some cash and opt for the upgraded vanilla Phone 7.
