Asus ROG Phone 7 Review: Does it offer value for money?

May 31, 2023, 08:44 AM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Publish- May 31, 2023, 08:44 AM
Shahriar Rabab
Update- May 31, 2023, 09:09 AM

Asus ROG Phone 7

There was a time when high-end premium flagships served as the best mobile gaming devices. There were no custom gaming-specific smartphones in the market. That all changed with the likes of Razer, Redmagic, and ROG phones. Among several brands, the ROG Phone built up a reputation for being the most comprehensive mobile gaming solution. Asus recently launched the ROG Phone 7 on 13th April on a preorder basis. Here’s everything about the device and why it might be the best gaming smartphone of 2023.

Key Specifications of Asus ROG Phone 7

Design and Build Quality

The design of the ROG Phone 7 is similar to its previous iterations. Just like the ROG laptops, the ROG phones are every bit flashy and eye-catching in their own way.

This year, there is a slight design change on the back. The polygonal camera housing is still the same and as unique as ever. There is a diagonal cut that brings two tones to the back of the phone. The upper part is made to be a see-through portion much like the Nothing Phone 1. Though users won’t see the exact internals, just the graphics. The bottom portion is finished in matte with the RGB ROG eye logo in place. The white and black color variant brings an impressive color array and stunning look to the device.

Its dimensions are 6.81 by 3.03 by 0.41 inches. Being a gaming phone, the ROG 7 is on the heavier side at 239 grams. The device has been stacked with ports and features that would exclusively cater to gamers. The front and the back of the device I protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and Glass 3 respectively. There is a smooth metal frame all around the device complemented by ROG branding. The branding on the two right-side corners also acts as gaming triggers.

There is a headphone jack and a USB Type C port at the bottom with another Type C port on the side. There's also a three-pin port for the accessory mount. Since this is a gaming phone, a charging port on the side makes perfect sense. Here’s a complete list of the mounting options available to the users.

The usual sim tray and color-coded volume and power buttons are carried on from the ROG 6. In essence, the ROG 7 is not much different from the ROG 6 in terms of design, build quality, and accessibility. And it exactly works in favor of the ROG 7.

The Display

The display design on the ROG 7 will not appeal to everyone. There’s a considerable chin on both the bottom and top of the device. But it's completely understandable and even appreciated by gamers as it assists with the horizontal holding of the phone avoiding accidental touches. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

Coming to the specifications of the panel, the display is a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ (1080 by 2448 pixels with 395 ppi density) resolution. The usual 1B color and HDR10+ is here along with the insane 165 Hz refresh rate. The device has a peak brightness of 1500 nits which is more than enough for gaming under the sun.

The display is smooth, crisp, and has excellent touch response. This is what one would expect from a gaming smartphone and the ROG 7 delivers big time.

The Camera

The camera isn’t really a priority in a gaming smartphone. Yet Asus hasn’t completely overlooked the camera performance of the ROG phones. The same capable camera system from the 6 is carried onto the 7.

There’s a 50 MP main sensor with an additional 13 MP ultrawide and 5 MP macro shooter. The main camera does a decent job of capturing photos in daylight with good details and exposure. Asus has taken full advantage of the powerful processor of the ROG 7 and pushed the videography to up to 8K at 24 fps for the cinematic shots.

There is also a 32 MO front camera for all selfie lovers. Overall, the camera system of the ROG 7 produces passable results. Considering the target demographic of this phone, the camera on the ROG 7 will be more than satisfying.

Asus ROG Phone 7

Processor and Performance

The processor on the Asus ROG Phone 7 is a custom-clocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm processor with Adreno 740 GPU. The customizations on the processor come in the form of tuned performance, parameter tweaks, and advanced cooling systems. These tunings come in the form of Asus’s in-house XMode performance.

That’s not all though, Asus is also going for bespoke tuning this year tailored for each individual game. The early reports suggest that the tunings will come as a rollout basis for the most popular titles upfront.

However, the performance upgrades don’t really translate much in the benchmarks. In all the benchmark testing, the raw processing power of the ROG Phone 7 falls well short of the Samsung S23 series and the iPhone 14 Pro series.

So where is the advantage of the ROG Phone 7? It’s in the sustained performance output. Tests show that ROG Phone 7 does a better job at thermal throttling management compared to the top flagships. Using the AeroActive Cooler 7 will additionally unlock the XMode+ which further optimizes the cooling capabilities of the ROG Phone 7.

The result of all this optimization is phenomenal. Even with prolonged gaming, the device doesn’t heat up that much. There is no performance lag whatsoever and the phone just blazes past every game at the max settings. An hour of PUBG on the ROG Phone 7 with the highest setting only drained about 5% battery without much heating. Similar performance is observed across titles like Genshin Impact, COD, and Asphalt 9.

Overall, the gaming experience on the ROG Phone 7 will be unlike anything out there. It also reiterates that benchmark scores don’t necessarily tell the whole story.

Battery and Charge Time

The battery on the ROG Phone 7 is a 6000 mAh one with 65W fast charging. The higher mAh will not translate to very high battery life, however. With intense gaming, users are looking at around 3 to 4 hours of SoT, and with moderate usage, it might stretch up to 6 hours.

Price of Asus ROG Phone 7

The preorder of the Asus ROG Phone 7 has already opened for India. The price of the base model (12/256 GB) variant is 74,999 INR that roughly translates to about 97,330 BDT (1 INR = 1.30 BDT). However, the official price of ASUS ROG Phone 7 may vary in Bangladesh due to tax and other issues.

Pros and Cons of Asus ROG Phone 7

Pros:

- Gamer-dedicated features like AirTrigger, dual Type C port, and ultrasonic touch sensors
- Durable build quality
-Improved camera
- Gorgeous display.

Cons:

- Limited accessory options
- Need the additional AeroActive Cooler 7 to unlock the full potential.

Verdict

The Asus ROG Phone 7 doesn’t bring any significant upgradation from the outgoing ROG Phone 6. The design is a bit more toned down this time with an overall 20% performance boost over the last gen.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 has everything that a mobile gamer could dream of. The dedicated features make it a perfect gaming tool with overall package improvement making it a more streamlined device for standard users as well. Users will get the best there is but they will also have to pay a premium price for it.