Discover this incredible device that promises a new smartphone experience. See if the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is really all that.
ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is Asus' new premium gaming phone launched in the Brazilian market in July 2023. The top-of-the-line Android specs feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.
Running heavy games like Call of Duty Mobile is no problem for this phone, which the brand claims is the fastest smartphone in the world. Unsurprisingly, the ROG 7 was named by Antutu as the second best-performing Android device, after Nubia's Red Magic 8 Pro+. However, all that firepower comes at a very high price. The smartphone's recommended launch price was R$11,999. But is it worth investing all that in a gaming phone? See below.
Design
If the product presentation alone is enough to catch users' attention, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate shows what's important in terms of design. This phone is especially appealing to those who like gamer aesthetics in electronics. In addition to the large 6.78-inch screen, the Asus phone arouses curiosity with its appearance that imitates a spaceship. The main body has multiple cutouts imitating steel plates and a watermark pattern representing a space theme.
The aluminum case of this item also features “ROG” (Republic of Gamers, Asus’ seal for products of this type) and a “7” stamped on it. Regarding the appearance, it is also very important to highlight the color display on the back – ROG Vision.
ROG Vision is responsible for providing information in a more practical way and making your phone look like a more capable gaming device. For example, this feature can display battery status, notifications and even user-customized messages. All of this can be set through a very easy-to-use internal app called Armoury Crate. ROG Phone measures 173mm long and 10.3mm wide, making it similar in size to rivals like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's true that it's a large phone, so it might be difficult for people with small hands to use it. However, given its purpose of functioning as a virtual hybrid between a handheld console and a mobile console, this size is fully justified.
The only downside to the design is that with the cooler attached, it can be even harder to hold the phone firmly in your hand.
Screen
Another element that will catch the eye of those who pick up the phone for the first time is the AMOLED display, which has up to 1,500 nits of brightness and offers vibrant and bright colors. By default, the ROG Phone comes preset with a black background wallpaper, and it’s interesting to see how these specific parts essentially “turn black” when the user moves the phone. This technology definitely helps to create a very good contrast that clearly reminds the phone that it is part of the premium line.
Camera game
Before we talk about the camera itself, let's get one thing straight: when you buy a phone like the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, you don't buy it with photography in mind. But overall, the system is satisfactory and worthy of a gaming phone camera that doesn't focus on photography. There are three lenses in total: a 50MP main lens with a Sony IMX766 sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 5MP macro lens. The front-facing resolution is 32MP.
Gaming experience and performance
Now we get to the heart of this review and the main reason to buy the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate: performance. And of course, the first point that stands out on the phone is the already mentioned AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 165 Hz, which smooths out any animation on the phone. Whether you're browsing your Instagram feed or playing Call Of Duty, the ease and comfort of each command is the same.
However, the screen becomes more interesting during games, as the touch sensor responds at 720 Hz and there is no input lag. In fact, according to ASUS, this is the smartphone with the best response time on the market. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate can also offer this experience, thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, one of the latest products in Qualcomm's powerful line. Combined with 16 GB of RAM, the phone's processing power is so high that running heavy games is no longer a challenge.
Battery
Despite all its firepower, people reading this review might think that the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s battery is its “Achilles heel.” In fact, the phone can run autonomously for about 5 hours at maximum performance. That’s not bad considering heavy multiplayer games like Call of Duty Mobile. But thankfully, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s battery is just as good as the rest of the phone. With a capacity of 6,000 mAh, this component ensures that your phone will last even under moderate use. In tests that included social media use and video watching, it took about two days to fully discharge. It spent the night with less than 20% of charge and woke up in the morning with the same charge. In other words, battery is not a concern.
