ROG Phone 5s – Gaming Phone Refined

ASUS ROG Cellphone 5s is a monster of a gaming cellphone.

Hey ho, GM received the prospect for one more ROG cellphone evaluation, beforehand the ROG Cellphone 2. This time, the ROG Cellphone 5s, generously offered by ASUS Malaysia. Sure, these phrases at first are the compressed impression of ROG Cellphone 5s. The gaming cellphone scene is sort of outlined now, with gadgets that includes flagship specs with gamer-centric options.

Unboxing

Within the field, you get the cellphone unit, a braided and high-quality USB-C to C cable, a 65W charger and trendy Aerocase. Additionally some notable extras like ROG sim ejection instrument, ROG stickers and spare rubber port covers. The field has some AR-enabled graphics which can be scannable with the digicam throughout first-time setup with shifting comedian of a cyberpunk samurai. Don’t fear, you possibly can take pleasure in it once more later utilizing the pre-installed Armory Crate app.

Specs and Construct High quality

Full specs may be obtained from ASUS web site right here.

• Show: 6.78″ 20.4:9 (2448p x 1080p) 144 Hz / 1 ms Samsung E4 AMOLED. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, Delta-E < 1 10-bit HDR10+
• Chipset: Snapdragon 888+ 5G @2.99GHz / Adreno 660 GPU
• RAM: 8GB to 16GB (18GB for Professional) LPDDR5
• Storage: 128GB to 256GB (512GB for Professional) UFS 3.1 non-expandable storage
• Battery: 6000mAh Li-Po / 65W HyperCharge / QuickCharge 5.0 / USB PD
• Connectivity: Twin Nano Sim with twin 5G standby / 1x USB Sort-C 2.0 + 1x USB Sort-C 3.1 / WiFi: 802.11 ax / Bluetooth 5.2 / NFC
• Digital camera: 64MP Sony IMX686 Sensor + 13MP Ultrawide + 24MP entrance + 5MP macro
• Audio: Twin front-facing 7-magnet audio system + Cirrus Logic amp / 4 microphones with noise cancellation / 3.5mm headphone out with ESS DAC / AudioWizard with Dirac Audio tuning
• Misc: Underneath-display fingerprint reader / ultrasonic sensors for Air Triggers and Grip Press / accent connector

The ROG Cellphone 5s screams high quality the second you maintain it. Glass back and front with aluminium body simply exudes premium aura and rightly justify the flagship value. In comparison with earlier ROG Cellphone, the 5s is extra smoothed out, much less gamery, much less garish however with touches of aptitude that also says “hey, gaming cellphone amirite?”

That is additionally an enormous boi cellphone. Measuring at 172.8 mm x 77.3 mm x 9.9 mm and weighing in at 238 grams, it feels substantial to carry and pocket. Getting aftermarket case will certainly bump the scale even additional and until you bought deeper pocket or a bag/purse, be able to have downside sitting comfortably with out taking it out of pocket.

The ROG Cellphone 5s sports activities a wonderful E4 AMOLED panel made by Samsung. Decision of FHD+ 2448×1080 is dense for display screen 6.78 inch and with 10-bit HDR10+, contents like motion pictures and video games simply pop with vivid colours.

Not solely color-accurate, clean high-refresh panel too. Refresh charge is selectable from 60, 120 and 144Hz or simply put it on Auto and let the cellphone resolve. One choice missing is a 90Hz setting. Why 60Hz to 120Hz bounce is unknown to me, perhaps ASUS can deal with this in future replace, hmm?

Entrance glass is made with Gorilla Glass Victus which is claimed to be extra shatter resistant than earlier era, and Gorilla Glass 3 on the again. Gracing the rear glass is an ROG brand product of RGB LED that may be custom-made to mild up on completely different situations like calls and X Mode. Seeing the again brand lit up is certainly neat-o. As at all times, glass can and can finally break or scratch. Put money into display screen protector and a case for that matter, and fear much less of drop mishaps.

Shipped with Android 11, you’ve 2 forms of skins to select from. ROG-themed skins with customized icons and reactive wallpapers, and near-stock ZenUI pores and skin. Some bloatware pre-installed however simply uninstalled, very a lot appreciated.

Connectivity and Battery

Connectivity is not any slouch both, because the ROG Cellphone 5s is dual-standby 5G and WiFi 6E succesful, with Bluetooth 5.2 and NFC finishing the wi-fi array. Charging and information switch are facilitated by way of USB-C ports, sure, 2 of them in truth. One USB 2.0 velocity on the backside and one other USB-C on the left facet. There’s additionally a 5-pin accent connector for a separate AeroActive cooling module, not supplied with this unit sadly.

Huge 6000mAh battery powers the ROG Cellphone 5s by way of heavy use complete day like a champ. You possibly can simply get 2+ day battery with mild to medium utilization. Charging the monstrous 6000 mAh battery is finished with a 65W HyperCharge energy brick that may qualify as a correct brick, able to juicing up the cellphone to full inside an hour.

Involved about charging temperature and longevity? Fear much less as a result of the battery is a dual-module design and cost in parallel 32W every as a substitute of complete 65W shoved by way of a single battery. For a extra granular battery care choices, Regular Charging all the way down to 18W plus Cost Restrict choice all the way down to 80% most is out there for higher battery well being.

Digital camera

The digicam system of ROG Cellphone 5s is first rate. Triple-cam array of 64MP foremost, 13MP ultra-wide and 5MP macro plus a 24 MP selfie shooter, carry out their job adequately. I took some pattern pictures at night time time with regular mode (left) and night time mode (proper), and the picture processing for night time mode does make picture pop with extra depth and distinction. Splotches of dust and moss on the partitions are extra seen, with sharper trying edges and the lights not overexposed.

The addition of gyro-EIS for video mode makes fast work of getting clean footage. Nonetheless, from my stint with the cameras, high picture high quality will not be a brilliant high-priority right here. For my function, the digicam system is nice however for these searching for high-quality AI computational pictures a’la Pixel and iPhones might need to search Pixel and iPhones as a substitute.

Efficiency

ROG Cellphone 5s is powered by previous-gen top-of-the-line Snapdragon 888+ SoC from Qualcomm. That’s the solely improve the ROG Cellphone 5s lineup has in comparison with the 5, and thus minor efficiency bump. Wholesome mixtures of 8GB to 16GB of RAM plus 128 GB as much as 256 GB of ROM ensures a less-than-worrying efficiency and storage. The storage nevertheless can’t be expanded so that you’re caught with no matter SKU you purchase.

I’ll be sincere right here, speaking efficiency of a gaming cellphone is boring. Everybody know Snapdragon 888+ is a succesful SoC, simply throw something and it’ll run like butter. Sure, that is final gen and barely inferior in opposition to the present flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 however it nonetheless holds the fort.

I examined high-spec video games like Genshin Affect, Apex Legends Cell, Name of Obligation Cell and so on and I can confidently throw mid to excessive settings and get respectable framerates. After all, these AAA high quality video games nonetheless tax the SoC at max settings and requires just a few settings turned all the way down to get 30-60 fps however not numerous compromise wanted. Additionally, being a top-spec SoC means ROG Cellphone 5s is able to high-spec gaming for extra years down the road

In brief, the ROG Cellphone 5s is a flagship in gaming functionality. So do any telephones with an 888+ chip. What makes the ROG Cellphone 5s a “gaming cellphone” are the particular sauces ASUS baked in for excellent gaming expertise.

~The Particular Sauce~

Audio

The function that takes the cake for me is the GameFX audio system. The stereo entrance audio system are, how do I say this, PERFECT. Sure, good. Most likely one THE finest audio system on a cellphone, I daresay even higher than most laptop computer audio system bar the Apple Macbooks. I don’t know the way the engineers did it however boy these tiny cellphone audio system can sing. Stable bass, good mids and highs, and nice soundstage, positioning and layering.

Blasting music from ROG Cellphone 5s is a deal with, I not often used my IEMs and headphones with this as a result of the audio system are THAT good. Jazz beats from my favourite band EGO WRAPPIN’, 80s metropolis pops with some slew of Japanese pop and hiphop are a pleasure to hearken to. Films are additionally fairly immersive with these glorious audio system. Kudos throughout for these wonderful audio system.

There’s additionally a 3.5mm headphone jack! Sure, a flagship 888+ cellphone with a 3.5mm port, I’m not joking. To achieve all these audio greatness, ASUS generously outfitted the cellphone with Sabre ESS and Cirrus Logic DACs and high quality amps for hi-fi grade audio and likewise partnered with Dirac for AudioWizard audio-tuning. You possibly can choose between Music, Recreation or Cinema preset and get completely different sound stage and frequency tuning. There’s additionally an equalizer for extra granular adjustment. As for me, I want to let inventory settings on my audio.

In brief, ASUS pulls no punches in the case of audio grunt of the ROG Cellphone 5s at which I respect tremendously as an audio fanatic. Video games, motion pictures, music, all a deal with by way of the audio system.

Recreation Genie and Further Inputs

ASUS preinstalled sport supervisor Recreation Genie is a superb companion instrument for gaming expertise. A few of the instruments accessible embody X-Mode activation, system monitoring, display screen recording shortcut, notification suppress mode and even crosshair overlay.

My favourite function is Bypass Charging. Because the identify describes, it is going to bypass battery charging and straight energy the machine when activated. The excessive temperature and fixed charge-discharge cycle of plugging in throughout gaming is detrimental to battery well being and this bypass function is the perfect treatment I’ve seen. But it surely’s solely accessible when Recreation Genie is energetic however excellent news is you possibly can add any non-game apps to Recreation Genie and you may take pleasure in this function at any time when the app is launched.

Recreation Genie additionally permits extra enter by way of the ultrasonic Air Set off and movement controls. These inputs are mappable to any motion accessible on display screen corresponding to purpose & hearth in FPSs, and speed up and enhance in arcade racing video games. I attempted all of them and genuinely impressed on the usability and improves my gaming expertise. The Air Triggers are additionally usable outdoors of video games as Grip Press or squeeze gestures for launching digicam and so on, customizable in settings.

GameCool

ASUS redesigned the cooling for ROG Cellphone 5 and 5s sequence. Because of the dual-battery structure, the CPU is positioned heart chassis now underneath vapour chamber heatsink. Making the most of this re-location, paired with the AeroActive Cooler module, helps dissipate CPU warmth higher plus the centered CPU additionally helps in gaming consolation as your fingers will much less prone to contact the recent center floor.

Even with out the AeroActive cooler, the chipset stays cool as may be seen from the sport screenshots. Sub-50 diploma Celcius common simply achievable with the wonderful vapour chamber cooling. Be aware that as a result of the cooler could be very efficient, the CPU space can get uncomfortably sizzling however that’s the mark of a very good cooling system.

Gripes and Complains

That is under no circumstances an ideal cellphone. Loads of annoyances I discovered. No expandable storage so caught with inside or go cloud storage. The rubber flap cowl for facet USB-C and steel contact is flimsy and never hooked up to the chassis. They do present spares however not precisely superb answer that one can simply lose the duvet within the first place.

Optical fingerprint sensor is barely annoying as it’s gradual and registers round 70% of the time. Additionally the skinny bezels and curved glass edge makes contact interplay wonky at occasions as a result of I unknowing was touching the display screen edge too.

VoLTE/VoWiFi is supported however my service nonetheless hasn’t supported the ROG Cellphone 5s, so not this machine’s fault, and which will change in close to future. Test along with your service for VoLTE/VoWiFi help in the event you require that function.

Private Enjoyment and Verdict

Personally, I had a good time with ROG Cellphone 5s. Gaming is a breeze with the Snapdragon 888+ and peak efficiency may be assured for some years. The audio system blew me away with how good it’s, saying that I virtually shed tears will not be a hyperbole. After all the additional pizzaz from Recreation Genie and the auxiliary inputs makes gaming that rather more streamlined.

ASUS nails it once more with their newest method worthy of “gaming cellphone” moniker. With RRP ranging from RM2999, the mix of flagship specs and the particular sauces for max gaming enjoyment makes ASUS ROG Cellphone 5s well worth the value.

ASUS ROG Cellphone 5s evaluation unit generously offered by ASUS.