Gaming on a smartphone has become more popular these days than on any other device. We put the Asus ROG Phone 5s to test and here is our review
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Republic of Gamers (ROG), a sub-brand of Asus introduced its 5s series in India last year. The latest being the 5s and 5s Pro in the ROG Phone series. We spent a day with the Asus ROG Phone 5s to test its capabilities, and did it manage to impress us? Let’s find out.
Design
The Asus ROG Phone 5s has a 6.78 inch AMOLED front display that is protected with corning gorilla glass victus and supports HDR10+ support. On the back of the phone, one gets a glass finish with a dot matrix design, which is one of the major visual changes in this phone from its predecessors.
At first glance, the phone looks stylish with a modern design but misses the vibes of a gaming phone. The phone weighs a bit heavy at 238 gm. The price of the ROG Phone 5s starts at Rs. 49,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and goes up to Rs. 57,999 for the top-end variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Specifications
The ROG Phone 5s series is powered by Snapdragon 888 Plus processor that actually boosts the performance of the device. The device also gets AI, Wifi 61 and 3GHzi CPU. The cooling system in the ROG Phone 5s has a thermal structure that splits the battery into two parts, one located on each side of the CPU. This has been done to ensure that the heat generated by the CPU is transferred to all the edges and corners of the chassis, which doesn’t work really well. The phone heats up really fast and lags sometimes.
Features
The best feature of the device is the HyperFusion, which connects with the fastest internet connection available and can also combine both the mobile data and wifi together to increase the internet connectivity speed. Another interesting feature is the ultrasonic shoulder side sensors on the phone that supports dual gestures, such as tap-and-slide or tap-and-swipe, for total control.
Performance
A pro mobile gamer looks for a good performing Smartphone and this device doesn’t disappoint in this case. The device comes with 144 Hz/ 1ms refresh rate that responds really well and 1080 pixel resolution. The colours and graphics on the phone work super smooth and provides a fast gaming experience. The device is 5G enabled.
Camera
The ROG Phone 5s comes with the usual triple camera setup on the rear. The 64MP main camera offers up to 8K Pro video recording, the secondary 13MP camera is for the ultra-wide-angle pictures and the 5MP macro camera for close-up detail. The camera on the device captures decent images and is no different from its predecessors. The front 24 MP camera shoots selfies with warm tones and can records 4K videos as well.
Audio
For a gaming device, audio plays a significant role to give an immersive gaming experience. The Asus ROG Phone 5s offers seven magnet dual front-facing speakers on the top and bottom of the phone that gives louder and less distorted stereo sound effects. The speakers are a true strength of this phone. If you like playing games or listening to music with your headphones on, the ROG Phone 5s also gives you a 3.5 mm jack at the bottom of the device for your wired headphones and earphones.
Battery
The gaming phone has a 6000mAh non-removable battery that takes up to two hours for a full charge with a 30W charger.
Verdict
The Asus ROG Phone 5s did manage to impress us with its performance and is certainly one of the best gaming phones in the Indian market as of now, but the only area this phone lacks is the weight of the device and heating issues. Also, at the minimum price of Rs. 49,999 one would expect a 65W fast charger in the box.