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MagyarAsus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate review - The collector's item among gaming smartphones
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | ratingversion | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.9 % | 7 | 09/2021 | Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate SD 888 5G, Adreno 660 | 239 g | 512 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.78" | 2448x1080 | |
| 87.7 % | 7 | 04/2021 | Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 SD 888 5G, Adreno 660 | 259 g | 512 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.92" | 2460x1080 | |
| 86.3 % | 7 | 07/2021 | Xiaomi Black Shark 4 SD 870, Adreno 650 | 210 g | 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 88 % | 7 | 04/2021 | Asus ROG Phone 5 SD 888 5G, Adreno 660 | 239 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.78" | 2448x1080 |
Case, equipment and operation
At first glance, the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is difficult to distinguish from the Standard variant because the dimensions and color scheme are identical. However, while the ROG Phone 5 has a dot RGB matrix on the back, the Ultimate has a ROG Vision display there. Like the Pro model, this can display smaller animations that are also related to the interaction with the smartphone. However, the Ultimate does not have a color display, but a monochrome PMOLED that is supposed to look sophisticated.
There are also two additional capacitive sensor keys on the back that can recognize swipe movements. These can be recognized haptically well since design elements are engraved into the glass at this point. Together with the ultrasonic keys AirTrigger 5 and the rocker keys of the AeroActive Cooler 5, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate thus has six additional input keys.
The Ultimate shares the powerful features with its siblings. Besides the Pogo PINs for connecting to the fan, there is a USB 3.2 port (Gen. 2, up to 10 GBit/s, HDMI and dP support up to UHD, QC 5.0) right next to it and an additional USB 2.0 port (QC 3.0) at the bottom edge, which can be used for powering while gaming. Furthermore, an audio jack with a High-Res Audio DAC is also on board.
The operating system Android 11 with the in-house ROG UI is used. Those who do not like it can switch to the standard UI during the setup, which is very close to a pure Android.
All modern standards are used for the mobile data connection and the number of supported frequency bands for LTE and 5G has been increased again for the Ultimate version. Wi-Fi 6E is a fast WLAN standard that can connect to two networks simultaneously via dual WLAN and enables high and stable data rates in the test with the Netgear Nighthawk AX12.
The voice quality of the ROG Phone is really good and delivers a very good intelligibility when held to the ear, which only reaches its limits in very loud ambient noise. The speaker mode reverberates slightly, but has a good microphone range and quality. The Asus smartphone can accept two nano-SIM cards and supports VoLTE.
The ROG Phone 5 not only has a high refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, but the touch sampling rate of 300 Hz is also very high and promises a fast implementation of inputs on the touchscreen with a latency of 24.3 milliseconds. For biometric security, an optical fingerprint scanner is available in the display, which offers quite reliable recognition rates, but is not one of the fastest. Two-dimensional face recognition is also possible.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate | |
| Asus ROG Phone 5 | |
| Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro | |
| Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro | |
| Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 | |
| Asus ROG Phone 5 | |
| Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate | |
Cameras - Not ultimate, but rock solid
The camera setup of Asus' ROG Phone 5 Ultimate does not change compared with its sister models. The triple lens on the back consists of the familiar 64 MP sensor from Sony, an ultra-wide-angle lens, and a macro lens. The imaging performance of the main camera is good, and the high resolution allows useful enlargements even without an optical zoom.
The selfies with the front-facing camera are also good, only the backlit shots show burned-out areas that cannot be compensated by the algorithms.
Videos are recorded in Full HD (up to 60 FPS) on the front and with 8k (up to 30 FPS) on the back.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Wide-angleWide-angleUltra wide-angle5x ZoomLow-Light
Display - Bright 144 Hz AMOLED in the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate
The AMOLED display of Asus' ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is identical to those of the other two variants. It measures 6.78 inches, works with a Full HD Plus resolution and up to 144 Hz. The panel reaches up to 806 cd/m² with a pure white display and enabled ambient light sensor. With an even distribution of bright and dark areas (APL50), it is 1,088 cd/m² and 1,136 cd/m² with APL10. Those who adjust the brightness manually have 488 cd/m² at their disposal.
If you are sensitive to OLED flickering, you can use the DC dimming mode, but you will have to make do with 60 Hz.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 789 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.4 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 1.7 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.7% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.27
| Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate AMOLED, 2448x1080, 6.78 | Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 AMOLED, 2460x1080, 6.92 | Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.80 | Xiaomi Black Shark 4 Super AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.67 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -30% | -12% | -165% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 2.4 ? | 8 ? -233% | 2.4 ? -0% | 11 ? -358% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 2.4 ? | 6 ? -150% | 2.4 ? -0% | 6 ? -150% |
| PWM Frequency | 144.5 ? | 568 293% | 90.6 ? -37% | 162.3 12% |
| Screen | -77% | -139% | -115% | |
| Brightness middle | 789 | 463 -41% | 714 -10% | 676 -14% |
| Brightness | 795 | 466 -41% | 705 -11% | 669 -16% |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 98 0% | 96 -2% | 98 0% |
| Black Level * | ||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.4 | 3.24 -131% | 5.9 -321% | 5.77 -312% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3 | 5.75 -92% | 8.7 -190% | 9.81 -227% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.7 | 4.4 -159% | 6.8 -300% | 3.7 -118% |
| Gamma | 2.27 97% | 2.201 100% | 2.25 98% | 1.959 112% |
| CCT | 6596 99% | 7273 89% | 7774 84% | 6584 99% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -54% /
-62% | -76% /
-97% | -140% /
-131% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 7 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 2.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 7 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 144.5 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting |   |
The display backlight flickers at 144.5 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 144.5 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life
Like its siblings, the Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is powered by the Snapdragon 888 but it has access to a monstrous 18 GB of working memory. Only Lenovo's Legion Phone Duel 2 Pro, which is currently only available in China, can also boast that much RAM. However, it is questionable whether the additional two to four gigabytes will be of much use, at least in 2021.
The two additional capacitive touch elements on the back, on the other hand, are already a bigger added value for gamers. They react very reliably and quickly to touches, but they are located quite close to the lower long edge. It is difficult to use the AirTrigger on the upper long side and the exclusive touch keys with small hands without adopting an unusual posture. However, Asus could not have positioned the keys higher, since they would have been covered by the fan otherwise. However, those who prefer many input keys will enjoy it.
The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate shows its best side in terms of surface temperatures and SoC cooling. The 3DMark Stress Test also shows a small advantage in frame stability in combination with the attachable fan.
The two front-facing speakers can not only get very loud, but also provide a comparatively good sound image. There is also broad support for Bluetooth codecs as well as an excellent audio jack.
In terms of battery runtimes, the Ultimate model presents itself on a similar level as the standard variant.
| Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate | Asus ROG Phone 5 | Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 | Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro | Average 512 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 0% | -2% | -6% | 17% | 2% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 1779 | 1779 0% | 1999 12% | 1607 -10% | 1877 ? 6% | 1505 ? -15% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 780 | 795 2% | 754 -3% | 765 -2% | 1156 ? 48% | 1112 ? 43% |
| Random Read 4KB | 287.9 | 291.4 1% | 262.6 -9% | 285.8 -1% | 281 ? -2% | 247 ? -14% |
| Random Write 4KB | 284.5 | 278 -2% | 261.5 -8% | 254.9 -10% | 333 ? 17% | 271 ? -5% |
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.3 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 35.8 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.6 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Wild Life Stress Test
Speaker
Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (92.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.8% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (4.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (14% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 13% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 84% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 0.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (12.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 9% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 88% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate 6000 mAh | Asus ROG Phone 5 6000 mAh | Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 5500 mAh | Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro 5050 mAh | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | |||||
| WiFi Websurfing | 762 | 754 -1% | 907 19% | 829 9% | 913 ? 20% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - The ultimate gamer
The Ultimate has a higher performance than the conventional ROG Phone 5 and is primarily aimed at fans of the series. The working memory upgrade is really good, with a total of 18 GB on the spec sheet, but it only offers little added value in everyday use. In contrast, the 512 GB UFS 3.1 storage offers a lot of space for numerous games and other data. Like the Pro model the Ultimate also comes with the AeroActive Cooler 5, but Asus also adds a fan box.
The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate makes gamers' hearts beat faster.
The monochrome ROG Vision display is probably a matter of taste, but the two additional rear touch sensors work well, but are a bit too far away from the AirTriggers for small hands. Overall, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is still a bit better than its siblings, although the core features are identical.
A strong alternative is the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2. If you also have to make concessions in terms of performance, the Black Shark 4 can be an alternative.
Price and availability
The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is out of stock at the Asus-eStore at the time of testing, but at TradingShenzhen or HandyGermany it is available.
Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate
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08/31/2022 v7
Daniel Schmidt
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