ASUS announced the ROG Phone 5 series in early March. The vanilla ROG Phone 5 went on sale in India the very next month in April. Over nine months later, the company finally reveals when the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will be available for purchase in the country.

The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is the most expensive model in the ROG Phone 5 series. This device features a whopping 18GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage.

It also comes with two additional touch sensors on the rear like the Pro model. The smartphone arrives in a single white color option with a matte finish and a monochrome ROG Vision screen to match the body’s hue.

The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is priced at ₹79,999 ($1,063) in India. It will go on sale for the first time at 12 PM on December 26. The handset will be sold exclusively on Flipkart.

We recommend interested people to order the smartphone as soon as the sale starts. That’s because ROG Phones always go out of stock within a short period of time in India. ASUS is known for offering only a few units for sale in the region.

Unfortunately, the Taiwanese PC maker is yet to make any announcement regarding the launch of ZenFone 8 in the country.

RELATED:

• ASUS launches new ProArt StudioBook 16 & VivoBook Pro series notebooks for Indian creators
• ASUS Chromebook CX1 with a military-grade build arrives India, starts at Rs. 18,990 ($250)
• ASUS rolls out Android 12 stable update for ZenFone 8
• ASUS ROG Phone 2 finally bags Android 11 update

The post ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate India sale date finally revealed appeared first on Gizmochina.

ASUS launched the ROG Phone 5 gaming smartphone series a few days ago. Some of the devices in the series are yet to go on sale but the company has already started rolling out an OTA update. Besides, ASUS has also released the bootloader unlock tool and kernel source code for the 2021 gaming flagship.

The Taiwanese giant has already opened a support page for the ASUS ROG Phone 5 where it has uploaded the Unlock device app and source code of the device. Last year, the company did the same for the ROG Phone 3. Anyway, it’s worth noting that unlocking the bootloader voids the warranty.

Also, you won’t get official OTA updates from the company as before. That said, since the kernel source is out, we can expect popular custom ROMs to appear for the device in the coming months. Not just this, ASUS has also rolled out the first OTA update for the ROG Phone 5.

The base model will go on sale in countries like India only from April 15, and the ‘ROG Phone 5 Pro‘ and ‘Ultimate‘ versions of the devices will subsequently be available from April and May 2021 respectively. With this speed, we expect ASUS to bring fine-tune the device multiple times before it reaches the customer.

Either way, the rollout is staggered and it should reach the devices that are out there(review units) in a few days. This update brings features like new motion control gestures, Esports Mode, and various optimizations. You can look at the changelog below:

• Enhanced the advanced settings of system modes in Armoury Crate
• Added animation editor for ROG Vision in Armoury Crate. Now supports share and import functions.
• Added brand new motion control gestures in AirTrigger 5
• Added Esports Mode: A competitive mode tailored for esports competitions in the power button menu screen during gameplay
• Added ROG Akira Character theme pack
• Added multiple theme packs in cooperated with popular game publishers
• Added “Upcoming alarm notification” setting in Clock – Sent out 2 hours before the scheduled alarm.
• Optimized Camera user experience
• Optimized system stability
• Optimized ROG Vision
• Optimized charging stability

If you are looking to buy the ASUS ROG Phone 5, you can check out and get it via our GIZTOP for as low as $749. However, if you are confused between the models and can’t decide on your own, you can read our coverage on comparison between the models.

RELATED:

• ASUS ZenFone 8 series details emerge, may include compact ZenFone 8 Mini
• Xiaomi Mi 10S dethrones ASUS ROG Phone 5 to rank No.1 in DXOMARK Audio test
• Asus ROG partners with IKEA to launch gaming-themed furniture & accessories

The post ASUS ROG Phone 5 bootloader unlock tool & kernel source code out, device gets first OTA update too appeared first on Gizmochina.

Asus just launched its lineup of gaming phones for 2021. For the first time ever, the series is composed of three variants: Asus ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition. Despite we are talking about three variants with different names, there are not many differences between each handset. But there are a few important ones you should be aware of, at least if you want to get one of these gaming phones. In this specs comparison, you will find them.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 vs ASUS ROG Phone 5 Pro vs ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Limited Edition

Design

The design is one of the main differences between these three phones. The ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition is definitely the most attractive with its monochromatic design. Both ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate Edition come with a rear display, while the vanilla Asus ROG Phone 5 has an RGB logo instead. But if we exclude this zone of the rear side and the color variants, the designs are identical.

Display

ASUS ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition come with the same display: an AMOLED panel that shows up to one billion colors, sporting a 144 Hz refresh rate, a Full HD+ resolution, and the HDR10+ certification. What changes is the rear side: with the ASUS ROG Phone 5, you actually get only an RGB logo. The ASUS ROG Phone 5 Pro comes with a color display on the rear side which is able to show important info such as battery charge, games loading, and more. Further, the rear display has a touch zone allowing which can be used to control your games. The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate has a rear display too but there is one difference: it is a monochromatic screen.

Specs & Software

The Asus ROG Phone 5 series is powered by the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform: the best Qualcomm chipset of 2021 until now. The differences between the hardware departments of ROG Phone 5, 5 Pro, and 5 Ultimate are the memory configurations. With the vanilla ROG Phone 5 and the Pro variant, you get a max of 16 GB of RAM, while the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition is the world’s first phone with 18 GB of RAM. The maximum internal storage of the vanilla ROG Phone 5 is 256 GB, while the Pro and the Ultimate go up to 512 GB. The software is the same: Android 11 customized by ROG UI, but it offers the chance to switch to Zen UI which is close to stock Android.

Camera

There are no differences in the camera departments of these devices and none of them is a top camera phone. They sport a 64 MP main camera with 8K video recording, a 13 MP ultrawide camera, and a 5 MP macro camera.

Battery

The battery has a capacity of 6000 mAh and supports 65W fast charging: we got the same battery for each of these devices, as well as the same charging technology and reverse charging support.

Price

The starting price of the Asus ROG Phone 5 Global is €799/$950, ROG Phone 5 Pro costs €1199/$1430, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will hit the shelves with a €1299/$1150 price tag. Given that the ROG Phone Ultimate has just aesthetics difference and 2 more gigs of RAM compared to the ROG Phone Pro, we believe it does not make a lot of sense to spend €100 more for it. The ROG Phone 5 Pro is definitely more interesting than the vanilla version due to its color rear display, but you can save a lot of money with the original ROG Phone 5. Which one would you pick?

• Read More: ASUS ROG Phone 5 series launched with up to 18GB RAM and 3.5mm headphone jack

ASUS ROG Phone 5 vs ASUS ROG Phone 5 Pro vs ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Limited Edition: PROs and CONS

Asus ROG Phone 5

PROs

• More affordable
• Wider availability (for now)
• RGB logo
• Multiple memory configurations

CONS

• No rear display

Asus ROG Phone 5 Pro

PROs

• Color rear display
• Touch zones on the rear cover
• 512 GB of storage
• Good quality price ratio

CONS

• Nothing particular

Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Limited Edition

PROs

• Rear display
• More attractive design
• Touch zones on the rear cover

CONS

• Higher price
• Monochromatic rear display

RELATED

• Realme V15 5G vs Redmi Note 9 5G vs ZTE Blade V2020: Specs Comparison
• OnePlus 8T vs OPPO Reno5 Pro vs Vivo X60 Pro: Specs Comparison
• OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G vs Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro: Specs Comparison
• OPPO Reno5 Pro+ vs iPhone 12 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: Specs Comparison

Check the latest videos from our YouTube channel and subscribe:

The post ASUS ROG Phone 5 vs 5 Pro vs 5 Ultimate: Specs Comparison appeared first on Gizmochina.

ASUS has officially launched its fourth generation of gaming smartphones called the ROG Phone 5 series. The lineup includes a total of three devices, namely ROG Phone 5, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. Let us take a look at their specs, features, and pricing in this article

ASUS ROG Phone 5 Series Design

The latest-gen ROG Phone 5 series feature a better design than its predecessor (ROG Phone 3 series). The last year’s phones looked too dull for a gaming smartphone when compared to competitors. ASUS has fixed that with the new models.

As mentioned in the begging, there are three devices in the lineup. Although all three have an identical design except for the color and the secondary screen.

The vanilla ROG Phone 5 features a dot-matrix RGB LED for the ROG logo (similar to ROG Zephyrus G14 AniMe Matrix), whereas the ROG Phone 5 Pro has a color POMLED display called ROG Vision.  The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate also flaunts the same ROG Vision screen but it is monochrome. Anyway, users can customize lightings on all three implementations.

Further, the motherboard now sits in the middle and the 3.5mm headphone is back. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, the frame is aluminum, and the rear panel is Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

As for colors, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate comes in a single white color option with a blue accent as well as a matte finish. The ROG Phone 5 Pro, on the other hand, features a glossy black color finish. Lastly, the regular ROG Phone 5 can be bought in either Phantom Black or Storm White color option with a glossy finish.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 Series Specifications

The entire lineup is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The standard and Pro model max at 16GB RAM and 512GB internal storage, However, the Ultimate version comes with a whopping 18GB RAM, just like the RedMagic 6 Pro Special Edition.

On the front, these smartphones flaunt a 6.78-inch FHD+ ( 2448 x 1080 pixels) Samsung Super AMOLED Display (E4) with up to 144Hz refresh rate, 24.3ms touch latency, 300Hz touch sampling rate, and an in-screen fingerprint sensor. This panel has a 20.4:9 aspect ratio, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 395 PPI, Delta-E<1 color accuracy, and 800 nits peak brightness. The screen supports HDR10+ and covers 111% and 150.89% of DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamuts respectively.

On the connectivity front, these handsets support 5G, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and dual-frequency GNSS (GPS, Globass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC). As for ports, as mentioned earlier, the devices sport a 3.5mm headphone jack and 2 x USB Type-C ports.

Talking about optics, they feature a triple camera setup on the back consisting of a 64MP Sony IMX686 primary sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide unit, and a 5MP macro shooter. There is also a 24MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.

Other features of these smartphones include a grip detection sensor, Ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger 5, Pixelworks i6 Processor, dual stereo speakers, Nokia OZO Audio, dual Cirrus Logic CS35L45 Mono AMP, ESS Sabre ES9280AC Pro QUAD DAC, lots of gaming-oriented features, and Android 11 operating system with both ZenUI as well as ROG UI. The Pro and Ultimate models also have two additional touch sensors on the back.

All three handsets are backed by a dual-3000mAh (6,000mAh) battery with support for 65W fast charging (included in-box) and Qualcomm Quick Charge 5.0. However, it is worth noting that in some regions, ASUS will be shipping the devices with a 30W charger.

Last but not least, the ROG Phone 5 series measure 172.8 x 77.2 x 10.29mm in dimensions and weighs 238g.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 Series Pricing

The ASUS ROG Phone 5 Series will sell for the following tags in Europe and India.

• ASUS ROG Phone 5
  • 8GB + 128GB – €799 / ₹49,999
  • 12GB + 256GB – €899 / ₹57,999
  • 16GB + 512GB – €999 / NA
• ASUS ROG Phone 5 Pro
  • 16GB + 512GB – €1,199 / ₹69,999
• ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate
  • 18GB + 512GB – €1,299 / ₹79,999

Unfortunately, ASUS has not revealed the pricing for other than these two regions.

RELATED:

• ASUS plans to launch a small and premium Zenfone Mini flagship phone
• Asus ROG partners with IKEA to launch gaming-themed furniture & accessories
• Xiaomi Mi 10S dethrones ASUS ROG Phone 5 to rank No.1 in DXOMARK Audio test
• ASUS ROG Moba 5 series with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 300Hz refresh rate launched

The post ASUS ROG Phone 5 series launched with up to 18GB RAM and 3.5mm headphone jack appeared first on Gizmochina.