PHILIPPINES – ASUS launches the ROG Phone 5 Series of mobile gaming smartphones in the Philippines: ROG Phone 5 Classic, ROG Phone 5 Pro, and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate.
Powered by the flagship Snapdragon 888 5G platform with the Adreno 660 GPU, the ROG Phone 5 is priced from Php39,995 for the 8GB+128GB variant up to Php59,995 for the top-of-the-line Ultimate Edition, which touts a whopping 18GB of memory and 512GB of storage.
Apart from differences in aesthetics as well as storage and memory configurations, all models bear the same specs, which includes a 6.78-inch HDR10+ AMOLED display with a native refresh rate of 144Hz and Gorilla Glass Victus, the latest and greatest scratch-resistant glass technology from Corning.
For biometric security, it retains the optical under-display fingerprint sensor from the previous generation.
Like its predecessor the ROG Phone 3, the ROG Phone 5 features top-mounted capacitive buttons. However, the AirTrigger 5 system now has two additional buttons, located on the mountable cooling fan, dubbed appropriately the AeroActive Cooler 5.
On the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate edition, hidden rear touch sensors on the bottom portions of the back cover act as additional L2/R2 triggers, which can function even without fan attachment.
ROG Phone 5 also carries over the backlit RGB aesthetic made famous by its predecessors, although this time around, the logo has been replaced by a matrix display system called the ROG Vision, which can be used to display a variety of information and animation never before seen in any other smartphone.
On the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition, this is replaced by a monochrome version to complement the phone’s matte white color scheme.
Like its predecessors, the ROG Phone 5 ecosystem also includes mountable accessories such as the Kunai Gamepad 5 and the AeroActive Cooler 5, made possible by a hybrid USB-C and custom connector located at the bottom of the phone (landscape mode).
For photos and videos, the ROG Phone 5 features a triple-camera system in its rear consisting of a 64MP f/1.8 wide angle lens, a 13MP f/2.4 ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP f/2.0 macro lens. For selfies, the phone is endowed with a 24MP f/2.5 camera.
Audio also gets an upgrade with the return of the 3.5mm audio port, dual DTS:X dirac stereo speakers with dedicated amplifiers, and a quad DAC.
ASUS claims that its 6,000 mAh battery charges to 100% in only 52 minutes at 65W. Charging standards such as Power Delivery 3.0 and Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 technologies are supported.
Price, availability (Philippines)
ASUS ROG Phone 5 Series is priced in the Philippines as follows:
- ROG Phone 5 Classic (8GB+128GB): Php39,995
- ROG Phone 5 Classic (16GB+256GB): Php49,995
- ROG Phone 5 Pro (16GB+512GB): Php54,995
- ROG Phone 5 Ultimate (18GB+512GB): Php59,995
Customers who wish to purchase the ROG Phone 5 Classic and Pro editions can choose from two colors: Phantom Black and Storm White. The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate Edition, however, is only available in Storm White.
The Phantom Black Classic and Pro variants are available for purchase at official channels starting April 10, while the Storm White edition will be available at the end of the month.
Accessories such as the ROG Kunai Gamepad 5 and ROG Lightning Armor Case 5 are also available for purchase separately, priced at Php6,995 for the gamepad and PHP 2,495 for the case.