At a look
Skilled’s Score
Professionals
- Phenomenal efficiency
- Daring distinctive design
- Fan accent in field
Our Verdict
The Asus ROG Telephone 7 Final is overpriced however if you would like the most effective performing gaming cellphone on your cash, that is it.
Gaming telephones aren’t new to the market – in reality, there are extra of them than ever, with Asus ROG, Redmagic, and Black Shark all manufacturers dedicated to gaming-centric units.
Asus ROG could also be feeling the warmth from the finest gaming telephones, but it surely stays the market chief and hasn’t slowed down its bi-annual launch cycle for its ROG telephones.
I’ve been testing the top-of-the-line ROG Telephone 7 Final, and I’m very impressed. It’s a monster of a cellphone with bleeding-edge display screen tech, cooling options, and software program add-ons to please probably the most discerning gamer.
In order for you a cellphone that can flip heads for its appears and energy in addition to play all of your favorite Android video games flawlessly, then all you want is an eye-watering £1,199/€1,399.
The excessive worth could be this cellphone’s undoing.
Design & construct
- Cumbersome and heavy
- Slick matt white design
- Cooling ‘AeroActive’ again flap
You’ll both love or hate the look of the ROG Telephone 7 Final. I assumed I’d hate it, snooty as I assumed I used to be about fashionable gamer aesthetics. To my nice shock, after just a few weeks with the cellphone in my pocket I’m keen on it.
Although the common ROG Telephone 7 (which I’ve not examined) is available in black or white, the Final version I reviewed solely is available in matt white. It feels nice, displaying completely no fingerprints and is much preferable to the shiny end of so many different smartphones.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
Removed from plain, the again is interrupted by a symmetrical design punctuated with trtiple cameras in addition to the 2 alien additions of a small LED strip of display screen and a black flap. That is referred to as the AeroActive Portal, a cooling gap that mechanically opens when the included AeroActive Cooler 7 fan is hooked up to the cellphone.
On paper this sounds laughably over-engineered, and it’s! However I took a nerdy glee in seeing all of it work. It’s garish, but it surely’s effectively thought out and feels full.
The construct high quality is superb, with a two-tone white on the again with ROG branding and some blue accents on the ability button, a digicam lens, and the SIM tray. The edges are rounded and there are two USB-C ports – one to the left on the underside so it’s much less in the way in which when panorama gaming and one other on the left edge to connect and energy the AeroActive fan.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
With all these ports and holes, the cellphone is just IP54 water and dirt resistant, so received’t survive a submerged dunk. It’ll sink quick too at 239g.
Display screen & audio system
- 165Hz 6.78in AMOLED
- Further mini rear show
- Wonderful audio system
The display screen is flat, as you’d hope for a gaming cellphone. There’s a thick bezel on the high and backside which means there’s no notch or reduce out within the show, plus it’s one thing to carry onto when you’re gaming in panorama.
The 6.78in display screen is a perfectly sharp AMOLED with a variable 165Hz refresh charge. It’s HDR10+ licensed, has as much as 1,000 nits of brightness, and has a excessive 720Hz contact sampling charge.
It’s not the brightest show on the market, which I seen when utilizing it as a cellphone, however when gaming in most lights I had no complaints. It’s a very good dimension, and the cellphone feels immersive to play video games on for lengthy durations.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
I additionally seen the coating Asus has placed on the floor of the display screen “for lowering friction when hand sweating”. Ew. It really works, although, my thumbs gliding across the Gorilla Glass Victus show regardless of the clamminess of a half-hour Name of Obligation session.
A PMOLED color strip display screen on the again of the cellphone is there for aesthetics and may be switched off, although it does show notification badges in color in case you depart the cellphone face down. You’ll be able to toggle to off to avoid wasting energy.
The twin fron- going through audio system are fingers down the most effective I’ve ever heard on a cellphone. The have full, booming sound that helps to additional immerse you in gameplay. I used to be genuinely shocked at how good they have been on first use.
Specs & efficiency
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- 16GB RAM and 512GB storage
- Included cooler accent
The ROG Telephone 7 Final has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, probably the most highly effective of Qualcomm’s arsenal on the time of the cellphone’s launch in April 2023.
Telephones such because the Galaxy S23 Extremely and OnePlus 11 additionally use this chipset however the mixture of extra, considerably OTT specs on the ROG Telephone push it above these telephones by way of uncooked gaming efficiency and functionality.
Regardless of the improve in chip, the specs are in any other case extremely just like the ROG Telephone 6 Professional and ROG Telephone 6D Final, so the generational step up could be very minimal.
The cellphone has 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of quick UFS 4.0 storage, each high quality. With the Qualcomm Adreno 740 GPU, the factor flies.
I performed a number of demanding sport titles on the ROG Telephone 7 Final and encountered flawless efficiency. The graphically intense Name of Obligation Cellular, Asphalt 9, Genshin Affect, and FIFA Cellular can typically convey succesful cellphone {hardware} to a standstill, however not this cellphone.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
This implies it’s a dobble to smash out just a few rounds of Mario Run or Would possibly Doom on the bus, too. Asus additionally contains its overwhelming however total glorious Recreation Genie software program that allows you to flip off notifications when you’re enjoying, alter the display screen refresh charge, and a ton of different customisations to make the gaming expertise your personal.
Bundled within the field is a clip on shell case and the AeroActive Cooler 7, a fan accent powered by the cellphone’s aspect mounted USB-C port. It’s enormous overkill, however I liked utilizing it. The design is intelligent, including 4 bodily shoulder buttons you can program to particular strikes in video games, coupled with the contact delicate shoulder set off buttons on the suitable fringe of the system.
After a little bit of a studying curve to regulate the way you maintain the cumbersome creation, it did enhance my capturing accuracy on Name of Obligation, however for easier video games it’s pointless to have extra buttons. However you may wish to clip it on to chill the cellphone down, because it does run scorching given the hundreds the system is put beneath by prolonged gaming classes.
Asus says it has improved the floor space of the vapour chamber inside the cellphone, and I discovered the software program intelligent sufficient to choose which of 4 ranges to set the fan to. It’s a must to have the bundled charger linked to the Cooler to get to the highest ‘Frosted’ stage because it wants extra energy than the cellphone can ship.
Try the cellphone’s high efficiency in comparison with the last-gen of ROG Telephone, plus some latest well-liked smartphones:
Software program & updates
- Devoted gaming & efficiency software program
- Android 13
- Solely two assured Android updates
In addition to Recreation Genie, Asus’s Armory Crate app is a wonderful solution to entry video games and monitor system efficiency. You may get a learn out of the CPU and GPU temperatures, see storage and reminiscence utilization, change efficiency modes, AeroActive Cooler modes, and shoulder set off settings.
The extent of management is wonderful, letting you choose which efficiency mode you need sure video games to launch in to ensure they run effectively.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
It even is aware of to run AAA video games in ‘X-Mode’ to spice up efficiency, whereas easier arcade video games are preset at extra balanced settings. The eye to element is astounding, and you’ll get misplaced within the choices.
The cellphone ships with Android 13 and Asus guarantees two OS updates to Android 14 and 15 however 4 years of safety updates, which suggests it’ll be up to date until 2027.
You’ll be able to run the cellphone with both ROG UI or Zen UI – the previous is a decidedly gamer aesthetic theme with RGB-like flashes, fark colors, and stylised icons, the latter is Asus’s common smartphone software program you’d discover on the Zenfone 9. You’ll be able to combine and match sure types from each, true to the cellphone’s customisation beliefs.
Digicam & video
- 50Mp primary rear digicam
- Primary ultrawide and macro
It is a gaming cellphone, so cameras aren’t its forte. The 50Mp primary sensor is the Sony IMX766, the identical discovered within the Oppo Discover X3 Professional from 2021. It’s under no circumstances a nasty sensor, however the truth it has been round for 2 years exhibits Asus skimped a bit right here.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
It takes nice clear pictures with good element in daylight, and has a suitable night time mode that helps hold low mild photographs in focus and higher lit. You may get lossless 2x pictures with zoo however there’s no optical zoom lens right here.
Much less spectacular is the 13Mp ultra-wide, which nonetheless seize good element within the centre of body however stretches the picture on the edges. The 8Mp macro digicam helped me learn the way soiled my MacBook keyboard was however distorts if nearer than 4cm away.
On the entrance is a succesful 32Mp selfie digicam that’s initially for gaming and video streaming functions, however bins photographs to 8Mp to take not-great selfie or group photographs.
Battery & charging
- Expansive 6000mAh battery
- 65W wired charging
- No wi-fi charging
Asus crams in 6000mAh of battery to the ROG Telephone 7 Final by having two separate 3000mAh cells that cost at 65W with the included charger (there’s no wi-fi charging).
This complete is 1000mAh greater than what’s within the Galaxy S23 Extremely, but it surely’s wanted given Asus expects individuals who purchase it to be working power-hungry video games more often than not.
In case you don’t play any video games then you definately’ll comfortably get two days on a single cost. With video games fired up and the cellphone powering the fan accent, you’ll run down quick and must recharge halfway via the day or actually in time for the following day.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
Worth & availability
The Asus ROG Telephone 7 Final prices £1,199/€1,399. You should purchase it direct from Asus.
US pricing and availability is but to be introduced.
This makes it the most costly gaming cellphone you should purchase alongside final 12 months’s ROG Telephone 6D Final. Asus additionally launched a daily ROG Telephone 7 in April 2023 for £999/€1,199, which I’ve not examined.
The iPhone 14 Professional Max prices the identical however at that worth solely has 128GB storage, whereas the Galaxy S23 Extremely prices £50 extra and will get you 256GB.
In order for you comparable efficiency you may go for the £899 ROG Telephone 6 and never miss out on a lot, or try our listing of the most effective gaming telephones for choices at a spread of costs.
Verdict
The Asus ROG Telephone 7 Final is simply that: the final word gaming cellphone.
It has high quality specs, an outstanding show, a battery sufficiently big to deal with the video games it churns via, and probably the most customisable software program settings I’ve ever seen in a cellphone.
You additionally pay massive for all these options, with a worth akin to the most costly smartphones from Apple and Samsung. However this cellphone comes with 512GB storage and a charger and cooling fan accent within the field, so if you’re a hardcore cell gamer a minimum of Asus received’t skimp on the extras.
It’s a giant, heavy cellphone although and the design is garish, and you need to ask your self in case you actually do want all its energy. Asus’s 4 years of safety updates is nice sufficient for me to fortunately suggest this cellphone, however there are cheaper choices in case you don’t want one thing fairly so overkill.
Specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- Android 13 (ROG UI & Zen UI)
- 6.78in 165Hz AMOLED show
- Qualcomm Adreno 740
- 16GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 512GB UFS 4.0 storage
- Cameras:
- 50Mp primary sensor
- 13Mp ultrawide
- 8Mp macro
- 32Mp entrance going through
- Wi-Fi 6E (Wi-Fi 7 prepared)
- Twin SIM twin standby
- Bluetooth 5.3
- 6000mAh battery
- 65W wired charging
- 173 x 77 x 10.3 mm
- 239g
