The ROG Phone 6 is probably one of the most hotly anticipated smartphones of 2022. After last year’s snafu of releasing two models in one year, it’s good to see that ASUS has decided to skip the beleaguered Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and instead only use the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1… And yes, that’s the first confirmed bit of information, as ROG has long since confirmed that they will be using the latest chipset from Qualcomm.
1. Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
The switch from Samsung to TSMC manufacturing for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is one that many smartphone enthusiasts have been waiting for, as it promises improved efficiency and thus lower operating temperatures. While how true that is remains to be seen, any improvement over the toasty Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is welcome.
In the weeks since, the ROG Phone 6 has already been spotted on Geekbench, featuring the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. And it also outperformed the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 engineering unit tested by GSMArena, so that’s nice to know as well.
2. Much improved cooling
As teased by ROG themselves, the ROG Phone 6 will feature a 30% larger vapor chamber, and a 85% bigger graphite sheet. Considering that the ROG Phone 5 was renowned for running hot, this should be a welcome upgrade. Vapor chambers are great to wick heat away from processors and hot components, but they are not the best solution for actually dissipating the heat from the device into the environment, so hopefully this will be paired up with some fancy new AeroActive Cooler, as has been the tradition for prior generations of ROG Phones.
3. Same size, much larger camera hump
In terms of design, it seems ASUS decided to keep to the same dimensions. That’s good news, as the ROG Phone 5 was already unwieldy enough for daily use, and any larger would bring back memories of the ill-received tablet-phones Samsung tried to unleash upon the world. In any case, we can expect to see a 6.78″ screen on the ROG Phone 6’s front and what could be a secondary display on the back, as these images taken by TENAA reveal shared by Gizbot. We already had that with the ROG Phone 5/5s Pro and 5 Ultimate, so nothing too surprising here.
However ASUS has also bumped up the size of the camera hump. Are they vying for the “best gaming smartphone camera” title? I guess they might be. Most of the time, the size of the camera hump is loosely correlated to the size of the sensor, so perhaps we will be seeing larger camera sensors here. I will hold my horses though, as leaks are pointing to a 64MP triple camera setup that sounds all too similar to last year’s ROG Phone 5’s setup… Still, I hope for improved processing, as that’s what differentiates the best camera phones from the worst ones nowadays, instead of raw hardware.
4. 165Hz 6.78″ OLED Display
After two years of 144Hz displays, ASUS is finally taking the next step with a 6.78″ 165Hz panel. While they are upping the refresh rate, the resolution is reportedly still going to be FHD+ for the ROG Phone 6. Still plenty for any user, even for those with 20/20 vision who love staring at their smartphones an inch from their eyeballs. Similar to last year’s models, we will have some bezels which will house stereo speakers. I sure hope that they are at least as good as last year’s. The panel is reportedly going to be made by Samsung, so that’s some good news.
5. What about the other specs?
Originally tweeted by ROG Global (@ASUS_ROG) on June 24, 2022.
According to serial leaker Digital Chat Station, the ROG Phone 6 is going to feature up to 18GB RAM, a 6000mAh battery and 65W fast charging, packed into a 10.39mm thick and 229g heavy package… All in all, nothing too surprising here, as we have already seen these specs in last year’s model. One new thing that ASUS is reportedly going to bring to the table is splash resistance, making it the first gaming phone with IPX4 water resistance. Of course, don’t shower and game, but at least you know that you can run through a drizzle without worrying about your phone.
6. ROG Phone 6 Availability and Pricing
The ROG Phone 6 is already confirmed by ASUS to launch globally this 5th July, although they have been keeping mum on the pricing, as usual. Of course, the leakers are already at it, and the ROG Phone 6 is reportedly going to come with an “approximate retail value” of €799 (~RM3715), which Notebookcheck is quick to note is the same as last year’s ROG Phone 5. So anyone hoping to snag a ROG Phone 6 can probably rest easy tonight that the ROG Phone 6 isn’t going to be even pricier than last year’s model.