The mobile gaming market has seen tremendous growth over the last several years, primarily as a consequence of more companies realizing that the profitability of this sector is sky high, and the fact that more users are becoming accustomed to, and in fact sometimes prefer, mobile gaming.
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As a result, both game developers and hardware manufacturers alike have truly stepped up their game, with many of the current phones on the market being able to beat out computers that almost a decade ago were considered top of the line.
With the rapid growth in the microprocessor space, particularly through the efforts of Qualcomm’s
Android Snapdragon processors
Apple’s M1 chips, it is safe to say that phones are creeping ever so closer to being able to pull off what the modern day desktop hardware does on a regular basis.
Sometimes, however — and we say this with joy — companies go a little too far. They get overzealous in the name of progress and strive to create the next monolith simply for the sake of creating one.
Sometimes, companies ask themselves “Can we do it?” but often fail to ask “Should we?”
Sometimes, a company decides that they want their phones to be able to run The Witcher at maximum graphics on a portable mobile device.
In those situations the
ASUS ROG 5 is the end-result.
Priced like a laptop and operates like one too
Let’s just say it right now: The ASUS ROG 5 is an incredibly expensive piece of hardware.
Just the base version alone that features 8GB of RAM and 124GB of memory will run at JD700. Should you have more refined taste, and would like to sample their flagship model that houses 512GB of memory and a whopping 18GB of RAM, it will lighten your wallet by a hefty JD870.
The performance of the phone however is breathtaking. Equipped with the Snapdragon 888 — one of the most powerful mobile processors on the market — the phone has performed perfectly on every stress test, including games such as running Genshin Impact running on maximum settings while alternating between apps in the background.
As with any gaming laptop, temperatures levels tend to be a problem even during the most causal gaming session. The ROG 5S is no stranger to this problem and is therefore sold along with a mobile cooling unit.
That’s right! A clip-on cooling fan is sold along with the ROG 5S that hooks unto the back of your phone that also happens to feature two air-soft triggers that work something akin to the R1/R2 sticks on the PlayStation. This not only allows the phone to cool itself off during peak gaming sessions, it also provides the utility of a controller — something that has become a trend in the mobile gaming community, as holding bulkier gaming phones while navigating the screen with your fingers is rather challenging.
The phone also features a 6.78-inch OLED screen at a 144HZ refresh rate; a large upgrade over its predecessor. It has strong graphical output capabilities, bringing even the dullest pictures to life. While it may feel just a little too large for those with smaller hands, it’s still well worth the slight discomfort to get this kind of display on a portable device.
For acoustics, the phone features two front-facing speakers that are able to play loud music as if it were a mini portable speaker: crisp and precise, with limited distortion at a couple of meters away. It’s plenty for those that are looking to casually enjoy media by the bedside. Then, for those that are looking for the ultimate audiophile experience, ASUS has brought back the 3.5mm audio jack.
The phone also features the Armory Crate app, which allows users to overclock their processors and increase performance. The phone is dotted with ultrasonic sensors that users can completely customize.
Speaking of software, similar to NVIDIA’s GeForce experience for game performance, the phone has the ability to store profiles for each game based on your preferences. For instance, the app can turn off all notifications and reject calls automatically from the moment you open a session of Genshin, all while overclocking your processor to maximum capacity. It doesn’t stop at gaming apps however. Everything from music, to viewing media, to gaming can all be converted into a unique profile that activates the moment you launch an app.
Armory has many other performance-enhancing features including allowing you to modify the refresh rate, brightness, contrast, audio levels. You can even limit the amount of RAM processes and apps use, if you need to. The true shine of the Armory comes from the ability to modify the aforementioned air triggers: sensors around your phone that act as touch buttons that are directly linked to your game’s actions. It converts the whole phone into a touch-controlled joystick.
The air triggers can be given a whole range of functions depending on what’s on screen.
Playing a game? Swipe your left index finger to minimize it. Listening to music? Swipe to move to the next song. This level of customization for each air sensor is what makes the ASUS ROG 5S such a superb device.
But does the end justify the means?
As mentioned, this is by far the most powerful commercially available gaming mobile device on the market. It has absolutely astonishing hardware, gorgeous displays, a customization toolkit that would put an aircraft control center to shame, and a cooling pad that doubles as two joysticks.
But is it actually worth it?
Let’s take a look at one of the most graphically demanding games currently available on the general phone market: Genshin Impact.
The game has drop-dead graphics at maximum settings and is known to roast a finger or five of those that run it on lower-end mobile devices at capped-out graphics. That said, modern phones’ processors don’t come close to the Snapdragon 888. In fact, most hardware is 15–20 percent slower than the ROG 5. Therefore, while it will run everything, why not go for something more affordable?
The display is astounding as well, but again, we are left wondering why someone would go for this machine when other, significantly more affordable, options exist.
Overall, the ROG 5S is an absolute winner, but the list of people that would genuinely be interested in purchasing such a technology — which is frankly far ahead of its time — may be significantly smaller than what ASUS may predict.
Perhaps in a couple of years, when games begin achieving PS4-levels of fidelity on our phones, we will revisit this phone and be able to genuinely recommend it. As it stands, the ROG 5S and its upcoming Pro versions are too powerful for their own good, making them true overkill.
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