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The ROG Phone 5 is the suspected upcoming device from ASUS, and although you’ve been able to preview some leaked images of the phone, so far not much is known about it in regards to specifics.
ASUS’ next ROG Phone that is to be released in 2021 will be the company’s fourth device under the ROG Phone brand name. So it would stand to reason that the device would be called the ROG Phone 4. And it may very well be. However, recent rumors have suggested that the device will actually be called the ROG Phone 5. And that ASUS will be skipping the number 4 for this release.
Since ASUS has not yet announced the device or confirmed any details surrounding it, take the name with a grain of salt for now. Because if ASUS sticks to the name order, then ROG Phone 4 is the next in line. Still, there is a possibility that the ROG Phone 5 will be the next device in line after last Summer’s ROG phone 3.
This article will be updated regularly to include new information about the ROG Phone 5 as it comes up. These updates will include official teasers, leaks, rumors, and insider claims, and will be listed as such.
The ASUS ROG Phone 5 is ditching the RGB logo for something more functional
The most recent rumor surrounding the ASUS ROG Phone 5 involves the removal of what has been a staple in every ROG Phone so far. The RGB ROG logo on the back of the phone.
Back on January 19, a few leaked images showed up of what is claimed to be a working version of the ROG Phone 5. In these images, the light up RGB ROG logo that usually sits in the middle of the phone is gone. Sort of. The ROG logo is still there on the back. Instead of being directly in the middle though, ASUS has apparently moved it to the bottom left corner.
In the middle now lies what seems to be a secondary display that acts as an RGB light strip of sorts. It can show alerts like incoming calls and texts (via little animated icons), as well as various graphical animations.
There is still some other lighting present, too. It’s just not through the big logo anymore. You can see those leaked images below.
A ROG Phone with a secondary display? It would appear so
One of the bigger noticeable changes about the upcoming ROG Phone is the secondary display located on the back. If you’ve seen the other ROG Phones before, then you’ll know that the direct center of the back of each of those phones usually has the big RGB backlit ROG logo.
ASUS has chosen to replace the logo in the center with that secondary display it seems. But the display isn’t just for looks, it also serves up functionality. Based on the leaked video above, you can see that the display has the capability to show phone alerts.
And it would appear that you can change what it shown on this display through one of the pre-installed apps on the phone. Likely ASUS’ Armoury Crate app. Though you can’t see all of the available options, it seems like there will be a mix of different gaming-inspired display messages like “game start” as well as incoming call alerts, and likely incoming message alerts.
Letting users customize what the display shows at any given time.
The ROG Phone 5 could come with as little as 8GB of RAM
One of the best reasons to get a ROG Phone is the specs. Because ASUS usually packs its ROG Phone models with powerful hardware to really embrace being a performance beast for mobile gaming.
In terms of hardware the ROG Phone is more or less a king among men. Especially with the ROG Phone 3 and its 16GB of RAM. The ROG Phone 5 looks like it may cut that RAM in half. A rumor from back in December claims the phone will have 8GB of RAM at its disposal.
This would be low by the standards of the last two devices. As the ROG Phone 3 came with 12GB and 16GB of RAM and the ROG Phone II came with 12GB and 16GB options as well. ASUS did launch the original ROG Phone with 8GB of RAM. But that was two generations ago and the two phones since have had much more than that.
It doesn’t make much sense for ASUS to backtrack to offering less RAM in the ROG Phone 5 than what it offers in the ROG Phone 5’s predecessor. So at the very least if the rumor about the 8GB of RAM is accurate, it could be that ASUS will have multiple configurations of the phone and that one has a lower amount of RAM to afford users the option of a lower price tag.
With that said, it’s worth keeping in mind that the rumor about the RAM comes from benchmark data. And that benchmark data could be from an earlier version of the phone ASUS was testing.
A Geekbench benchmark shows there will be a 16GB RAM variant of this device
Over the last few days it looks like a benchmark listing has surfaced over on Geekbench. And while the benchmark scores might mean little to some users, the important information is in the specs of the device that are listed along with those scores.
In this case, the ROG Phone 5 is listed with 16GB of RAM. Which means the device should indeed come with a 16GB RAM variant.
What isn’t known is if ASUS will only release a variant with 16GB of RAM or if it will offer any less expensive models that have less RAM and less storage. Like it’s done in the past.
There will be one model with 18GB of RAM for the ultimate in smartphone gaming power
While 16GB might have seemed like a lot, how about 18GB? One of the more recent leaks for the upcoming ROG Phone 5 shows that at least one model of the device will come with 18GB of RAM. Which is more than some people have in their gaming PCs.
Is this more than people will need for a smartphone? Probably. Worth noting though, is that the leak is simply data from a benchmark of one of the ROG Phone 5 variants. And not a confirmation from ASUS in any way. So there’s no way to know for now if there will actually be a model that comes with this much RAM. Still, the thought that there could be, is a little bit exciting.
The benchmark also shows that the device will come with Android 11. Though that was probably to be expected anyways.
ASUS will use the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform
The benchmark rumor also suggests that ASUS will be using the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform in the device.
While it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s highly likely that the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform will indeed be the platform chosen. And that really wouldn’t be surprising. ASUS has used Qualcomm’s top-tier mobile platform every year the ROG Phone was released.
And there’s no reason to believe that the company would stop using the most powerful mobile platform out there. Especially when other high-end flagship devices are already using it. ASUS has a reputation to uphold of being the super powerful gaming phone that comes with the best hardware.
And using the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform is the best way to help towards that goal.
The phone will have three rear cameras
The exact specs aren’t known or rumored yet for the quality of these sensors, but the ROG Phone 5 will most certainly have three rear cameras. As shown in the leaked images and hands-on video from earlier in January.
The ROG Phone 3 also has three rear cameras, so it’s possible that ASUS didn’t change anything here and kept the same camera array. It’s also just as possible that it did swap out the sensors for improved ones.
In either case, expect a similar camera experience on the ROG Phone 5 as what’s available on the ROG Phone 3. Albeit probably with some improved features.
Enough battery power for multi-day use, or one really gaming-heavy day
Keeping with the theme of larger capacity batteries, the ROG phone 5 has been tipped to come with a 6,000mAh capacity battery. The rumor comes from Digital Chat Station, a user on Weibo who shared details about the device back on January 19.
This would be the same capacity battery that you can find in the ROG Phone 3. Which means the ROG Phone 5 will have no problem lasting you two full days on a single charge with light to average use. Or, one really gaming-heavy day if you’re on it non-stop. Perhaps it’s a mobile gaming tournament. Perhaps it’s your day off and you’re just gaming all day.
In any case, a 6,000mAh battery isn’t much of a surprise either if true. Since this is the battery used in the most recent ROG Phone. What would be more surprising is if ASUS actually increased the battery capacity. Though it doesn’t really need to.
The tweet also mentions the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform. Making it more and more likely that this will be the mobile platform used.
Look for the ROG Phone 5 to cost around the same amount as the ROG Phone 3
Right now there haven’t been any rumored prices about the upcoming ROG Phone 5. But consumers should expect the price to be around the same amount as the ROG Phone 3 when it launched last year.
At launch the ROG Phone 3 in the 12GB model that came with 512GB of storage was $999. This was the base model though and ASUS does offer a more expensive version. The same is likely to be true with the upcoming device. Though the prices may not be exactly the same as the current model was at launch.
As for availability, if ASUS sticks to the same time frame then it will probably launch its next ROG Phone sometime this Summer. As the ROG Phone 3 launched late Summer of 2020.
ROG Phone 5 Tenaa listing matches the leaks
Just a couple of weeks ago the Tenaa listing for what appears to be the ROG Phone 5 surfaced, and the images shown in the listing match that of the leaks which have popped up in the weeks that have followed.
Some of the images show what looks like a dot matrix design on the back. In these images it displays the ROG logo. Though it can probably display other stuff too. ASUS already implements this feature on some of its ROG laptops. And it seems to be moving it over to its latest ROG Phone.
The images also show more of the back secondary display. In the Tenaa images the display shows a small graphic as well as the Tencent gaming label. But in the leaked images from the hands-on video it’s known that this secondary display can also show alerts like incoming calls and more.
ASUS could launch the ROG Phone 5 much earlier this year
last year’s ROG Phone 3 didn’t launch until July. But it seems this year ASUS may be looking to get a head start. How? By getting the phone into consumer hands much earlier.
A new report from Digitimes suggests that ASUS is planning to launch the ROG Phone 5 alongside other devices like the upcoming ZenFone. And that they would be releasing by April of this year. ASUS has of course yet to announce the phone. So that means there’s no confirmation on exact release dates yet. And even if it does release in April that doesn’t mean it’ll launch globally in April.
Still, even if the release is limited to Asia at first, it would stand to reason that the ROG Phone 5 would come to the US and other Western countries earlier than the last phone did.
The same report also mentions that ASUS is likely to charge a higher price for the ROG Phone 5 than it did for the ROG Phone 3.
ASUS teases a Tencent model of the ROG Phone 5, confirms name of the phone
As of February 18, ASUS officially took to its ROG Phone Weibo account to confirm the name of the upcoming ROG Phone device, which will indeed be called the ROG Phone 5.
The post in part is a celebration of its partnership with Tencent Games. Which is now in its third-year of a multi-year partnership. The post is accompanied by a teaser image that mentions ROG and Tencent Games. And while the image itself doesn’t mention the ROG Phone 5, the Weibo post, when translated, does.
It also seems to hint at a release of the device sometime in March albeit without mentioning any exact dates.
ASUS sets ROG Phone 5 launch event for March 9
ASUS has now officially set the date for the ROG Phone 5 launch event, which is happening on March 9 in the US. The event will be happening virtually in Taiwan on March 10 at 7PM, which is 6AM on March 9 on the East coast of the US.
That gives consumers just a few more weeks of waiting before finding out how ASUS will be advancing the state of mobile gaming and mobile gaming hardware.
Naturally ASUS hasn’t confirmed any availability dates or price points. And in regards to a global model, it may not reveal that at the event. As it tends to officially announce those details later on. That doesn’t mean it won’t reveal that information at the launch event this year, but if the company follows the same pattern, US availability details will be further out.
