ASUS has officially launched the ROG Phone 7 series in Australia, with the phones now hitting stores.
This year, two models are available locally: the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.
Both smartphones are packing some serious heat with a Gen 2 Snapdragon 8 chipset and a 165Hz Samsung AMOLED display. They're also compatible with all the additional bells and whistles of past ROG Phone releases, like the AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory — a portable cooling system with its own kickstand, subwoofer, and physical controls for gaming.
Both the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate are available now. The ROG Phone 7 will set you back $1,799 while the premium ROG Phone 7 Ultimate comes in at $2,099. Both handsets come with 512GB internal storage. For the sake of comparison, its top Android competitor, the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, costs $2,249.
The ROG Phone 7 series is available at the ASUS online store, Amazon Australia, or in-store at JB Hi-Fi. The standard ROG Phone 7 comes in Phantom Black or Storm White while the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is available exclusively in Storm White. The phones aren't available on a mobile plan.
Unlike many other premium smartphone tiers, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is nearly identical to the standard ROG Phone 7 in all but a few areas.
Firstly, the standard ROG Phone 7 comes in a cheaper 256GB model in some markets, but not in Australia.
Other than that, the only major difference between the two models is that the Ultimate has a 2-inch OLED display on the back that can be customised with flashy RGBs and animations, whereas the standard ROG Phone 7 has a simple glowing ROG logo. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also has a built-in “AeroActive Portal,” a motorised cooling system for those heated gaming moments.
That’s pretty much all that the extra $300 will get you. On one hand, it’s refreshing that ASUS doesn’t make you fork out a premium for premium specs, but $300 for a tiny OLED display on the back of your phone is a bit much.
Shared key specifications include a 6.78-inch 1080p+ display with a 165Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 512GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, IP54 water resistance, and a 6,000mAh battery. In terms of photographic prowess, both have a 50MP primary lens, 13MP ultra-wide lens, 5MP macro lens, and 32MP selfie camera.
This story first appeared on our sister site Reviews.org/AU
Brodie Fogg
Managing Editor - Streaming
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