I found the ultimate ‘for enthusiasts’ phone in the most unexpected way

Sure, what you are seeing above is a telephone — the identical factor you are taking calls with, textual content household and pals with, seize photos with, and hunt for Bluesky invitations with.

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It is known as the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, and except you are vested within the cellular gaming house, that is most likely your first time seeing the gadget and its electro-fan concoction. It’s going to all make sense in only a second.

What’s necessary right here is that whereas I used to be anticipating this to be simply one other gaming telephone (and it most actually is,) this gadget is secretly probably the most “for fanatic” handset you should buy proper now. And I am speaking for followers of smartphones on the whole, not simply players. This is why.

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Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate

Flagship specifications and a bevy of performance-enhancing features make this the phone power users have been waiting for.

I will reduce proper into the specs: You are getting a 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED show with a 165Hz refresh fee, the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a triple digital camera setup that may shoot 8K video, Wi-Fi 6E and seven, and a dual-cell 6,000mAh battery.

All of those values are nearly as good because it will get for a telephone in 2023. So, as a substitute of boring you with how competent the ROG Cellphone 7 Final is for day-to-day experiences, I will shed extra mild on the particular options that make this value your consideration, beginning with that air cooler pictured earlier.

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Asus sells two variants of its ROG Cellphone 7: The standard and the Ultimate. The latter, featured on this article, comes with what the corporate calls the AeroActive Cooler 7, a USB-C powered fan that helps with warmth dissipation.

Such an adjunct is slightly widespread within the gaming telephone house, however Asus takes issues to the following degree right here, implementing a carry gate on the again aspect of the telephone that flips open when the fan is connected. That manner, all the warmth is launched near-instantly, and the gadget stays snug to make use of.

Past gaming, I have been utilizing the fan for 3 issues: Cooling the telephone whereas it is charging to cut back battery degradation, cooling the telephone after I’m video enhancing to keep up efficiency, and offering enhanced bass after I’m listening to music or watching movies. That is proper, the AeroActive Cooler has a built-in subwoofer that provides the telephone’s speaker some further oomph, and it makes a noticeable distinction.

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I will admit, holding the Asus ROG Cellphone 7 Final — with or with out the cooler — generally is a chore. It isn’t the heaviest telephone available on the market, however it will possibly really feel top-heavy due to the dual-cell batteries (two 3,000mAh capacities) positioned above and beneath the motherboard. By comparability, a typical handset homes its battery on the underside aspect solely, permitting your palm to maintain a lot of the weight. It solely took me three to 4 days earlier than I bought used to the shape issue, although.

Lastly, the taller design of the Asus allowed the corporate to combine two telephone options I dearly missed: A 3.5mm headphone jack and a notification LED. In the event you’re like me and miss the times of understanding precisely what incoming alerts had been while not having to wake the telephone display screen, or with the ability to take heed to music with zero latency or Bluetooth pairing issues, then you definately’ll have a nostalgic subject journey with this gadget.

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In the end, the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is a gaming telephone, and I am not going to make it out to be anything. For what you are getting, do not count on this to value any lower than the top-end iPhone or Samsung Galaxy telephone. (Asus hints at a $1,300 price ticket when the telephone releases within the coming weeks.) However when you take a look at the specs, the options, and the way they will all enable you to with on a regular basis duties higher than mainstream opponents, the telephone just isn’t as alienating because it appears.