Personal Experience Coming from ROG Phone 5 to ROG Phone 6

[Slnn3R]

ROG Phone 5 Pre Order
RM2999
Free Kunai 3 Controller (RRP: RM599)
AeroActive Cooler 5
RM149 (Actual Price Paid RM44)
ROG Phone 5 Bad Experience Highlights
When the phone first arrived (Initial Firmware Version - Not Updated to any new firmware patch/update), try a few long gaming session such as Genshin Impact (Very High Graphic Setting), the FPS is stable around 50-60 FPS but the Temperature is able to reach 58-60 Degree Celsius in around 20-30mins, most of the time I using Kunai 3 Controller so doesn't feel the heat, but it kinda scary when touching the screen and feel the heat from there.
So decided to get the AeroActive Cooler 5 as I think it may help to improve the situation, it does help improve a bit in a short gaming session, however even with AeroActive Cooler 5 attached, while using By Pass Charging and having around 50mins-60mins gaming session with Genshin Impact, the phone will pop out an Error message saying something like "Temperature in the USB is too High" please unplug, etc. This kinda make me feel I only pay for the AeroActive Cooler 5 Back Button feature but the cooling feature isn't giving any benefit.
KUNAI 3 Controller started to getting some updates (when attach it will auto update), then the KUNAI 3 Controller start behave weirdly, sometimes right controller not able to function, the controller keep connect and disconnecting unexpectedly, bluetooth connection sometime works and sometime not works, etc, basically after KUNAI 3 Controller getting updates, I notice the Controller not able to work normally in a consistent manner, most of the time the controller keep having weird behavior and it works in a very rare manner. I enjoy the KUNAI 3 Controller in the beginning when everything works but after the updates it become Brick for me.
After few firmware updates, the phone doesn't able to heat up until 50-60 Degree Celsius anymore, playing Genshin Impact (Very High Graphic Setting) in very long gaming session the Maximum Temperature is around 45-46 Degree Celsius as well, however the FPS performance is noticeable unstable and the FPS just keep jumping between 30-55 FPS throughout the gaming session. It is playable, however just feel the phone have degraded, it exchange performance over cooler temperature. I heard my other peers with the same phone as mine saying they have no issue to achieve stable 60fps in a long gaming session in Highest Graphical Setting, but the games they play is MOBA and FPS games such as Honor of Glory, PUBG, etc which I don't play.
Around Two Months before my warranty end, the Speaker died, interestingly its morning Alarm did wake me up normally, but for unknown reason, in the afternoon the sound never come out anymore. Send to claim warranty, took around 1 month to receive the phone back, everything work normally.
Bad Experience Conclusion
- The Accessories just doesn't work (cooler don't cool down the phone, controller don't function normally) even they are design for ROG Phone 5. Luckily they don't cost me anything, but they just like some extra bricks for me.
- The updates did solved Genshin Impact overheat issue, but it doesn't solve Genshin Impact performance issue, from feedback from others, the performance on other games are High Tier but I only play Genshin Impact and the experience is feel like Mid Tier for me.
- So overall, this gaming phone doesn't give me the Best Gaming Experience I am expecting. The Main Issue I have above is all about Gaming Experience and my gaming experience score for this ROG Phone 5 would be 6.5/10 (Because I ONLY play Genshin Impact, maybe other games can offer 8/10 or higher experience)
ROG Phone 5 Good Experience Highlights
Speaker are so great, I often feel I didn't utilize the Headphone 3.5mm jackport at all because the Speaker Audio Quality is so good that I don't need earphone to enjoy best sound in Most Situation.
The screen experience is superb, its brightness can be still very high and clear under the Sun, in all visual media I that I consume with the phone, it is the best visual experience I ever experience in a mobile device.
Performance in all apps (except gaming with Genshin Impact) and connectivity software (wifi, bluetooth, hotspot, mobile data, gps, etc) is superb, over 60hz above visual performance, very responsive in every tab, switch from app to app is very instant, never experience any lag, freeze or performance issue on my daily apps usage. I got no issue with the Connectivity function in the phone and I feel they perform much more better compare to my last phone.
The build quality of the phone is very good, I love the phone allow me to hold it firmly and it gave me a premium touch/holding feeling, I don't use screen protector and just use the phone free case, after year of using, I don't see any Obvious scratch or physical damage on anywhere of my phone.
I am very satisfy with the battery performance as well, it last so long and the fast charging just way to fast. I never find myself worry about no enough battery in my whole year of usage and my phone never shutdown due to low battery ever.
Some additional bonus, the On Screen Finger Thumbprint, for me they function very well and very convenience. The LED Notification Indicator is a Good Plus for me, I prefer the LED Notification on top of the screen Indicator than the RGB Light Indicator on the back of the phone. The squeeze to open Apps feature, Double tab lock screen feature are also something I don't ever want to miss out from my phone, they are just some feature I rely and use too often everyday.
Good Experience Conclusion
- My previous phone is Google Pixel 2XL, ROG Phone 5 just gave me another next next level of "Smart Phone Experience" in my daily usage of the phone in all use case scenarios (except Gaming)
- Technically I utilized all of the phone feature and they gave me the Best Experience I ever had everyday, I definitely gave 9/10 score for my daily practical usage of the phone.

Based on my 1 years+ usage of ROG Phone 5, If this is a "Zenfone", I will gave 9/10 Score, but this is a "ROG Phone", so I think it is reasonable for me to expect the Accessories will Work and the Performance of Genshin Impact should stable, the only Gaming Experience I feel it work well upon my expectation so far is ONLY the AirTrigger. So my final score of this phone would be 7/10 which consider an above mid-tier experience.
Moving On, I have sold everything of my ROG PHONE 5 with RM1500 and Pre-Order ROG Phone 6.
ROG Phone 6 Pre Order
RM3590
Free Additional 1 Year Warranty
Free AeroActive Cooler 6
Why ROG PHONE again?
In term of daily practical usage, my score is 9/10, so there no reason for me to not experience it on ROG Phone again, but the main feature I don't wanna lose is the Speaker Audio Experience, so ROG Phone's Speaker is always on my mind and wish list.
Pre-order gave me extra warranty so the phone basically have 2 years warranty just like ROG laptops which gave me more confidence on its quality and peace of mind in case there is any issue. My current ROG Phone 5 already out of warranty so I kinda just wanna get rid of this "time bomb".
It seem like the Temperature did improve without AeroActive Cooler, with the new AeroActive Cooler 6 it feel like something would really improve the Gaming Experience, so I would like to it give it another chance and hope ROG Phone 6 would gave me better gaming experience.
My Expectation
Just continue to do well in everything I mentioned on "ROG Phone 5 Good Experience Highlights" section, then I am definitely cool with it, however based on the spec it seem like it surely will gave me better experience on my daily practical phone usage.
Stable 50-60 FPS on Genshin Impact Highest Graphical Setting (I don't mind Disable Anti-aliasing and in Low Shadow setting ONLY) in 30mins game play session.
Stable 50-60 FPS on Genshin Impact Highest Graphical Setting (I don't mind Disable Anti-aliasing and in Low Shadow setting ONLY) in 1hours+ game play session with the AeroActive Cooler 6.
Is my expectation reasonable enough or I expecting too much? Will ROG Phone 6 achieve these expectation or is it impossible to achieve (for the Gaming Experience Expectation)?
What do you guys think? 🤔

[ktw]

Danishblunt

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/217825#Comment_217825

sadly the first video shows the exact problem. The FPS only are stable in low demand dungeon, however once demand is high they just tank. Look at 6:35, FPS go to sht.

As for the other video, it was quite worthless, we had no clue where he played, if it was demanding or just another light load.

What bothers me is the fact that the input lag in CODM seems to be massive. And the battery drain on more demanding games like genshin is just friggn insane. The phone has a worse battery live than a fking switch. I'm sorry but the optimization is just piss poor.

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And sadly I don't think any phones as of now can handle the rendering sht around that particular Windrise tree area gracefully without experiencing FPS drop at the highest graphic setting, which is what we observe from the 1st video -- btw it's most likely the highest shadow effect that's causing the FPS drop problem, and devs of Genshin Impact definitely needs to work on optimizing certain areas in the game. Even PC is having trouble with that tree rendering sht at the highest shadow effect 😑.
Anyway---
The test cases in the 2nd video are mentioned elsewhere in one of the channel's other videos earlier, which includes going around Sangonomiya Shrine/Watatsumi Island, Grand Narukami Shrine (night time), and Liyue Harbor (night time). These areas are agreed-upon heavy load/demanding rendering places and are commonly used by Chinese and Taiwanese reviewers. HOWEVER, I would also not take 100% of the results from the 2nd video because the temperature numbers just seem a bit too "beautiful" 🤔. In other Chinese reviews, their phones could also run at stable 50-60 FPS, but they reached about 43~45 degrees after 30 min and 44~47 degrees after 1 hr of playtime. That is more in sync with the temperature readings in the 1st video.
I'd suggest waiting for 极客湾Geekerwan's review if he is making one. He usually does a pretty good job of doing an in-depth analysis of the phone's performance.

[Slnn3R]

While reading this article (www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-teardown-shows-internal-construction/) found out this ROG PHONE 6 Tear down video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuUvYkp5JuM&t=444s
@Danishblunt @FunBike31 @ktw You guys seem quite knowledgeable in Mobile Phone Hardware and Technical stuff, what do you guys think toward this ROG PHONE 6 tear down?
Also wonder if you guys read this review from XDA before or not, I wonder if what they write in the Gaming Performance section just some unreliable marketing promote or it is a quite reliable and legit info?
https://www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-pro-review/

[ktw]

Slnn3R

While reading this article (www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-teardown-shows-internal-construction/) found out this ROG PHONE 6 Tear down video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuUvYkp5JuM&t=444s

@Danishblunt @FunBike31 @ktw You guys seem quite knowledgeable in Mobile Phone Hardware and Technical stuff, what do you guys think toward this ROG PHONE 6 tear down?

Also wonder if you guys read this review from XDA before or not, I wonder if what they write in the Gaming Performance section just some unreliable marketing promote or it is a quite reliable and legit info?

https://www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-pro-review/

View post

I watched that teardown video a few days ago when the phone just got announced. The internal structure of the ROG Phone 6 is pretty much the same as the ROG Phone 5, which comes with a 5-section design as opposed to the 3-section design that you'll find in most other phones, so I suspect that it'll be just as fragile as before.
I'd say that this is a matter of trade-off and personal preference (and maybe how you use your phone). ASUS intentionally uses this 5-section design so it can place the main board with the 8+Gen 1 chip at the center of the device. The benefit is that when users use the phone horizontally, their hands on the two sides won't feel the heat and the AeroCooler can transfer the heat from this center section directly, which is kinda clever. HOWEVER, this design comes at the cost of phone durability and perhaps difficulties for battery/components replacement and repairment. A typical 3-section design would get more support from the long battery being placed across the internal body of the phone; this 5-section one does not. I personally don't like it very much due to durability concerns, but since I don't bend the phones like how Zack from JerryRigEverything does in his videos, I think I can still take that, only with some extra care needed 😐️.
For the XDA review, I wouldn't take it too seriously 😛. It doesn't really say too much about the phone's performance, only subjective feelings and no objective data/stats number.

[FunBike31]

Slnn3R

While reading this article (www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-teardown-shows-internal-construction/) found out this ROG PHONE 6 Tear down video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuUvYkp5JuM&t=444s

@Danishblunt @FunBike31 @ktw You guys seem quite knowledgeable in Mobile Phone Hardware and Technical stuff, what do you guys think toward this ROG PHONE 6 tear down?

Also wonder if you guys read this review from XDA before or not, I wonder if what they write in the Gaming Performance section just some unreliable marketing promote or it is a quite reliable and legit info?

https://www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-pro-review/

View post

Yes, I have seen it as well as many other tests, unfortunately, for a long time now, there have been no more exhaustive/professional tests for smartphones, no more radio sensitivity/directivity, gps, photos with reference chart, efficiency stabilization with calibrated vibrating foot, pro audio measurement, the tests are "very general public", obviously pro equipment such as an anechoic chamber with electromagnetic shielding is not for anyone to wear, but the essential minimum which is free or almost is totally forgotten by these testers!!
This mandatory minimum is the firmware version and version of the main modules such as openGL, followed by the ambient temperature, controlled at 20° and identical in the case of comparison, the ambient noise is also important if we are testing coolers, the software version is rarely indicated, in short, there is not much to remember, whether it is XDA or others, read well between the lines, compare a lot and do not jump to conclusions too quickly.
On XDA, there are a few points to remember but the firmware and the versions being unknown, this remains a point of vigilance to deepen. (abnormal telephony noise when changing the portrait-to-landscape orientation), single/dual band Wi-Fi speed and latency bug and Aether SX2 bug).
I learned from the XDA test that the RGB back was important, so I tried to read it but I had a fairly negative preconception 🙂
A slightly more serious test is this one, https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_rog_phone_6_pro-review-2446.php
but do not take into account the performance conclusions with the Rog5 because obviously, the tester has never tested the latest firmwares of the Rog 5/5s and these limitations of the SOC in relation to the temperature.
In short, I think Rog 6 without aerocooler 6 is not playable
Finally, no test reports the bugs corrected by asus and that surprises me a lot because this firmware was published well after the tests, the testers received the copies in June and this firmware Version WW-32.2810.2205.63 dates from 2022/ 05/07
2. Fix occasional UI issue when plugging in charger to AeroActive Cooler 6.
3. Fix abnormal sound issue when receiving call during gaming/video playback
4. Fix issue with button control on AeroActive Cooler 6 while gaming
5. Fixed occasional poor call quality issue
6. Fixed occasional abnormal signal when navigating with Google Map
Also remember that there is a special back delivered with Aerocooler 6, very indented, this can be really disabling depending on use.
Unsurprisingly, it will not pass jerry's durability test and trouser pockets are prohibited if you want the SIM connector / fingerprint reader to remain usable.
Here, it was long and drawn in your conclusions, for my part, the ROG 6 without 2 of the accessories that existed for the rog 3 does not interest me.

[ktw]

Slnn3R

While reading this article (www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-teardown-shows-internal-construction/) found out this ROG PHONE 6 Tear down video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuUvYkp5JuM&t=444s

@Danishblunt @FunBike31 @ktw You guys seem quite knowledgeable in Mobile Phone Hardware and Technical stuff, what do you guys think toward this ROG PHONE 6 tear down?

Also wonder if you guys read this review from XDA before or not, I wonder if what they write in the Gaming Performance section just some unreliable marketing promote or it is a quite reliable and legit info?

https://www.xda-developers.com/asus-rog-phone-6-pro-review/

View post

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Never mind. I think there was a bug with edit feature earlier 😛