ASUS ROG Phone 6D Ultimate review

introduction

ASUS announced ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro in July with all the usual hype. Both phones use Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and are packed with the usual set of advanced cooling and control options you’ve come to expect from ASUS gaming phones. A long silence followed that announcement, which convinced us that the Taiwanese giant had just decided to simplify its lineup this year and to give up an “Ultimate” edition.

Luckily for all the mobile gaming pros and fanatics out there, that’s not the case. The silence was soon broken by rumors of a MediaTek-powered variant of the ROG Phone 6, which turned out to be true. Enter the ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate. The “D” in the name stands for “Dimensity” and both phones are based on the top-dog MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset. A bold and unusual move from ASUS.

Asus ROG Phone 6D Ultimate specs at a glance:

• Body: 173.0×77.0x10.3 mm, 239 g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass 3), aluminum frame; Built-in motorized cooling air vent (AeroActive portal), IPX4 water resistant, 2 “OLED display (on the back), pressure sensitive zones (game trigger).
• Screen: 6.78 “AMOLED, 1B colors, 165Hz, HDR10 +, 800 nits (typical), 1200 nits (peak), resolution 1080x2448px, aspect ratio 20.4: 9, 395ppi.
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.35 GHz Cortex-X2 and 3×3.20 GHz Cortex-A710 and 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Mali-G710 MC10.
• Memory: 512 GB 18 GB RAM; UFS 3.1, NTFS support for external storage.
• Operating system / software: Android 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f / 1.9, 1 / 1.56 “, 1.0µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f / 2.2; Macro: 5 MP.
• Front camera: 12 MP, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30/60/120/240 fps, 720p at 480fps; gyroscope-EIS; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps.
• Battery: 6000 mAh; Fast Charging 65W, Reverse Charging 10W, Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 5.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; 3.5 mm jack; stereo speakers (2 amplifiers).

This time around ASUS is not only taking a MediaTek chip, but is also clearly betting a little bit on it by giving it the nickname “Ultimate”. Today we have the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate under review. Just like its historical predecessors, the Ultimate edition is largely based on the vanilla design, but with a few small additions here and there as a sort of “icing on the cake”. This year the Ultimate receives no extra input, but rather a new one AeroActive portal – a motorized air duct that provides the AeroActive Cooler 6 connection with a channel to directly cool the internal parts of the device.

Along with the potential cooling and performance benefits it provides to the Dimensity 9000+ chipset, it will be the focus of this review. We’ll be referring to our extensive ROG Phone 6 Pro review for all the bits we’ve already covered regarding hardware or software.

Just to clear up some potential points of confusion, this is the review of the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate, which currently sits at the top of the ROG Phone 6 range. It has a Dimensity 9000+ chipset, just like the vanilla ROG Phone 6D, but unlike the ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro, which use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The ROG Phone 6D Ultimate also exclusively features the new AeroActive Portal and, unlike the other phones in the range, always comes bundled with an AeroActive Cooler 6 in the packaging. Hope this clears up a few points, and speaking of the cooling accessory, before moving on to performance, thermals, battery, charging and camera testing, let’s take a look at the retail packaging.

Unpacking

ROG phones have traditionally made a statement with their retail boxes. ASUS decided to tone down that particular aspect of the experience a while ago, and currently, most of the phones in the ROG Phone 6 range arrive in regular two-piece boxes. Not the 6D Ultimate, though. It ships in a hexagonal prism box which is quite eye catching.

The box employs a two-piece retractable construction that also looks futuristic and a bit like unveiling a weapon. There is certainly enough material to keep the phone safe during shipping which is nice to look at. And most of the space is surprisingly well used inside the box.

After paying for an Ultimate edition, Asus offers all the trimmings. The base slides out to reveal the bottom compartment, charger and cable. The HyperCharge charger is an extremely compact and surprisingly lightweight unit with a Power Delivery output of up to 65W on a Type-C port. Asus relies on fully standard PD + PPS for fast charging, which is a real treat to see . It is rated for 5V / 9V / 12V / 15V @ up to 3A, 20V @ up to 3.25A and PPS 3.3-11V @ 3A, 3.3-21V @ 3, 25A for up to 65W. This versatile charger can also easily be used to power some modern laptops. In the box you will also find a nice black braided USB Type C to Type C cable.

There’s also a case included with our unit, which Asus says should be part of the sales package. Check with your local store for details on this, though. This isn’t the Asus AeroActive case that came with our ROG Phone 6 Pro unit, but rather the much thinner case with bigger and bigger holes that comes with the AeroActive Cooler 6 if you buy it separately.

And last but definitely not least, the AeroActive Cooler 6 comes bundled with every ROG Phone 6D Ultimate unit. Also in the box is a SIM eject tool, some flyers, and an oddly shaped ROG card that should be used as part of an ASUS AR setup experience.