Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro vs. ROG Phone 7 Ultimate: So much power

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  Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

  New gaming champion

  $1200 $1315 Save $115

  Asus has done it again with the ROG Phone 8 Pro. It’s stunningly powerful and features top-tier specs throughout. It’s a great all-around device, capable of just about anything you need to do. It’s not perfect, but if you can look past its few flaws, it’s a great gaming machine.

  Pros

  • Amazingly powerful
  • Bright, beautiful, smooth display
  • Two days of battery life

  Cons

  • Front-facing camera interferes with the display
  • Battery capacity is slightly smaller
  • Weak update policy

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  Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate

  Still powerful

  The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate may have come out a year ago, but it’ll happily go toe-to-toe with any of the latest Android devices. With a powerful processor, a beautiful display, and days of battery life, it’s a great device. But it does have a few shortcomings that may just hold it back.

  Pros

  • Still capable of just about anything you need it to do
  • Bright, beautiful, smooth display
  • Bigger battery

  Cons

  • Camera isn’t as versatile
  • Design can be polarizing
  • Weak upgrade policy

Asus is no stranger to gaming, as many are familiar with their Republic of Gamers brand. They brought that gaming expertise to the smartphone industry, helping create some of the best gaming phones on the market.

Gaming on a smartphone offers a lot of flexibility and is perfect for those who are always on the go. Mobile games excel at being played for as long as possible. These gaming sessions allow you to use your device just about anywhere. Whether you’re on your couch, in a waiting room, or riding the subway, there’s always something available to help pass the time.

Last year’s Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate was a fantastic device that did a lot right. This year, Asus shifted gears and changed things with the ROG Phone 8 Pro. It’s time to decide which gaming phone deserves to be called the best.

Price, availability, and specs

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro hit shelves in January 2024, along with a starting price of $1,200 for the version with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The price balloons to $1,500 if you opt for the version with 24GB of RAM. Hopefully, you aren’t in love with having color options because there is only one color you can choose from, Phantom Black. You can find the ROG Phone 8 Pro directly from Asus or retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Micro Center.

The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate was a little less than a year old when the ROG Phone 8 Pro was announced. The Phone 7 Ultimate launched in May 2023 with a staggering price of $1,400. It is also available in a single color, Storm White. At one point, you could get this phone directly from Asus or retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Walmart, but it has become difficult to find now that the ROG Phone 8 series has launched.

• 	Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro	Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
  Display dimensions	6.78″	6.78″
  Display resolution	1080 x 2400	2448 x 1080
  RAM	16GB or 24GB	16GB
  Storage	512GB or 1TB	512GB
  Battery	5500mAh	6,000mAh
  Charge speed	65W wired, 15W wireless	65W wired
  Charge options	USB-C, Qi wireless 1.3	Wired
  Ports	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
  SIM support	Dual	Dual SIM (Nano SIM)
  Operating System	Android 14	Android 13
  Front camera	32MP RGBW	32MP, f/2.5
  Rear camera	50MP, f/1.9 main; 13MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 32MP, f/2.4 telephoto	50MP f/1.9 (wide); 13MP f/2.2 (ultrawide); 5MP f/2.0 (macro)
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 7
  Connectivity	NFC	NFC
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3
  Dimensions	163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm	173 x 77 x 10.3mm
  Weight	225g	239g
  IP Rating	IP68	IP54
  Colors	Phantom Black	Storm White
  Stylus	No	No
  Price	$1,200	From $1400

Design

Designs routinely don’t change a ton in a year, but Asus decided to play with it a bit. In the end, it made a potentially polarizing design choice that won’t sit well with everyone. The 8 Pro measures 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm and weighs a hefty 225g. The 7 Ultimate is a bit bigger, measuring 173 x 77 x 10.3mm, and weighs a bit more at 246g.

The ROG Phone 8 Pro has an aluminum frame along with a Gorilla Glass back. There is also a 341 Mini-LED programmable matrix on the exterior, allowing you to customize it with different things like battery life or the weather, or you can just turn it off entirely. There are two USB-C ports, one along the edge and another on the bottom. It also has two pressure-sensitive areas that act as gaming triggers, and it carries an IP68 rating against dust and water ingress.

Like its newer sibling, Asus designed the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate with an aluminum frame and a Gorilla Glass back. The back has a built-in motorized air vent to attach the AeroActive Portal for additional cooling. It also has a small 2-inch OLED display on the exterior that can display blue and pink. There are two USB-C ports and gaming triggers, just like the ROG 8 Pro. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate only has an IP54 rating, making it more dust and splash-resistant than full-on protected.

Controversial design decisions

Looking at the front of the device, a major design change becomes immediately apparent. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate has thinner side bezels and chunky bezels at the top and bottom. Chunky bezels normally cause a stir in the industry, but the 7 Ultimate uses the extra bezel space to house the dual front-firing speakers and the front-facing camera. This allowed Asus to dedicate the entire screen to playing games without a hole in the display.

The ROG 8 Pro slims the bezels down a lot, making them more uniform on all four sides of the display. It makes for a cleaner aesthetic, but it made some compromises to get there. The front-facing camera now sits in the display itself, which some may find off-putting. Asus also moved one of the front-facing speakers to the bottom of the device, so it’s much easier to accidentally impede the sound with your hand.

Display

If you won’t settle for anything less than a gorgeous display to play your favorite titles, then you will be happy with either of these devices. The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro ships with a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display. Its 165Hz refresh rate, 2500 nits of peak brightness, and 2400 x 1080 resolution allow for fluid, bright, and crisp gameplay. To put it simply, this display is just a pleasure to look at. It is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but you should probably keep it protected with a quality screen protector.

The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also carries a 6.78-inch, 165Hz AMOLED display. It loses the LTPO, so it can’t quite lower its refresh rate as much as the 8 Pro, and it’s a bit dimmer with 1500 nits of peak brightness. With a 2448 x 1080 resolution, it’s still plenty sharp and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. The display on either device will deliver a great visual gaming experience.

Software

Coming from the same manufacturer, you won’t get a major difference from a software perspective. The ROG Phone 8 Pro ships with Android 14 and the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate came with Android 13 but has since received an upgrade to Android 14. Both devices include the Asus ROG UI on top of Android.

As a gaming phone, Asus has spent a lot of time creating software that takes gaming to a different level. Much of the software revolves around the Armory Crate. This piece of software has multiple uses, such as allowing you to use it as a game launcher with customized settings for each game. It even allows you to choose your resolution and framerate on a game-by-game basis. Games can also be recorded from the Armory Crate and uploaded later.

What is a shame is that both devices will only see two major Android updates and four years of security updates. That means the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate will not get Android OS upgrades after Android 15. With devices this powerful, Asus should support them for at least an additional year of OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Performance

Asus knows how important performance is to any gaming device, so it should come as no surprise that both devices are highly performant gaming phones. The ROG Phone 8 Pro ships with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and comes in two different configurations. You can get it with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage or 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate may be a bit older, but it’s still a very capable performer. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, the 7 Ultimate has more than enough firepower to play whatever game you want.

How much difference does a year make in processor performance? As it turns out, the difference between them is big. In Geekbench 6 the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 gets a single-core score of 2317 and a multicore score of 7272. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 gets 1873 and 5326, respectively. In the Wildlife Extreme benchmark, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 gets a score of 5325, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 gets a score of 3763.

Benchmarks don’t tell the whole story and while the difference looks large on paper, in real-world performance, you aren’t going to notice much of a difference in gaming capabilities. At least, not for now. As time progresses, the stronger processor used in the ROG Phone 8 Pro will help keep games looking great for a bit longer.

Battery life

The ROG Phone 8 Pro comes with a 5,500mAh battery and the Phone 7 Ultimate ships with a 6,000mAh battery. Despite the slight size difference, you can expect very similar longevity from the phones. Without even trying to conserve energy, the devices should make it through two full days.

If they do happen to get low on juice, they can be fully charged in about an hour with a 65W power brick. Both devices can also utilize their two USB-C ports for charging, allowing you to choose the most convenient port for your needs. The ROG Phone 8 Pro can even be charged wirelessly, thanks to its support for Qi 1.3. The 7 Ultimate lacks wireless charging.

Camera

If there was one area where the ROG Phone lineup was lacking, it was with the camera system. Recognizing this, Asus gave the ROG Phone 8 Pro some much-needed love. Its triple camera setup consists of a 50MP f/1.9 24mm wide lens, a 32MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 13MP f/2.2 120-degree ultrawide lens. Its front-facing camera is also no slouch with a 32MP f/2.5 lens.

The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also ships with a 50MP f/1.9 24mm wide lens, a 13MP f/2.2 120-degree ultrawide lens, and a 5MP f/2.0 macro lens. It also has a 32MP f/2.5 front-facing camera.

Both phones can record 8K video at 24fps, or 4K up to 60fps and the front-facing camera can record 1080p video up to 30fps.

The Phone 8 Pro is the more versatile and dependable shooter in this group. With a 6-axis gimbal stabilizer, shots should come out looking blur-free. It also swaps the macro lens on the 7 Ultimate for a telephoto lens that lets you zoom in on your subject without losing any of the detail. The 7 Ultimate’s main and ultrawide lenses aren’t bad either. They just aren’t as reliable as the ones on the Phone 8 Pro.

Which is right for you?

Both the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro and the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate could easily stand toe-to-toe with any of the best Android phones today. They are big, powerful, and just great all-around devices. Picking a winner is a difficult task and will come down to your personal preference.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro has a better processor, great display, fantastic battery life, and a solid camera system. It’ll have no problem playing the latest and greatest games and offers a more subdued overall style compared to its older sibling. It’s not without its faults, though. It now sports a hole-punch camera, which some people may find distracting while gaming. It also comes with a slightly smaller battery. If I were buying brand new, I would opt for the new ROG Phone 8 Pro, but I have zero issues looking past the hole-punch camera.

If you want your phone to be a bit more flashy, or can’t stand something interfering with your edge-to-edge display, then the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate deserves some serious love. It also has a slightly larger battery, but that likely won’t make much of a difference. Outside of that, there’s not much reason to purchase the older phone. But if you already own one, rest assured your device is still a beast and an upgrade isn’t needed. Enjoy your device and keep your eyes focused on what’s important, playing your favorite games.