After months of speculation, Asus announced the Asus ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro in July. The company’s flagship gaming phone comes loaded with all the premium features we’ve come to expect, but that’s just the beginning.

Just a few weeks later came his two new ROG phones, the 6D and 6D Ultimate. These are designed as replacements rather than replacements for the 6 and 6 Pro, headlined by a chipset switch from Qualcomm to MediaTek.

But there are also all-new cooling features exclusive to the 6D Ultimate. But after all, Asus didn’t stop there. We’ve seen Batman versions of the regular 6 and 6 Pro before, but now the former is available in Diablo’s Immortal-inspired design. Everything you need to know is here.

Asus ROG Phone 6 release date

Asus debuted the ROG Phone 6 Series back on 5 July 2022, with the announcement of the ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro. Both phones are now available to buy in the US and UK:

• Buy the ROG Phone 6 in the US
• Buy the ROG Phone 6 in the UK
• Buy the ROG Phone 6 Pro in the US – out of stock
• Buy the ROG Phone 6 Pro in the UK

The ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate then launched at a separate event on 19 September, and both are available to buy in the UK. However, they’re not currently available in the US:

• Buy the ROG Phone 6D in the UK
• Buy the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate in the UK

We’ve also seen a couple of special editions of some phones. That includes MediaTek and Snapdragon-powered Batman models in September, and a ROG Phone 6 inspired by the Diablo Immortal game in November.

• Buy the ROG Phone 6 Batman Edition in the US
• Buy the ROG Phone 6 Batman Edition in the UK
• Pre-order the ROG Phone 6 Diablo Immortal Edition in the UK

Asus ROG Phone 6 pricing

All the ROG Phone 6 Series handsets are premium devices, and that’s reflected in the prices:

• ROG Phone 6 (12GB RAM, 256GB storage) – $999/£899/€999
• ROG Phone 6 (16GB RAM, 512GB storage) – $1,099/£999/€1,149
• ROG Phone 6 Pro (18GB RAM, 512GB storage) – $1,299/£1,099/€1,299
• ROG Phone 6 Batman Edition (12GB RAM, 256GB storage) – $1,199.99/£1,049.99
• ROG Phone 6 Diablo Immortal Edition (16GB RAM, 512GB storage) – $1,299/£1,099/€1,299
• ROG Phone 6D (16GB RAM, 512GB storage) – £799/€949 (approx. $917)
• ROG Phone 6D Batman Edition (12GB RAM, 256GB storage) – €1,199 (approx. $1,200/£1,050)
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate (16GB RAM, 512GB storage – £1,199/€1,399 (approx. $1,377)

For context, the regular ROG Phone 5S cost $1,099/£999 at launch, with the 5S Pro rising to $1,299/£1,099. For the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, you had to pay €1,299 at launch.

Asus ROG Phone 6 specs and features

ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro

The ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro are undoubtedly high-end smartphones, and that’s reflected in the highest-end specs available on both phones.

For most people, the most significant upgrade is moving to the brand new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset in both phones. Compared to the ROG Phone 5 series Snapdragon 888+, it’s a two-generation leap. Not only is the performance noticeably improved, but the power efficiency is greatly improved as well.

While the regular ROG Phone 6 is available with 12GB or 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 18GB is the only option on the Pro. The phone supports dual SIMs, but lacks expandable storage, so you’ll have to settle for 256/512GB on the 6, or 512GB on the 6 Pro only.

Both phones still have a 6.78-inch FHD+ (2448×1080) AMOLED display, but the refresh rate is now 165Hz, up from 144Hz on the ROG Phone 5 series, and alongside the Red Magic 7 and 7 Pro are faster phones. highest refresh rate you can buy. However, it has the same 360Hz touch sampling rate – much lower than what you’ll find on Nubia phones.

Playing games on such a vivid screen will certainly affect battery life, but Asus keeps the same 6,000mAh battery as before. However, the jump from 144Hz to 165Hz doesn’t have a big impact on the excellent battery life we’ve seen on the ROG Phone 5s Pro. You also get a 65W charger included in the box. Both the ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro have identical camera setups. That means a 50Mp main lens, a 13Mp ultra-wide lens, and a 5Mp macro lens on the back, as well as a 12Mp front camera. The latter can be used for face unlock, but you’ll likely rely on an under-display fingerprint sensor instead.

Aside from more RAM, the only difference on the Pro is the “ROG Vision” secondary display on the back. It can be used to display battery percentage, incoming calls, and information about your connected accessories. But unlike the external display of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, it cannot display your notifications. On a regular phone, there is only one bright logo with the RGB lights in the same place.

The phones ship running Android 12, but Asus has introduced its usual range of gamer-specific software tweaks. It only commits to two major Android updates and two years of security updates, which suggests it’ll get Android 13 and and one more.

At 228g, the 6 and 6 Pro are among the heaviest handsets you can buy. This can be increased further by connecting a wide range of accessories, including the Kunai 3 gamepad and AeroActive Cooler 3. However, these are optional extras which need to be purchased separately.

Functionally, the Batman Edition is identical to the standard ROG Phone 6. The changes are purely aesthetic, with a custom rear design, various software tweaks, and a new carrying case included in the box. You also get a Batman themed SIM eject tool and an LED light that can project the iconic logo onto any surface.

The same can be said for the Diablo Immortal Edition, which includes what Asus describes as a “flame effect finish”. When you move the back of the phone, it looks like the flame is moving all over the device.

You also get the usual matching accessories, which this time include a case and map featuring invisible ink. Even the SIM ejector tool has been give a Diablo-themed makeover.

ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate

The 6D and 6D Ultimate have lots in common with the regular 6 and 6 Pro. So, what’s actually different?

There are two key changes worth highlighting, but only one applies to both phones. The 6D and 6D Ultimate are powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ chipset, as opposed to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The 9000+ is MediaTek’s most powerful chipset, but it remains to be seen how this will affect both performance and power efficiency, with the latter a particular strength of the 8+ Gen 1.

Asus combines this with up to 16GB of RAM on both phones, with no option for the 18GB found on the 6 Pro. However, that’s because it uses the faster DDR5X standard, which isn’t yet available above 16GB – performance is likely to benefit rather than suffer from this change.

Before the event, Asus said the 6D Ultimate would feature a new cooling system “that allows airflow unlike any ROG Phone before”. As it turns out, this is via a new flap on the back of the phone which Asus is calling an ‘Aeroactive Portal’. When the AeroActive Cooler 6 (which is included in the box with the 6D Ultimate only) is connected, this automatically opens to help improve heat dissipation. Compared to just the cooler, this is supposedly up to 20% better in terms of thermal efficiency, which is especially important for long gaming sessions.

Asus says the portal can last for over 40,000 opening and closing cycles, while it also has fall detection and a cleaning mode. IPX4 splash resistance is also retained on both phones.

The regular 6D continues with the same cooling system found on the 6 and 6 Pro, but that’s not a big issues issue – it was already highly effective. All phones also remain compatible with the AeroActive Cooler 6 and Kunai 3 Gamepad.

Like the other phones, it’s only the 6D Ultimate that gets the secondary ROG Vision display on the back. The regular 6D has an RGB logo in its place, just like the standard ROG Phone 6.

Aside from that, everything else mentioned with regards to the 6 and 6 Pro also applies here. That includes the visual changes on the Batman Edition of both, although the regular 6D does shift back to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in the US and Canada.

Learn more in our separate article covering the Tech Updates.