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Asus is on a mission in 2022. Just weeks after the company announced its flagship ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro, two new high-end handsets were revealed.
The ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate aren’t being pitched as direct successors – just alternatives. That’s because they both use MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ chipset, rather than the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found on the 6 and 6 Pro.
How much of a difference does that actually make? And do the cooling upgrades on the 6D Ultimate justify the extra cost? I spent a few weeks with the most expensive gaming phone you can buy to find out.
DESIGN
From a quick glance at the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate, you could be forgiven for thinking that Asus has re-released the 6 Pro. While the dark grey finish (your only colour option) is more muted, the two phones look almost identical.
I say almost, because there’s one key design difference on the 6D Ultimate. Instead of the small RGB ‘Dare to Play’ logo, you get what Asus is calling the ‘AeroActive Portal’. That’s a fancy name for what is essentially a small flap which can open while gaming to improve heat dissipation.
It won’t work unless you have the AeroActive Cooler 6 connected. Despite it being compatible with all ROG Phone 6 handsets, it’s only included in the box with the 6D Ultimate. A small piece of plastic on a glass-backed phone isn’t the prettiest look, but its inclusion here is certainly justified.
On the opposite side, you’ll still find the secondary ‘ROG Vision’ display, but its usefulness remains limited. It can be used to display the likes of battery percentage, incoming calls and connection
