Technologies

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Review: A Gaming Phone With a Hidden Door

A lot of small changes tailored for mobile phone gamers.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is a gaming phone that takes a few small steps forward with its design, and substantial leaps ahead when it comes to its internals and software. The phone, revealed Thursday with a starting price of $1,000, keeps many of the design aesthetics and personality of last year’s Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro. These include its LED indicator on the back, a 6,000mAh battery that can easily last two days and a highly responsive touchscreen with a 720Hz touch sampling rate. But it’s inside where the most substantial changes are including an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and new software features for customizing game play.

There’s even a hidden door on the back of the phone, dubbed the AeroActive portal, that opens when you attach the included AeroActive Cooler 7 fan. This door helps blow cool air directly into the phone to keep it from overheating during longer gaming sessions.

These gaming-specific features arrive alongside improvements to how the new ROG functions as a phone, too. Asus is committing to two years of software updates and four years of security updates. That’s on the low side compared to the four years of software updates Samsung provides for its Galaxy S series, but it’s still good to see Asus now commit to such a support timeline. The Phone 7 Ultimate also has a Background mode to set an automatic task up in any game and have that run while you use the phone for anything else.

7.5

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate

Like

Striking design
Lots of custom options
AeroActive Portal opening for cooling

Don’t Like

Tall and heavy
Photos lack detail
No wireless charging

Yet even with these improvements, the Phone 7 Ultimate still prioritizes gaming over other functions and features that typically get the spotlight in this price range. Specifically, the Asus phone is tall, partly because the front-facing camera is placed in a bezel above the 6.7-inch AMOLED screen instead of within a display cutout like on many other Android phones. This could benefit gamers since you don’t have anything obstructing the gameplay on your screen. But if you’re used to a large-screen phone like the Galaxy S23 Plus or the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you might wince at the ROG being even bigger than its display. The phone also feels heavy, coming in at 239 grams (just a gram shy of the iPhone 14 Pro Max) compared with the similarly sized 196-gram Galaxy S23 Plus.

The phone lacks wireless charging but makes up for that with speedy wired 65W charging. And yes, the power brick is even included in the box.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate phone — Background mode lets you continue running a game while you use your phone to do other things.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Photography is fine. It’s not in the same league as what the cameras and software shoot on similarly priced Galaxy or Pixel phones. Photos from the Phone 7 Ultimate have a reasonable amount of detail in both indoor and outdoor settings.

The Phone 7 Ultimate also arrives as the handheld PC gaming market is gaining traction, with Asus itself even announcing the ROG Ally as a competitor to the Steam Deck. While the Phone 7 Ultimate isn’t claiming to be the mobile gaming device for your PC game library, it does include lots of features and customizations for those seeking to get the most out of games built for Android.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate specs, software and gaming performance

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate has specs that might outperform your PC, even though it’s not trying to be one. The review unit I tested includes 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage space, which is a small step down from the 18GB of RAM seen on last year’s Phone 6 Pro, but still a ludicrous amount.

Alongside the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the phone has a Qualcomm Adreno 740 GPU. The Phone 7 Ultimate’s display has a 165Hz refresh rate. It runs Android 13, has two front-facing stereo speakers and a headphone jack. Like with last year’s Phone 6 Pro, the phone’s rear LED display shows customizable animations and notification icons. There’s two USB-C ports, one on the bottom and another on the left side, meant to make it easier to charge while playing a game horizontally. Passthrough charging is also available, which lets you play games without charging the battery so the phone doesn’t get warmer.

The Phone 7 Ultimate is especially speedy, and when I open games I can easily crank up the graphics and frame rate settings to their highest. Setting Fortnite to run at 90 frames per second didn’t bog down the phone, nor did playing Mortal Kombat at 160 frames per second. Even games that don’t support a high frame rate still benefit from the Snapdragon chip and the phone’s memory. For instance Marvel Snap’s cards animations looked very smooth as did Mario Kart.

In benchmark tests, the Phone 7 Ultimate performed comparable to phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the OnePlus 11. While raw power isn’t necessarily what separates gaming phones from mainstream ones, it does underscore that Asus’ software additions and hardware customizations are focused on its gamer audience.

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 Single Core

1,454

1,518

1,179

1,730

1,880

1,028

1,160

Geekbench 5 Multicore

5,019

4,789

3,233

4,624

5,488

3,244

4,840

3DMark Wild Life Extreme

3,748

3,838

2,509

2,777

3,364

1,829

3,700

Legend:

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate

Galaxy S23

Galaxy S22

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Pro

Pixel 7 Pro

OnePlus 11

Note:

Higher scores are better

3DMark frames per second

3DMark FPS

22.4

22.9

16.6

20.1

22.2

Legend:

Asus ROG Phone 7 Pro

Galaxy S23

Galaxy S22

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Pro

Pixel 7 Pro

OnePlus 11

Note:

Higher scores are better.

The Phone 7 Ultimate emphasizes horizontal game play. It has an updated version of its AirTriggers system to program the phone’s various sensors on a game by game basis. Like RedMagic gaming phones, you can use the corners of the phone to respond as shoulder buttons. For instance, when playing Fortnite, I set up the right shoulder button to shoot and the left shoulder button to swap between aiming modes.

Asus also lets you program the phone’s gyroscope for various motion controls and gestures. Overall, there’s a lot of options for those that link to tinker, but I would like to see Asus include suggested controller templates for popular mobile games in future updates.

There’s also program macros — a series of commands that repeat over and over — which, when combined with Background mode, lets you set and forget certain game tasks. In order to protect your phone’s battery, a persistent notification will display when a game is in Background mode so you eventually remember to turn it off.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate cooling system

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate makes cooling a priority, whether or not you are using the included AeroActive Cooler attachment. Asus designed the inside of the phone to help with heat dissipation, and while I could certainly feel the phone become warm while playing games or fast charging, it was never uncomfortable to hold. Though adding a case goes a long way to keep heat away from your hands. According to the phone’s temperature gauge, after 30 minutes of gameplay it reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The AeroActive Cooler plugs into the side USB-C port and clamps down over the power button. The attachment has cooling fans and opens the hidden door on the back to push cool air inside. There’s also programmable buttons and LED lights on it. During another 30-minute stretch of gameplay with the fan attached, the phone’s temperature dropped to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Cooling aside, the AeroActive Cooler feels like there’s a big metal spider on the back of the phone. It’s uncomfortable, especially when I played touchscreen-heavy games.

The accessory also has a kickstand for propping it up on a table and using a Bluetooth game controller, which could be more comfortable.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate cameras, photography

The Phone 7 Ultimate has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera and an 8-megapixel macro camera. The front-facing camera has a 32-megapixel sensor. There’s Portrait mode and Night mode. You can record videos at 8K 24fps (frames per second) and in 4K at either 60fps or 30fps.

Photo of Citi Field taken on the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Photos are adequate. The Phone 7 Ultimate performed just fine in a variety of settings like at Citi Field or in Central Park for a wedding. This isn’t going to be a phone that you use for taking the best Instagram photos, but it works as a way to grab a quick picture in most environments.

Wagner Cove, taken on Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate — Wagner Cove in New York’s Central Park, taken on the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

On the whole, Phone 7 Ultimate photos lacked detail, especially compared to images from my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Take a look at the photos below of me standing in Central Park. You can see the flowers’ details substantially clearer in the iPhone photo. I’m shocked at how different the lighting looks in the two photos.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate photo test in Central Park — Here’s the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s photo

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

iPhone 12 Pro Max test photo Central Park — And here’s the one from the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

The Asus’ Portrait mode fared slightly better, despite the background blur on the flowers looking inconsistent. Selfies similarly lacked detail, but the front-facing camera is serviceable for video calls. Photo and video capture is a common compromise for most gaming phones.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Pro Portrait mode test photo of Mike Sorrentino — Using Portrait mode on the Phone 7 Ultimate helped bring out more color during this Central Park scene.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Indoor front-facing camera photo on the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. — Indoor front-facing camera photo on the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, taken while filming the video review for this phone.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate bottom line

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is tailored for mobile phone gamers that want to tweak Android games while playing them at their highest graphics settings. New additions like the phone’s new Snapdragon chip, controller options and upgraded cooling system further refine that experience, while providing a sharp refresh rate with fast speeds that benefit non-gaming tasks like apps and reading.

Most people will likely be happier with a phone like a Galaxy S23 that has better cameras and a slimmer body. Also, many Android games run just fine on regular phones.

For a gamer that puts specs above all and wants lots and lots of customizable options, this ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is packed with them. We haven’t yet reviewed the competing RedMagic 8 Pro series which has the same chip with a lower $649 starting price. However, the software experience on the Asus is very good, achieving a nice balance between being a gaming device and a mobile phone.

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays among others that can be useful. And we of course balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Aug. 21, #332

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 21, No. 332.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

To solve today’s Connections: Sports Edition, focus on the endings of some of the words. That should help you see how they connect. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What you want to do.

Green group hint: Football abbreviations.

Blue group hint: Home to hoops.

Purple group hint: Hidden hockey team names.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Objective.

Green group: NFL teams, on scoreboards.

Blue group: NBA arenas ending with «Center.»

Purple group: Ends with an NHL team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is objective. The four answers are aim, goal, mark and target.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, on scoreboards. The four answers are CHI, MIA, MIN and NO. (Chicago, Miami, Minnesota and New Orleans.)

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA arenas ending with «Center.» The four answers are Barclays, Chase, Delta and Kia.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with an NHL team. The four answers are geoducks, spoilers, superstars and Vikings. (Ducks, Oilers, Stars and Kings.)

Technologies

Made by Google 2025: Everything Announced — Pixel 10, Pixel Watch 4, Pixel 10 Pro Fold

At a star-studded event hosted by late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Google announced new phones, watches, earbuds and Android features.

Even though the Pixel 10 leaks and rumors felt as if they arrived in a steady firehose before today’s Made by Google event — compelling the company to release a teaser video pre-announcing the new phone’s existence a month ago — Google still delivered details it somehow managed to keep private until it was ready to share.

And that delivery was refreshingly fun for a tech event. The Tonight Show host Jimmy Kimmel led the proceedings in a very late-night talk show format, bringing on several special guests from media, sports and yes, Google’s own experts to show off the products and features they’ve been working on for today’s announcements.

Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL are real

Surprise, Google announced new phones! OK, this was the least surprising part of the event, but it still feels good to finally know what exists and when it’s coming. Preorders for the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL begin today and will be in stores and shipping starting August 28.

I’m Stoked That Google Made the Pixel 10 a $799 Value-Packed Feature Monster
I Tested Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris, and I’m Impressed
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL First Look: Familiar Design, New AI Tricks
Google Launches the Full Pixel 10 Line, Including the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL

Pixel 10 Pro Fold opens the next chapter of foldables

Folding phones so far have shared an Achilles Hinge: small particulates like sand can get inside the case and really mess things up. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is one of the first to have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning you can take it to the beach.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Tougher, Smarter and Totally Dust Resistant
Forget the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Foldables Should Look Like the Microsoft Surface Duo
Google’ Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Here

Pixel Watch 4 talks to Gemini and is your new health coach

The Pixel Watch 4 includes new fitness options like real-time guidance while exercising. And if you forgot to start a workout, the watch (with AI help) can detect the activity in the background and remind you of it later, giving you credit for the effort you made. It’s also the only smartwatch that can detect a loss of pulse and call emergency services automatically.

Well Played, Google: The Pixel Watch 4 May Give Apple Watch Loyalists a Wandering Eye
Pixel Watch 4 First Look: Google Just Raised the Bar
The Pixel Watch 4 Is Here. Can It Finally Beat Apple?

Pixel Buds 2a are more affordable earbuds

Joining the Pixel Buds 2 Pro in the market are Pixel Buds 2a, an affordable ($130) pair of wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation, a smaller and lighter for all, and a twist-to-adjust stabilizer feature for setting a comfortable fit.

Google’s New Pixel Buds 2A Look a Lot Like the Pro 2, but Cost Way Less
Meet the Pixel Buds 2A: Google’s Budget Answer for ANC Buds

Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will see new features

Coming in a software update next month, Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will be able to answer calls or send them to voicemail with a nod or shake of the head. You’ll be able to talk to Gemini live in noisy locations, and benefit from adaptive audio that applies noise cancellation while letting important sounds come through. At the other end, a new feature will protect your hearing from very loud sounds.

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: A Worthy Upgrade With One Caveat

Magic Cue is a Gemini assistant that pulls data from your correspondence

In the rollout of all the various AI technologies in the industry, the current stretch goal is «agentic» interactions with software: Having an AI that knows all sorts of details about you and can act to get the important stuff in front of you when needed. (And do it in a privacy-first way, one would hope.)

Magic Cue is Google’s implementation. It’s a new Gemini-based feature that can look through your earlier messages, emails and photos to pull details about things like restaurant reservations and flight times. Magic Cue runs on the Pixel device itself, so sensitive data stays private and not shared to the cloud.

A lot of Gemini AI intelligence is still coming soon

At the start of the event, Kimmell sat down in typical talk-show format with Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of platforms and devices, to chat about Gemini and the marvels of AI. Aside from Magic Cue, which will be shipping on the Pixel 10 phones, a lot of the features we’ve been hearing about are still on the horizon.

«For instance, Gemini could do something like plan a team celebration dinner for 12 people tonight,» he said. «It might go find a restaurant that’ll accommodate that group…. Look for a karoake place nearby and maybe even order custom T-shirts for the celebration.»

And when will that be possible? Kimmell asked. «A lot sooner than people think,» Osterloh replied. «This kind of thing is coming this year.»

The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL can zoom to 100x with AI help

Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro phones pushes zooming far beyond what would seem to be possible with typical small cameras. Usually when you zoom beyond the optical limits of the cameras, details get fuzzy as the software upscales the image. With Pro Res Zoom, when you go beyond 30x zoom, it uses generative AI to build a sharper version. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon got both impressive and head-scratching results while making photos in Paris using the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

I Took Hundreds of Photos With the Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris. These Are My Favs

Camera Coach uses AI to encourage better photos

Smartphone cameras have employed AI for several years, such as identifying subjects in order to blur the background for Portrait modes or quickly snapping several shots at multiple exposures and blending them together to create well-balanced lighting throughout. Now Google is using AI to help you take better photos.

Camera Coach is a new feature in the Pixel Camera app that looks at the scene in front of the lens and generates multiple suggestions for how to improve the photo before it’s captured. To show this off, podcaster Alex Cooper brought Fallon out to be her model and sat him down on a couch. When she activated the feature, Camera Coach suggested that she move the camera closer to the subject, position his head in the upper portion of the frame, lower the camera to eye level and turn on Portrait mode.

«To all the girls that are watching, I personally know how hard it is to train your boyfriend or your husband to get that perfect shot,» said Cooper. «And now Camera Coach can just train all the boys for us.»

Pixel 10 supports Qi2 magnetic charging

The Qi2 spec includes not just faster charging but also an array of magnets on the back for connecting to accessories. Sound familiar? The presenters mentioned Apple’s MagSafe system, then paused with the realization that they probably shouldn’t have name-checked it during the Google event. On the Pixel 10 phones, it’s called Pixelsnap and should work with accessories made for Apple’s ecosystem too.

Pixel 10 will be available in Mexico

In an impressive segment demonstrating Gemini live translation during a phone call, musician Karen Polinesia, who speaks Spanish, announced that for the first time, the Pixel 10 will be available for sale in Mexico.

This article is being updated; stay tuned for more.

Technologies

Upgrading to Pixel 10? Here’s How to Prepare Your Old Pixel for Trade-In

Don’t send off your phone with a ton of personal information still on it.

Google just announced the Pixel 10 family, and several preorder offers are available right now. If you’re looking for an even better deal on these new phones, you might want to consider trading in your old Pixel for maximum savings.

The Pixel 10 family consists of the base Pixel 10 model, two Pro models and the latest Pro Fold. All of these phones feature the latest Tensor G5 Processor, Qi2 wireless charging and, of course, new AI tricks. We went hands-on with the new phones, and they made a good impression.

If you’re ready to leap into a new Pixel, you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared your old phone properly before you send it off.

If you don’t check all the right boxes for trading in your phone, its trade-in value could be reduced. You also want to avoid sending your phone out with a ton of personal information still left on it.

Below, we’ll go over the steps to ensure a seamless trade-in experience when your new Pixel 10 arrives.

For more, we’ve wrangled all of the best Pixel 10 cases you can buy right now.

Turn off the activation lock on your Pixel phone

Before you trade in your phone, you’ll just need a factory reset to qualify for the maximum trade-in value. Some retailers want you to remove the activation lock from your phone first, which requires removing the device from your Google account before resetting it. (AT&T took off over $400 of the value because I didn’t do this to my Pixel 7 Pro when I upgraded to the 8 Pro a few years back.)

You can remove your Google account from your phone directly or via your online account.