Technologies
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Review: This Gaming Phone Has a Hidden Door
And lots of small changes tailored for mobile phone gamers.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is a gaming phone that doesn’t change very much about its look, but makes considerable 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 6,000-mAh 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.
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 65-watt charging. And yes, the power brick is even included in the box.


Background mode lets you continue running a game while you use your phone to do other things.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETPhotography 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 Valve’s Steam Deck. While the Phone 7 Ultimate — currently set to arrive in the US by June — 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.


You can add a persistent gauge during games showing stats like the temperature of the phone, frames per second and the battery.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe 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 card 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
Legend:
Note:
Higher scores are better
3DMark frames per second
Legend:
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.


The Game Genie dashboard lets you turn on many of the phone’s settings while you are playing a game.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETAsus 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.


The AeroActive Cooler 7 attaches to the back of the phone. When attached, a door opens on the phone to let in more of the fan’s air.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETAsus 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.


The bottom of the cooling accessory includes another USB-C port and a headphone jack.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETAsus 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.


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.


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.


Here’s the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s photo…
Mike Sorrentino/CNET

…and here’s the one from the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe 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.


Using Portrait mode on the Phone 7 Ultimate helped bring out more color during this Central Park scene.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETAsus 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 nongaming tasks like apps and reading.
Indoor front-facing camera photo on the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, taken while filming the video review for this phone.
Mike Sorrentino/CNETMost 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 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
Pope Francis’ Funeral: How to Stream Live or Watch the Replay
Here’s how to stream the pope’s funeral very early Saturday, and what you can expect to see during the service.

After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, the pope’s funeral will be celebrated on Saturday . Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City (which is very, very early if you’re tuning in from the US or Canada), and he will be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
The Vatican will be livestreaming the papal funeral and procession, though not the burial, on its YouTube channel as it happens. The funeral will also be televised live on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, as well as on streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Due to the time difference, it seems likely that many interested North American viewers will catch it when it’s replayed later on Saturday. Numerous networks will rebroadcast the service later that day.
If you choose to stay up, or get up early, here’s when the live broadcast of the pope’s funeral will air in your time zone in the continental US on April 26:
- ET: 4 a.m.
- CT: 3 a.m.
- MT: 2 a.m.
- PT: 1 a.m.
The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.
What to expect from the funeral
The funeral will follow many rituals, though not all traditional protocols will be followed. Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but the AP reports Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).
His funeral will be less elaborate than those of other popes per his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).
Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and not to be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.
The coffin will be taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will lead the service. After the service, the coffin will return to St Peter’s Basilica before it is carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial. The ceremony is estimated to end around 2 p.m. local time, or four hours after it begins.
Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine days of consecutive mourning. According to Vatican News, a different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.
Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?
Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.
US president Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social Platform that he and first lady Melania Trump will be at the funeral. This will be Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. He is expected to have a seat in the third row, though the Vatican has yet to release an official seating chart. It is tradition for the first row of seats to go to Catholic royalty, and the second row to non-Catholic royals.
Prince William, who is attending on behalf of King Charles, will sit in the second row, which is reserved for non-Catholic royals. Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, devout Catholics, will also attend the funeral.
Conclave: What happens next to choose the new pope
After Pope Francis’ funeral, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will vote on his successor in an assembly of cardinals known as a conclave.
There are many matters for the cardinals to settle before the conclave begins, but once it does, it can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.
Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope
Look for the white smoke
The ballots are burned after each round, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, the chemicals will be added to the flames so they produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.
If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in 2024 film Conclave.
In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is completely fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.
You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 26, #685
Hints and answers for Connections for April 26, #685.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections puzzle features a lot of short words, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That purple category requires a lot of thinking — probably most people will solve it only by solving the other three and having four words left over. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Rainbow.
Green group hint: San Fernando ____.
Blue group hint: Think Robert.
Purple group hint: Mixed-up hue words.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Tint.
Green group: Valley.
Blue group: Bobs.
Purple group: Color anagrams.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is tint. The four answers are color, hue, shade and tone.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is valley. The four answers are dale, dell, glen and hollow.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Bobs. The four answers are Dole, Hope, Marley and Ross.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is color anagrams. The four answers are Dre (red), Gary (gray), genre (green) and lube (blue).
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 26, #215
Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 215, for Saturday, April 26.

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.
Connections: Sports Edition is tough today. The purple category theme threw me because of one phrase I didn’t know. And let’s hope you’re familiar with college coach surnames. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, 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: Try to achieve.
Green group hint: Move through it.
Blue group hint: Sideline bosses.
Purple group hint: Like a carton.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: What one strives for.
Green group: Room to run.
Blue group: College football coaches.
Purple group: Box ____.
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 what one strives for. The four answers are aim, goal, objective and target.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is room to run. The four answers are gap, hole, opening and space.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is college football coaches. The four answers are Day, Lanning, Smart and Stoops.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is box ____. The four answers are lacrosse, office, score and seat.
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