🌞 Hey there, Hadlee here once again! I only just discovered that Coheed and Cambria released a new album a couple of weeks ago. So I know what I’ll be listening to this week.

ASUS ROG Phone 6: More than a gaming phone?

ASUS has finally launched the ROG Phone 6, the latest device in its long-running gaming phone line. It certainly looks like a beast of a phone for gamers when looking at the spec sheet and feature list. Between the new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, 6,000mAh battery, capacitive shoulder triggers, and 165Hz OLED screen, there’s a lot to like. It even has a 3.5mm port! There’s also a Pro model, equipped with more RAM and a secondary rear display.

What’s the catch, then?

• We published the ROG Phone 6 Pro review yesterday, and my colleague Rob Triggs felt that the company indeed pulled out all the stops for mobile gamers.
• He did however note that the Pro model was a very tough sell at €1,299 (~$1331) in Europe.
• At this price, you’d expect some features like wireless charging, a telephoto lens, and an IP68 rating. But these features are all missing here.
• Now, we ordinarily don’t expect premium flagship extras on gaming phones.
• After all, the whole point of a gaming phone is to, well… play games! So resources are spent on the chipset, cooling, stuff like shoulder triggers, a big battery, and software.
• But your typical 2022 gaming phones like the REDMAGIC 7 series and Black Shark 5 Pro cost $800. It’s far easier to excuse missing premium extras at this price point.

Gaming phones don’t exist in isolation

• The ROG Phone 6 Pro is around $500 more expensive than its rivals. That puts it in the same territory as the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
• Yes, you miss out on refreshed silicon, capacitive shoulder triggers, and fantastic sustained performance (and a 3.5mm port), but the S22 Ultra is still a good choice for modern games.
• Samsung’s phone also brings wireless charging, a great rear camera system (including a 10x periscope camera), and an IP68 rating.
• ASUS is also bringing just two years of OS and security updates. For a phone that costs ~$1,300 and has 18GB of RAM.
• Samsung is opting for four OS upgrades and five years of security patches. Even other players like OnePlus and Xiaomi are bringing longer update commitments.

Consider the standard ROG Phone 6 instead

• Thankfully, the standard ROG Phone 6 is also an option. It’s available at a far more palatable £899 or €999.
• It’s still a little expensive compared to rival gaming phones and in line with flagship phones.
• But those aforementioned omissions are far easier to excuse when you’re paying €300 less than the Pro version.
• In saying so, ASUS still hasn’t struck carrier partnerships for these phones.
• I guess its online-driven strategy is working out just fine given the niche nature of these devices.

Roundup

🍏 The EU just pummeled Big Tech again — Here are the newest rules: The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act take the fight to the likes of Google and Apple (Android Authority).

⌚ The definitive guide to choosing a smartwatch: Check this rundown before splashing out on a smartwatch (Android Authority).

📧 New Gmail rolls out to everyone, and you can hide that big sidebar now: You’ll need to turn off Chat and Meet to disable it (Ars Technica).

📺 Stranger Things 4 became the second Netflix show to hit one billion hours viewed: It’s still lagging behind Squid Game, though (The Verge).

🖥 US wants Dutch supplier to stop selling chipmaking gear to China: The company is already barred from selling cutting-edge EUV chipmaking tools to China, but the US wants to extend this to older chipmaking tools (Bloomberg).

⚡ Climate change: ‘Sand battery’ could solve green energy’s big problem: Cheap electricity is used to heat sand to 500 degrees Celsius or 932 degrees Fahrenheit, which in turn can be used to heat homes and water in winter (BBC).

📱 OnePlus could take the POCO approach, make Nord an independent brand (Android Authority).

📈 Google-backed Glance to launch in US within two months: The startup serves ads and other content on Android lock screens (TechCrunch).

📲 Samsung is one step closer to launching One UI 5 beta on Galaxy S22 series (Android Authority).

⚠ British Army’s YouTube and Twitter hacked to promote crypto scams (Mashable).

⚖ Twitter sues India to challenge government order to block content (Engadget).

🎮 Games with Gold will stop including Xbox 360 games in October: The monthly free game giveaway to Xbox Live Gold members kicked off with Xbox 360 games back in 2013 (Eurogamer).

Wednesday Weirdness

Minions: The Rise of Gru is out in cinemas now, but it turns out that some theaters are banning young people in suits from attending these screenings. It all sounds very weird, but it turns out that groups of teenagers are dressing up in formal attire to attend the movie as part of a #gentleminions trend. Universal Pictures even endorsed the trend with a tweet last week.

Unfortunately, the BBC reports that some of these teens were making noise, throwing things, abusing staff, and rising to their feet during screenings. Some cinema representatives noted that they suffered a significant financial impact as they had to issue refunds to families and other people affected by the disturbances.

Have a great day, and respect your fellow cinema-goers!

Hadlee Simons, Editor