ASUS ROG Phone 5s Pro gaming smartphone: 18GB RAM, 144Hz display

ASUS has what should be the very best gaming smartphone in the world, with the introduction of the ASUS ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro gaming smartphones.

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ASUS is powering its new ROG Phone 5s gaming smartphones with Qualcomm's tweaked Snapdragon 888+ platform, and it starts with... yes, starts with 16GB of RAM with an 18GB model on offer as well. But the bigger start of the show here is what will be the beautiful 6.78-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with up to 144Hz refresh rate.

ASUS is offering 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz on the new ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro -- so you can choose between PC-fast 120-144Hz, or use 60-90Hz for longer battery life. I don't know why you'd want to run the phone at anything less than the bleeding edge 120-144Hz, because that's what they're made for.

• Read more: Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 888 processor, ready for 2021 smartphones
• Read more: ASUS ROG Phone 5 will have more RAM than some gaming PCs: up to 16GB

The display in question is the Samsung E4 AMOLED HDR display, offering an impressive 300Hz touch-sampling rate, and 24.3 touch latency. So even if the Flash was playing games on these smartphones, the touch response and latency should be at the top of their game.

ASUS uses an absolutely wicked design on their ROG Phone smartphones with the new ROG Phone 5s looking particularly slick with its RGB illuminated ROG logo. The higher-end ROG Phone 5s Pro on the other hand, goes a step further with its even-more-wicked ROG Vision Color PMOLED display, with the ROG logo also RGB backlit.

Both of the displays have protection from Corning's Corilla Glass Victus. Meanwhile, you've the flagship Sony IMX686 64-megapixel wide-angle sensor, joined by a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and a macro camera.

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You've got some CPU and GPU grunt with the tweaked Snapdragon 888+ chipset, able to drive up to 144FPS in games that support it -- the Snapdragon 888+ has the CPU clocks hitting up to 3.0GHz -- with up to 25% more CPU performance over the regular Snapdragon 888.

Joining that CPU+GPU grunt we have dual 7-magnet Linear 12x16mm front-facing speakers with GameFX & Dirac HD sound powered by dual Cirrus Logic CS35L45 Mono AMP. There's also quad microphones with OZO Noise Reduction Technology, with ASUS keeping things real with a 3.5mm audio jack for those wired headphones.

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It wouldn't be a gaming phone without some gaming accessories, which is where AeroActive Cooler 5 with physical buttons comes into play. The AirTrigger 5 gives you rear touch and dual control ultrasonic buttons for what should make the best gaming experience in your hands.

Connectivity-wise you've got an insane 65W HyperCharge fast charging through the USB Type-C port, which will charge up the large 6000mAh battery -- both the ASUS ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro have the larger 6000mAh battery.

You've also got an in-display fingerprint sensor, ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger 5, and grip press detection. There's Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and NFC connectivity as well as the usual Wi-Fi.

As for the price, we're looking at around $1099 or so for the ASUS ROG Phone 5s 16GB + 256GB, while the 18GB + 512GB model will cost $1200 or so. The higher-end ROG Phone 5s Pro comes in the 18GB + 512GB variant for $1365 and will begin shipping starting August 24.