Does the ROG Phone 7 make sense for a non-gaming use?

IAmAndre · July 28, 2023

Hi guys,

Since I'll be traveling quite a lot for work for the next few years, I decided to invest in a ROG Ally. However, I'm also interested in the ROG Phone 7 to replace my aging OnePlus 7.

I will leave my gaming setup at my mom's house and will be using the Ally and my Mac for most of my gaming, so I'm not sure if the ROG Phone is worth it. I don't believe in Android gaming: I only play casual games and Nintendo games like Mario Kart or Super Mario Run. In the past, some of the big titles I was really into suddenly disappeared from the Play Store, which makes Android gaming super unreliable for me. On top of that, I don't like the vast majority of the popular/high-grossing premium games.

My typical use cases include emailing, taking/editing pictures/videos, scanning documents, web browsing, social media, YouTube/Twitch. I'm a simple man and I'm insensitive to many of the trending features on smartphones that reviewers love for some reason such as:

wireless charging: I'd much rather have a large battery and fast charging, which is even more handy when traveling often
high screen resolutions: I find anything around 1080p is more than enough on a phone. Even on a TV or a monitor, I don't notice any difference between 1080p and 4K. Actually the only time I do is when I play RTS games because there's more information visible
high refresh screens: I'm completely insensitive to this concept. I don't notice any difference in most cases between 60Hz and 165Hz on my gaming monitor. I would definitely use the phone at 60Hz to save battery, that's a no-brainer for me.

What I do like on the other hand is the ROG Phone's large battery and headphone jack. In an ideal world, I would want the phone to be smaller. I'm tempted to get the Zenfone 10 but the battery life is worse and it actually doesn't excel anywhere. My dream phone would be a Galaxy S23 with a headphone jack. I have also looked into the recently-released Sony phones, but they are more expensive than the ROG, which can now be found at around $700.

So I would like to know if it makes sense to invest in a gaming phone if you are not using it for gaming, and if you have any other recommendations at this price point ($800 or less).

Thanks!

Shimejii · July 28, 2023

No it really makes 0 sense. Refresh rates on screens is a huge deal, if you dont notice it, that may be an issue and you should get your eyes checked. 60 to 165 hz is a huge difference, beyond 165hz, yeah there are certainly diminishing returns but there still should be noticeable differences in just scrolling alone.

Other then that, Rog phone just is not a great option for mainstream use. Its designed to be a gaming phone, if you arent using it for that, just get a different phone. If you want a headphone jack then yes it is one of the last remaining options.

If you arent going to use the features, dont pay for them. Zen phone makes way more sense, and yes battery life will be slightly worse but as youve stated, you dont actually care that it doesnt excel anywhere. You didnt mention anything about pictures so those probably not a stand out need for you, as rog phone and zenphone are just decent at pictures.

Sony phones are just simply DOA, not worth investing your money into as the products are almost always flawed and generally end up not being supported very well. Theres a reason you dont see them being advertised by your carriers.

IAmAndre · July 28, 2023

1 hour ago, Shimejii said:

Refresh rates on screens is a huge deal, if you dont notice it, that may be an issue and you should get your eyes checked. 60 to 165 hz is a huge difference, beyond 165hz, yeah there are certainly diminishing returns but there still should be noticeable differences in just scrolling alone.

Well I do notice a difference, especially in Word (not as much in Chrome for instance). I also see the difference with online tools made to show the difference between refresh rates. However, I don't find it groundbreaking whatsoever. Like when I go back to my Mac, which has a 60Hz panel, I don't find it any less smooth.

1 hour ago, Shimejii said:

you arent going to use the features, dont pay for them. Zen phone makes way more sense, and yes battery life will be slightly worse but as youve stated, you dont actually care that it doesnt excel anywhere. You didnt mention anything about pictures so those probably not a stand out need for you, as rog phone and zenphone are just decent at pictures.

Actually with the Zenfone there are still features I won't be using such as wireless charging or the higher refresh rate. The price difference with the ROG Phone 7 is close to zero. The ROG is even slightly cheaper on some websites so it's an attractive option because it has literally everything the Zenfone has for the same price, while offering more features. With that said, the Zenfone is a lot sexier, the ROG looks like a weapon.