ROG Phone 5s vs POCO F4 GT: which gamer phone is more worth it? | Comparative

The ROG Phone 5s tries to be an affordable gamer cell phone option on the market, despite already having its successor released. On the other hand, the POCO F4 GT tries to balance the gaming appeal with elements of a common top to appeal to all types of consumers.

Between the ASUS smartphone and the Xiaomi smartphone, which one is the best option for your gaming? The TudoCelular Comparative tells you the answer now.

Starting with the design, we have two very different types here. ROG follows the more traditional line of a gamer device, with customizable RGB LEDs on the back logo and a camera block with a different layout than what we find on the market. On the other hand, POCO opts for a more sober look for the segment, even though it comes with a line that crosses the rear, two horizontal triangles and a double flash with the appearance of lightning to contain the LEDs.

The front part is more traditional in them, either by the notchless appearance of the 5s, or by the centralized hole notch of the F4 GT. Still on the front, is the fingerprint reader under the Taiwanese display. The Chinese preferred to leave the biometric sensor integrated into the power button.

We found in them an aluminum construction, with a glass back. In the case of the ROG Phone, there’s Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the lid to ensure more protection against scratches, as well as an additional faster USB-C port. ASUS also placed ultrasonic triggers close to the edge on the right side, while Xiaomi preferred physical buttons for the same function.

Don’t expect storage expansion or water and dust resistance from them. But advanced connectivity is guaranteed in the duo, with sixth generation Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2 and NFC, for payments by approach.

Despite POCO being more compact and lighter, ROG is more complete for the gaming purpose. Therefore, ASUS takes the lead here.

The ROG 5s comes with a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, slightly larger than the 6.67-inch OLED on the F4 GT. The Taiwanese model offers a stronger level of brightness than the Chinese rival, but both reproduce a billion colors.

ASUS has put a refresh rate of 144 Hz on its device, against the competitor’s 120 Hz. POCO responds with a 480Hz touch sensor, to respond faster than ROG’s 300Hz.

Both provide Full HD+ resolution and are compatible with HDR10+ technology to improve streaming. Not to mention the presence of Gorilla Glass Victus, to give extra protection against scratches.

In the details, we give one more point to ASUS.

On both sides, we have a stereo system, to enhance the immersive user experience. The difference is that ROG has two large speakers at the front, while POCO bets on a set with four sound outputs, consisting of two woofers and two tweeters.

The power is satisfactory in both, and the sound is clean in them. The difference is in the greater balance of frequencies in the F4 GT, while the 5s exaggerates the bass a little in relation to the mids and highs.

None of them send a headphone in the box. But ASUS still kept the connector in the P2 standard for a common accessory. Xiaomi even removed the input from your cell phone, only it sends an adapter in the package.

For the superior quality of the set, we give the POCO a point.

The ROG 5s was launched with native Android 11, against the factory Android 12 of the F4 GT. POCO already comes with a more recent version of the “little robot” and will also have greater longevity in the future.

Despite the various modifications, the high fluidity of the panel ensures smooth navigation in these two software. The fast mobile network is also guaranteed, thanks to the 5G support present in them.

In terms of features, manufacturers have taken care of the customization options, either in the interface itself or in the RGB LEDs. Even the triggers have customization alternatives.

The Chinese’s latest system turns out to be a tiebreaker, and the point goes to POCO.

The ROG 5s comes equipped with the Snapdragon 888 Plus mobile platform, against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 model present in the POCO. Which of these Qualcomm chips is the fastest? Here we saw an advantage for the hardware of the Chinese device, which finished 22 seconds before the competitor.

In the benchmarks, the F4 GT confirms the trend already seen in our previous tests and gets the best scores in most indicators. Moving on to games, we have the strong point of both. All the titles we tested ran at maximum quality, with extras turned on, and ran smoothly.

Thus, Xiaomi scores the point for superior multitasking performance.

ASUS put a 6,000 mAh battery in its gamer phone, against a smaller 4,700 mAh present in the POCO. In this battle of different capacities, it gave the logic in our standardized tests. The ROG 5s had almost 27 hours of battery life, and the F4 GT ended up with just over 20 hours.

When we go to loading, the scenario is reversed. The 120 W adapter sent by Xiaomi allows you to reach 100% in just 21 minutes. ROG’s 65 W takes over an hour to complete the process.

Greater autonomy against less recharge time. We give one point for each.

On either side is a triple set of rear cameras, led by a 64MP main one. With it, the ROG Phone 5s takes pictures with a higher level of detail and noise control compared to the F4 GT, which also suffers from more aggressive post-processing. At least, the night shots don’t disappoint on them.

Their ultrawide registers colors close to the main one, but the ROG achieves a better definition than the POCO with this sensor. The Taiwanese macro lens captures better images than the Chinese one, thanks to the higher resolution, but both lack autofocus.

For overall higher quality, ASUS scores again.

Both ROG and POCO record in 4K at 60 fps, but only the Taiwanese manages 8K videos at 30 fps. The quality in general is decent, as well as the functioning of the electronic stabilization. They still deliver snappy focus, it’s just that ASUS’ sound capture ranks above the competition.

Again, the point is with ASUS.

Their front camera manages to take good selfies during the day, even if they are not the sharpest in the category. Already at night, they are very dependent on a good light source. Portrait mode works well on them, while head-on shooting is limited to Full HD resolution.

Without major differences, we give a tie here.

Of the duo, only the ROG Phone 5s was officially launched in Brazil, at a suggested price starting at R$6,800. In the current market, it can already be found for something around R$ 2,600, while the POCO F4 GT is only found by importers, above R$ 3,000.

As any economy makes a difference in the consumer’s pocket, ASUS closes the duel with the last point.

The confrontation between the two gamer smartphones ended with a victory for the Taiwanese model. The ROG 5s proved to be the option with the most complete design, the screen with the largest size, brightness and fluidity, in addition to having the camera system with the highest quality in all aspects. Its battery lasts much longer, but it stays longer in the socket.

But the POCO F4 GT is not far behind. It has the highest quality sound, the most up-to-date software and superior multitasking performance. The problem is that it wasn’t launched in the domestic market and is available only through importers, at a more expensive cost than ASUS’s rival.

RESULT

ROG Phone 5s: 7 POINTS

• more complete design
• Bigger screen, brighter and 144Hz rate
• Battery with greater autonomy
• Rear cameras with sharper photos
• 8K videos and better sound capture
• Front camera with good daytime selfies
• Lowest price in the current Brazilian market

POCO F4 GT: 5 POINTS

• higher quality sound
• Most updated system
• Faster multitasking performance
• Battery with less recharge time
• Front camera with good daytime selfies

For you, is POCO so far behind ROG? Among them, which would be your purchase option? You can speak freely in the space below.

(updated Feb 07, 2023 at 7:36 pm)