Samsung Galaxy A53 5G vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Which one is better?

The Galaxy A53 5G and the Google Pixel 5a 5G are two of the best mid-range phones under $500. Both phones are similarly priced and offer a great value for money. The Galaxy A53 packs a powerful punch, featuring a 120Hz AMOLED display, a capable set of cameras, a fast chipset, and a large battery. The Pixel 5a 5G is not quite as feature-packed as the Galaxy A53, but it has a lot going for it in the photography department, and you are much more likely to spot one out on a great discount. But which one is worth your money? We find out in this head-to-head comparison.

Navigate the article:

• Specifications
• Design & display
• Cameras
• Performance
• Software
• Battery
• Which one should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G Vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Specifications

	Samsung Galaxy A53 5G	Google Pixel 5a 5G
Build	Plastic body Gorilla Glass 5 front panel IP67 water/dust resistance	Metal unibody IP67 dust and water resistance
Dimensions and Weight	159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1mm 189 g	156.2 x 73.2 x 8.8mm 183g
Display	6.5-inch Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate 1080 x 2400 pixels	6.34″ OLED 2400 x 1080 resolution HDR 60Hz refresh rate Hole-punch display Up to 700 nits Gorilla Glass 3
SoC	Samsung Exynos 1280	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
RAM and Storage	6GB/8GB RAM 128GB/256GB internal storage microSD card slot (up to 1TB)	6GB RAM 128GB internal storage
Battery and Charging	5,000mAh battery 25W Super Fast Charging No charger in the box No wireless charging	4,680mAh 18W fast charging No wireless charging
Security	Optical in-display fingerprint sensor	Optical in-display fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera(s)	64MP ƒ/1.8 Main (with OIS) 12MP ƒ/2.2 Ultra-wide 5MP ƒ/2.4 Depth sensor 5MP ƒ/2.4 Macro	12.2MP Sony IMX363, f/1.7, 1.4µm pixel size, Dual Pixel AF 16MP ultra-wide, Sony IMX481, f/2.2, 1.0µm pixel size, 107° FoV
Front Camera(s)	32MP ƒ/2.2	8MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm pixel size
Ports	USB Type-C No headphone jack	USB-C 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity	5G LTE Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4G+5GHz) Bluetooth 5.1	Sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G Single nanoSIM card slot + integrated eSIM for 5G + 4G or 4G + 4G DSDS (dual SIM, dual standby) Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) Bluetooth 5.0 NFC
Software	One UI 4.1 (Android 12) 4 years of Android OS updates 5 years of security updates	Android 11 3 years of Android OS upgrades 3 years of monthly Android security patch updates
Price	$349	$449

Design & Display

Both the Galaxy A53 and the Pixel 5a 5G feature a plastic exterior with a soft-touch coating, but visually, they’re very different-looking phones. The Galaxy A53 is bold and beautiful, and it comes in a wide variety of colors to choose from. The overall aesthetic of the Galaxy A53 is similar to last year’s Galaxy A52. It has a flat chassis and a large camera module that slightly protrudes from the body. Despite the plastic back and sides, the Galaxy A53 feels good in the hand.

The design of the Pixel 5a 5G is a clear example of function over aesthetics. The Pixel 5a 5G looks rather boring in comparison to the Galaxy A53. But it’s a well-made phone, featuring a metal and plastic unibody (metal covered in a plastic exterior) feels solid in hand. The Pixel 5a 5G only comes in a single colorway: Mostly Black.

In terms of protection and durability, both phones have an IP67 rating for water and dust protection. The Galaxy A53 has an under-display fingerprint scanner, while the Pixel 5a uses the good, old rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. One major distinction between the two phones is that the Pixel 5a 5G has a 3.5mm jack while the Galaxy A53 does not.

The Galaxy A53 5G 6.5-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering punchy colors and a smooth scrolling experience. The Google Pixel 5a 5G has a slightly smaller 6.43-inch OLED display with full HD resolution. It also doesn’t support a high refresh rate, nor does it get as bright as the Galaxy A53. Simply put, the Galaxy A53 has a far better panel than the Pixel 5a.

Cameras

The Galaxy A53 packs a quad-camera setup, featuring a 64MP main shooter with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and two 5MP macro and depth lenses. The Pixel 5a features a dual-camera setup on the back, headlined by a 12MP main camera with OIS and 16MP ultra-wide shooter. On paper, the Galaxy A53 has a more robust camera system, but more megapixels and more camera sensors don’t necessarily translate to great camera performance. Modern smartphone photography leans heavily on software image processing and machine learning/AI magic, and this is where the Pixel 5a has the edge over the Galaxy A53.

Both phones produce sharp images with a high dynamic range in broad daylight. However, the Galaxy A53 tends to oversaturate colors a bit while also flattening shadows for a brighter and more vibrant look. The Pixel 5a’s shots look more natural and have more shadow detail and contrast.

Both phones offer a dedicated night mode for nighttime photography and optical image stabilization on the main camera. The Pixel 5a 5G has the edge over the Galaxy A53 when it comes to video recording as it supports 4K shooting at 60fps. The Galaxy A53 maxes out at 4K 30fps. However, when it comes to portrait and super close-up shots, the Galaxy A53 fares better as it has dedicated depth and macro shooters.

Overall, the Pixel 5a 5G is a safer bet if you want a camera that can consistently take realistic photos across all lighting conditions. If you want a more versatile camera system, the Galaxy A53 is a better choice.

Check out the image samples from both phones’ primary, ultra-wide, and selfie cameras.

Pixel 5a: Camera samples

Galaxy A53: Camera samples

Performance

The Galaxy A53 is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1280 SoC, featuring two Arm Cortex-A78 performance cores clocked at 2.4GHz, and six Cortex-A55 efficiency cores running at 2.0GHz speed. Meanwhile, the Pixel 5a 5G packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chipset, which has one Cortex-A76 core at 2.4GHz, one Cortex-A76 core at 2.2GHz, and four Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.8GHz.

The Galaxy A53 has the Pixel 5a beat when it comes to raw performance. It has more powerful CPU cores and a faster GPU. In real-world performance, too, the Galaxy A53 should feel more responsive and fluid than the Pixel 5a as it has a higher refresh rate display (120Hz Vs 60Hz). With that said, don’t expect to play high-end games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty at its highest graphics on any of these phones.

The Galaxy A53 starts with 4GB of RAM and goes up to 8GB RAM. The Pixel 5a 5G only comes with 6GB of RAM. The same goes for the storage options: the Pixel 5a 5G only comes in a 128GB variant, while the A53 gives you 128GB and 256GB options. The A53 also has a MicroSD card slot, so should you run out of storage down the line, you can always pop in a memory card to expand the storage.

Software & Battery life

The Galaxy A53 runs Android 12 with One UI 4.1 out of the box. The Pixel 5a ships with a stock version of Android 11 but is upgradable to Android 12. In terms of software support, it’s a bit tricky to pick a clear winner. If you want to get your hands on new Android versions as soon as possible, the Pixel 5a is your best bet. In fact, it’s one of the only few phones that can run Android 13 Beta. But in terms of long-term software support, the Galaxy A53 blows the Pixel 5a 5G out of the water by promising four years of OS updates and five years of security patches. The Pixel 5a is promised to get three years of OS updates, and since it shipped with Android 11, Android 14 will likely be its last major update. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A53 should get updates till Android 16.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G vs Google Pixel 5a: Which one should you buy?

The Galaxy A53 has a larger 5,000mAh battery than the Pixel 5a’s 4,680mAh cell. While that’s not a huge gap, it’s something to keep in mind if the battery life is your top priority. In terms of charging speed, the A53 supports 25W fast wired charging, while the Pixel 5a tops out at 18W. However, note that the Pixel 5a 5G comes with the charger inside the box, while you’ll have to buy one separately for the Galaxy A53.

Samsung Galaxy A53

The Galaxy A53 offers a 120Hz AMOLED display, Exynos 1280 SoC, and a capable set of cameras.

Buy from Samsung

The Galaxy A53 and the Google Pixel 5 are both capable mid-rangers, offering great hardware at a reasonable price. While both phones launched at similar prices, the Galaxy A53 has come down to $349, making it a better proposition than the Pixel 5a.

Google Pixel 5a 5G

The Pixel 5a 5G packs powerful cameras and Snapdragon 765G chipset.

Buy from Amazon

The Galaxy A53 beats the Pixel 5a 5G in most departments. It has a much better display, a faster chipset, a larger battery life, and longer software support. Granted, the Pixel 5a 5G has a superior camera system than the A53, but it also costs $100 more. And with the Pixel 6a shortly hitting the shelves with even better cameras and a much faster chipset for the same price, the Pixel 5a 5G doesn’t look like the best phone to buy right now.

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Which phone to buy?

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus sits between the smaller Galaxy S22 and the bigger, more expensive Galaxy S22 Ultra. It offers a traditional form factor with a flat design and a gorgeous screen on the front and powerful internals on the inside. As we mentioned in our Galaxy S22 Plus review, there’s a lot to like about this phone but how does it compete against Samsung’s excellent foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 3? Well, let’s take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs Galaxy Z Flip 3 comparison to find out which is the better phone to buy in 2022.

Navigate this article:

• Specifications
• Design and display
• Internal hardware
• Cameras
• Which one should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: Specifications

Specification	Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
Build	Armor aluminum frame Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ IP68 dust and water resistance	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Armor Aluminum frame IPX8 water resistance
Dimensions & Weight	157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm 196g	Folded: 86.4 x 72.2 x 15.9-17.1 mm Unfolded: 166 x 72.2 x 6.9 mm 183g
Display	6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X FHD+ (1080 x 2340) 10-120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate 1750 nits	Cover display: 1.9-inch Super AMOLED 260 x 512 pixels Inner display: 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 1080 x 2640 (426 PPI) 120Hz adaptive refresh rate 1200 nits
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Exynos 2200	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
RAM & Storage	8GB + 128GB 8GB + 256GB	8GB + 128GB 8GB + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,500mAh 45W wired fast charging support 15W wireless charging support 4.5W reverse wireless charging Charger not included	3,300mAh 15W fast charging support 10W wireless charging support 4.5W reverse wireless charging Charger not included
Security	Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor	Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera(s)	Primary: 50MP, 1.0µm, 85° FoV, 23mm, f/1.8, DPAF, OIS Ultra-wide: 12MP, 1.4µm, 120° FoV, 13mm, f/2.2 Telephoto: 10MP, 1.0µm, 36° FoV, 69mm, f/2.4, OIS, 3x optical zoom	Primary: 12MP f/1.8, 1.4μm, OIS Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, FOV 123°
Front Camera(s)	10MP, 1.22µm, f/2.2, 80° FoV	10MP, f/2.4, 26mm (wide)
Port(s)	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
Audio	Stereo speakers	Stereo speakers
Connectivity	5G (mmWave/sub6) 4G LTE Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.2 NFC	4X4 MIMO, 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20 SA/NSA 5G (Sub6/mmWave) Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.2 NFC
Software	One UI 4.1 based on Android 12 Promised four Android OS upgrades Promised five years of security patches	One UI based on Android 11 Promised four Android OS upgrades Promise five years of security patches

Design and Display

The Galaxy S22 Plus is a traditional-looking slab phone with a glass sandwich design. Samsung raised a few eyebrows this year with the Galaxy S22 series design, but it’s quite familiar overall. The company has returned to the glass back design this year, and it also lays fully flat now. Its frame is made out of Armor Aluminum and you get Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on the display. The Galaxy S22 Plus looks and feels premium overall, but we won’t blame you for picking the Galaxy Z Flip 3 over it.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a different form factor altogether as you’re looking at a foldable display. XDA’s chief Nirave calls it the “conversation starter” in his Galaxy Z Flip 3 review, and we couldn’t agree more. This is the phone to attract eyeballs in public, not the Galaxy S22 Plus. It’s a simple choice, really. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 also adopts Armor Aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for added durability.

The best thing about the Z Flip 3 is that it can shrink into a compact and highly pocketable phone thanks to its foldable display. If you don’t want to live with a huge smartphone like the Galaxy S22 Plus or the Galaxy S22 Ultra, then the Z Flip 3 is the way to go. You’ll have to put up with a crease in the middle of the screen, though, so keep that in mind. Both the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 come with an IP rating too. The Galaxy S22 Plus is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is rated IPX8. The latter isn’t protected against dust but you can take it with you in the pool.

As far as the displays are concerned, the Galaxy S22 Plus sports a 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with support for 2340 x 1080 resolution and adaptive refresh rate. A Dynamic AMOLED 2X means the panel can dynamically switch between 10Hz and 120Hz based on the content. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel inside. It supports 2640 x 1080 resolution and a similar adaptive refresh rate.

In reality, both displays are going to look equally sharp and colorful, meaning both phones are going to be great for day-to-day usage and media consumption. The only thing you need to worry about is the visible crease on the Galaxy Z Flip 3’s display. The flip phone, however, also gets an outer display a.k.a the cover screen which is a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED panel. This cover screen isn’t as useful as the outer display on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but it comes in handy as it shows the notifications, music controls, and more.

Internal hardware – The Galaxy S22 Plus is more powerful

Both the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 offer flagship-grade internals as they both belong to the upper echelon of smartphones. The Galaxy S22 Plus, however, gets the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in the US and in some other regions including India. The rest of the world will get Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2200 in the Galaxy S22 Plus. The Galaxy Z Flip 3, on the other hand, is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset in all regions. While both are great chipsets that’ll keep the lights on for many years to come, there’s no denying that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the speedier chip in this comparison. You may not notice a significant difference between the two devices in day-to-day usage, though.

Both smartphones also have 8GB of RAM and at least 128GB of internal storage. You can’t add a microSD card to expand the storage in either of the phones, so we recommend picking up the 256GB variant if you are a heavy user. We suggest you read our detailed reviews of both the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 (linked earlier in this article) to learn more about the performance of each phone.

Moving on to the battery department, we’re looking at different battery and charging capacities for each phone. The Galaxy S22 Plus features a 4,500mAh battery with support for 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 packs a relatively smaller 3,300mAh battery. It also tops out at 15W wired charging speed in addition to the 15W wireless charging, so we think the Galaxy S22 Plus is better in this regard. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 will force you to carry a charger with you at all times, and it’ll take anywhere between 90 minutes to two hours to charge.

Cameras: Dual vs Triple camera setup

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus comes with triple cameras at the back which includes a 12MP main camera (actually 50MP, but with binned pixels), a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and 30x Space zoom. The Galaxy Z Flip 3’s camera system isn’t as exciting in comparison because it has two 12MP sensors using a standard lens with Dual Pixels and OIS and an ultrawide lens. We couldn’t capture the same set of photos using both phones for a side-by-side comparison, but we’ll leave some camera samples below for you to check out.

Without getting into too many details, it’s safe to conclude that the Galaxy S22 Plus takes better photos overall. Notably, you also get more camera features thanks to a more versatile setup. Selfies and video calls are handled by a 10MP sensor on both phones, so you’re probably not going to notice a huge difference here. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 also lags behind the S22 Plus in the video department. It tops out at 4K@60fps recording with the main camera while the Galaxy S22 Plus can record 8K footage at 24fps.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: Camera samples

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Camera samples

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: Which one should you buy?

This one’s a tough nut to crack because both the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 cost the same at least at the time of writing this article. The base variants of both phones cost $999 with an additional $50 premium for the 256GB variant in each case. The decision comes down to your personal preference, but here’s a quick summary:

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the crowd pleaser when it comes to design. Not only is it the better-looking phone out of the two, but it’s also more compact as it can fold into a pocketable form factor. It’ll also put up a good fight against the Galaxy S22 Plus in the performance department as the Snapdragon 888 isn’t necessarily an old chipset. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 lags behind the Galaxy S22 Plus in the cameras and the battery department, though. Even if you don’t miss the telephoto lens, the battery life will definitely leave you wanting more.

For all intents and purposes, we think the Galaxy S22 Plus is the better phone overall. It’s not going to stand out among the sea of other similar-looking phones but it makes up for it with the latest processor and advanced optics for both photos and videos. That doesn’t mean the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a bad phone by any stretch of the imagination. It just forces you to make a few compromises in exchange for good looks. We’re expecting the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 4 to turn things around later this year, but we’ll have more to talk about it once it’s officially announced.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the first foldable that feels like it was made for the mainstream.

Buy from Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus

If you're not looking for the bells and whistles provided by the Ultra, the Galaxy S22 Plus is a great alternative to consider.

Buy from Samsung

So, which smartphone are you planning to buy? Let us know by dropping a comment down below. If you’re leaning towards the Galaxy S22 Plus, then be sure to take a look at our collection of the best Galaxy S22 deals page before hitting that purchase button. Similarly, you can check out our Galaxy Z Flip 3 deals to see if you can save some money on the flip phone too. We also have a good collection of Galaxy Z Flip 3 cases that you may want to check out while you’re here.

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Samsung’s new Galaxy Enhance-X app uses AI to help you quickly edit your photos

It’s easy to slap a filter on your photos before sharing them on social media. But making advanced edits using image editing apps like Snapseed or Lightroom isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. These apps offer a wide range of tools that can be overwhelming for the average user, and making edits like brightening and sharpening images or fixing blur aren’t as simple as you might think. That’s where Samsung’s new Galaxy Enhance-X app comes in.

The Galaxy Enhance-X app is a powerful image upscaler and editor that utilizes artificial intelligence-based techniques to enhance your images. You can use it to edit your photos and improve dynamic range, brightness, and sharpness with just a tap. In addition, the app also lets you fix blurred objects in your image, remove reflections, and fix moire.

Furthermore, Galaxy Enhance-X uses AI to detect faces in images and lets you adjust smoothness, tone, jawline shape, and eyes. For portrait shots, you can use the app to change the blur style and adjust blur intensity. Lastly, the app has a one-tap edit button that can apply all the appropriate edits to your photos.

The best part about Enhance-X is that all of these edits take a few seconds, and it offers a neat before/after comparison preview that lets you compare the differences.

As with most AI-based photo editing apps, images edited using Galaxy Enhance-X might not turn out as impressive as ones edited in Snapseed or Lightroom. But that’s a trade-off you’ll have to make if you want your photos edited in seconds. If you’re game, you can try out Galaxy Enhance-X by downloading it from the Galaxy Store on your device. Alternatively, you can download the APK from the link provided below.

Download Galaxy Enhance-X

Note that the app doesn’t seem to work on non-Samsung devices at the moment. Although you can install and open it successfully, it shows an error when you try to open photos to edit. We’re not sure if this is intentional.

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Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 Review: A must-have for serious gamers

The Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro launched recently, and it’s one of the best phones that I’ve ever used. It has pretty much everything and the kitchen sink thrown into a single device, and it launched alongside a set of pretty incredible peripherals. One such peripheral is the Asus AeroActive Cooler 6, which cools the phone via a built-in fan. In the most extreme conditions when externally powered, Asus says that the phone can be cooled by up to 25°C, though most users won’t need anywhere near that kind of cooling capability.

But what’s the point of the AeroActive Cooler 6? For long gaming sessions, its purpose is two-fold. First, it cools down your phone to prevent it from thermal throttling, extending your game session for as long as you need it. The second reason is that it makes the phone more comfortable to hold for longer periods of time, as there won’t be as much heat to transfer to the edges of the phone. It has buttons on the back too that you can bind to touch inputs in your games if you want to use it, so it’s not just a cooler attachment.

If you have the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro and are looking for a peripheral for it, then the AeroActive Cooler 6 is probably one of the first you should go for. It, sadly, doesn’t come in the box, despite how essential we’d deem it for mobile gaming. It keeps the phone cool and prevents it from throttling while playing your favorite games for long periods of time, and what’s more, pairs nicely with the Asus Kunai 3 Gamepad, too. It also comes with its own compatible case in the box, though you can use it with and without that case.

Asus AeroActive Cooler 6

The Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 is probably the first peripheral you should pick up if you have the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro. It keeps your phone cool while adding additional buttons and powers itself from the side USB-C port.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Asus

About this review: I received the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro from Asus on the 17th of June, 2022 alongside the AeroActive Cooler 6. My colleague, Aamir Siddiqui, also received the device from Asus, along with the cooler. While the company provided us with review units, it did not have any input into the contents of this review.

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Features and Cooling Capabilities

The Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 has a few features up its sleeves that make it unique. For starters, there are four cooling modes, though the last one is inaccessible unless the phone is charging. The reason for this is that each cooling mode uses more energy, so while you’re cooling your phone you’re draining your phone faster. The side USB-C port isn’t able to provide enough power to support the “frozen” cooling mode, so the phone needs to be plugged in at the same time. This plugging in needs to happen through the cooler’s port, since the phone won’t let you switch to “frozen” if you connect the cooler on the side port and then charge through the ROG Phone 6’s bottom port.

As well, the cooler has a little stand built at the charging port that can be flipped open to let the phone stand up. It is a bit flimsy — I’ve had it come off a couple of times and had to click it back in. Despite all of that, the Asus AeroActive Cooler 6’s obvious primary job is to keep the phone cool and prevent thermal throttling, so how does it fare? As it turns out, quite well from our testing.

What’s more, the cooler even has RGB lights built-in too that can be configured from the phone’s Armoury Crate app. You can make it match the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro wallpapers if you’d like, or just tune it whatever other way you want.

Gaming

First and foremost, this cooler is obviously primarily aimed at gamers. Between its aesthetic (alongside the overall ROG aesthetic) and the trigger buttons on the back that can be mapped to touch inputs, it’s clear what Asus was going for here. We tested it both in Genshin Impact and when emulating The Simpsons: Hit & Run via AetherSX2, and received phenomenal results.

With the cooler enabled, we were able to consistently play Genshin Impact for over half an hour at basically 60 FPS, something that this phone barely struggled to achieve without the cooler. Without the cooler, the temperature measured around the phone was around 37° C towards the sides where your fingers rest, while the SoC was hitting more towards 45°C.

As for The Simpson’s Hit & Run, we tested both with and without the cooler. Without the cooler, the phone reached 43°C after half an hour. This temperature is still fine, but the phone is hot to the touch and might be uncomfortable over longer periods of time. Attaching the cooler and using it in “frosty” mode (the second-highest mode, and the highest you can use it at when not connected to power), we found the temperature fluctuated around 36°C/37°C at its peak. Finally, when connected to power with bypass charging mode enabled and the cooler in “frozen” mode, the phone would move up and down between 31°C and 35°C.

The Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 gives pretty impressive results for intensive gaming sessions.

No matter what, these are pretty impressive results for intensive gaming sessions. Even using it in its second-highest mode, it’ll keep your phone much cooler than it otherwise would have been without the cooler, protecting your phone’s internals from overheating and ensuring that the chipset can consistently maintain high clock speeds.

CPU Throttling Test

CPU Throttling Test is a freely available app on the Google Play Store, and it repeats a simple multithreaded test in C for as short as 15 minutes. We increased the length of time to 30 minutes. The app charts the score over time so you can see when the phone starts throttling. The score is measured in GIPS — or billion operations per second. It’s essentially a test that can measure the sustained performance of a chipset. While the phone does heat up, it’s not unbearably hot and is perfectly usable even at the hottest that it achieved.

With the AeroActive Cooler attached, I noticed as well that the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro did perform better than you would expect. It achieved a maximum of 377 GIPs, whereas, without the cooler, the maximum it achieved was 341 GIPS. That’s nearly a 10% increase in maximum performance, and the average was also similarly higher with the cooler attached. It’s not a necessity, but it’s clear you’ll definitely have some benefits when using the cooler on your phone.

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The AeroActive Cooler 6 isn’t for everyone

It’s not all good for the Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 though, and there are a few things that I wish it had. For starters, it would make total sense to both extend the length of the cooler just a little bit, and to exhaust air out the top and bottom instead of at the sides. The buttons on the back can be harder to reach when playing games since the ROG Phone 6 is a long phone, and hot air being expelled over your fingers is an uncomfortable experience during longer sessions.

Again, too, there’s the issue of the stand. It’s a flimsy stand that only allows for one viewing angle, and it’s just a little bit wider than 90° on a table. It’s pretty impractical. It might have made more sense to have a stiffer hinge but located on the opposite side to the hinge’s current position at the bottom, and get more movement in there.

Finally, while I understand it’s an Asus peripheral, I would absolutely love it if it were more “universal”. Many people could get use out of something like this, though to even make proper contact with the phone it needs to be shaped to it. There are some competitors (like the Razer Phone Cooler Chroma or the GameSir X3), but the first is just a cooler, and the second is a full-fledged controller. Both of those also need external power, whereas this cooler can be powered by your phone. I understand the logistical difficulty in making a one-size fits all solution, but it’s such a good peripheral that I feel like I can be picky a bit and hope for it to come to other devices, too!

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Should you buy the Asus AeroActive Cooler 6?

This is the first peripheral you should pick up for the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro

If you have the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro and are looking for your first gaming-related peripheral to pick up, then make this the first. Between the buttons on the back and the extended cooling capabilities of this fan, it’s hard not to recommend it. It makes games so much more playable over a longer period of time, and you really notice the long-term improvement in performance when playing intensive games on your phone.

Asus also plans to launch one of these coolers for the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5s, so if you have one of those devices and really want a cooler for your phone, then you can hold off and wait. It’ll make use of the pogo pins on the back of the phone, though the company hasn’t said when it intends on launching it just yet.

If you’re looking to cool your ROG Phone 6 on the go for long gaming sessions, then you can’t go wrong with the Asus AeroActive Cooler 6. I love it, and it’s been a fantastic addition so that I can play games without worrying about burning my hands off or damaging my phone from the heat while ensuring that performance stays at full pelt. It’ll come to the U.S. market at a later date, but you’ll soon be able to purchase it in Europe for €89.99.

Asus AeroActive Cooler 6

The Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 is probably the first peripheral you should pick up if you have the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro. It keeps your phone cool while adding additional buttons and powers itself from the side USB-C port.

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The post Asus AeroActive Cooler 6 Review: A must-have for serious gamers appeared first on XDA.

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