A new color and SoC could be the only differentiators
Yesterday, ASUS put out a tweet teasing an upcoming addition to its ROG Phone 6 gaming lineup — the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate, powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chip. Exciting as that was, a newly leaked set of device renders suggests mobile gamers may soon have twice as many reasons to look forward to the company’s upcoming event, which now looks like it could bring us not just one, but two new ROG Phone 6D models.
ASUS’s prior teaser only mentioned the 6D Ultimate and hinted that we’d learn more at an event on September 19. Now leaker Evan Blass has shared renders with 91Mobiles suggesting the company has two devices up its sleeve. The ROG Phone 6D would visually resemble the vanilla ROG Phone 6, while the 6D Ultimate would follow in the footsteps of the 6 Pro.
Left to right: ASUS ROG Phone 6, 6 Pro, 6D, and 6D Ultimate
Little seems to distinguish the 6D and 6D Ultimate renders from the ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro visually, except perhaps a new slate gray color. That new option would be unique to the Dimensity-powered models, as their Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-powered cousins have only been available in black or white. The renders suggest both upcoming revisions would keep their unique gamer-y phone bits like their respective light-up back panels, triple-camera array, and flashy branding in the same spots as their non-D predecessors.
Leaked renders of the ASUS ROG 6D and 6D Ultimate
ASUS may not be planning any big overhaul here, but the Ultimate branding sure sets our expectations higher in terms of performance. Until we get official confirmation on September 19, exactly what to expect from these new ROG phones in terms of performance and other differentiating factors may still be up in the air. Could this announcement also reveal something about expansion into new markets? We’ve long been curious about US plans for this series, and wonder if there’s a chance ASUS could bring the ROG Phone 6 series stateside with the new Dimensity chips. We’ve seen phones like the LG Velvet introduce a MediaTek option when expanding to additional carriers, but at least in that case it was already available elsewhere in the US. We may just have to wait for ASUS before we know for sure.
