It’s been more than 7 years since a major esports tournament was held in Manila, and while the landscape of esports have shifted heavily, the fervor and passion for it has increased even more so within the past few years. Take into consideration the ever-popular Mobile Game past time of the country, Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang.
The pervasiveness of Moonton’s Mobile MOBA has taken the country, heck, the region by storm that the Philippines has been enjoying the spotlight as the country has taken back-to-back-to-back World Championships amongst the best teams in the world.
And that brings us to today, October 25, 2023. We are a few months away from what could be the biggest esports to hit the nation as the host country for the Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang M5 World Championship will be (for the first time) the Philippines.
That means mound of players, spectators, and associated businesses will be flocking in to see the best of the best MLBB Team compete for the crown (or in this case, a really big trophy).
To further add to the celebration, the King of Gaming Smartphones, ASUS Republic of Gamers with their innovative ROG Phone, will be the official handset partner of the MLBB M5 World Championship. That means that players and teams competing will be doing so on ROG Phone 6 units (finally a gaming phone for a gaming tournament) and…a special collaboration package that people can purchase.
Ladies and Gents, the ROG Phone 6D MLBB M5 Special Edition is here.
Officially available in the country, this super 6.78” AMOLED gaming phone dons special packaging and specialized accessories that will help you lay victory over the Land of Dawn.
Presented in two boxes, the entire kit feels pretty straight-forward in presenting itself versus previous iterations of ROG Phone collabs – some with packaging so intricate we ended up damaging the packaging just to get through the goods.
But for the ROG Phone 6D MLBB M5 Special Edition? It starts off with a standard ROG Phone 6D Box with a special MLBB M5 Yu Zhong Sleeve. The Black Dragon himself seems to be the highlight hero for the M5 Pass that should be hitting Mobile Legends App soon. If anything, his color scheme does match the overall aesthetic of the ROG Phone 6D itself in matte-looking Space Grey colorway with prominent ROG Phone 6D markings.
We were expecting some design element on MLBB, M5, or at least Yu Zhong himself imprinted on the phone case natively but that’s not to be the case with this collaboration (unlike that of Batman and Diablo Editions of the ROG Phone 6 from the past). That being said, if you do turn on the X-mode feature (game performance mode) of the phone, two sections on the phone will light up in red completing Yu Zhong’s overall color motif.
Flipping the phone over, the ROG Phone 6D does not have any native M5, MLBB, or Yu Zhong theme. While this is a wasted opportunity to really showcase the partnership between Moonton and ASUS ROG, we feel the themes can still be remedied later on. There is a theme market on the Armory Crate App, ASUS’s proprietary game launcher app that controls and monitor’s your phone’s performance. In it, there’s a Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang MSC 2023 theme roster that you can download for free. If Moonton was able to create themes for MSC 2023, we’re pretty sure they’re going to launch a bunch for their biggest gaming event of the year – M5 World Championship.
So, if the phone itself doesn’t have much MLBB design, how does this Special M5 collaboration come together for ROG? It’s through the accessories found on the other box.
The accompanying piece to the ROG Phone 6D itself is this treasure trove of a box with logos of both ROG and the MLBB M5 Seal prominently printed on the cover. Inside are 3 more compartment boxes that houses the Aero Active Cooler 6, the Aerocase for the Aero Active Cooler 6, a Moskov Doom Incarnate Lanyard attached to a badge holder, an ROG x MLBB M5 Microfiber Screen Cleaner, and the ROG Phone 6D Yu Zhong DEVILCASE Demon Shield.
The DEVILCASE pretty much plays into Yu Zhong’s lore – and it does come with a fully printed back cover plate as well. So, if you’re looking to ensure that your new ROG Phone 6D has the max amount of protection, hey, who better than Yu Zhong himself to do the task for you.
Perhaps what got us perplexed with the whole collaboration is the SRP of the entire kit. ASUS ROG Philippines just announced that the ROG Phone 6D MLBB M5 Special Edition will retail for just Php 31,995 making this the most affordable ROG Phone 6 collaboration Edition to launch.
For the price, you’re getting an awesome gaming phone specifically crafted to solve a lot of gaming pain-points like charging dock placement while playing and the right mix of internals and cooling. The ROG Phone 6D runs on a flagship MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of internal memory. The reason for the heft and size of the ROG Phone 6 is to help mitigate heat during intense gaming sessions hence the number of cooling layers the phone has. Plus, there is that AeroActive Cooler 6 that you can mount while you play to make sure that your phone stays cool and fridged for hours on end. Speaking of hours, the ROG Phone 6D (and by extension 6 and its other forms) have one of the biggest battery on a flagship phone – all 6000mAh of it. It’s also equipped with a 65W fast charger and a USB-C to USB-C premium charging chord.
Suffice to say, the phone is maxed out to perform and to give you one of the best gaming and entertainment experience on a smartphone. For the display, as mentioned, it has a high-definition 6.78” AMOLED display that can go up to 1200 nits peak brightness and support up to 165Hz refresh rate. For additional immersion, the surround speakers on the ROG Phone 6D are all front-facing firing up so even if both your hands are cupping the device, you’ll still be able to hear crystal-clear Dolby Atmos-supported Audio.
If you’re a fan of Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang and a Yu Zhong main, you definitely need to get your hands on this. But even if you’re not, the fact that you can get all of these at an astounding price, it’s a deal too good to pass up.
The ASUS ROG Phone 6D MLBB M5 Special Edition is now available in key ROG partner retailers. For more details, check this link out: https://ph.rog.gg/ROGPhone6DMLBBM5SE
ASUS ROG Phone 6D MLBB M5 Special Edition Specs:
- MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ (4 nm)
- Mali-G710 GPU
- 12GB RAM
- 235 GB ROM
- 6.78 inch AMOLED display w/ 165Hz refresh rate support (1200 nits peak brightness)
- 50MP, 13MP (ultrawide), 5MP (macro)
- 12MP Selfie Camera
- 3G, LTE, 5G, Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, fingerprint scanner (display), USB Type-C
- 6000mAh Large Battery, 65W Charging
- Android 12 (out of the box but upgradeable to Android 13)
- Space Grey
- AeroActive Cooler 6
- Aerocase for Cooler 6
- YuZhong Devilcase
- Badge Holder
- Screen Cleaner
- Price: PHP 31,995