ASUS did not have an easy go with its launch for the ROG Phone 6 this year, at least in the US, thanks to a late arrival compared to the UK launch. Still, despite some difficulties shipping the phones around the world, now that the ROG 6 has been available for a few months in the good ol' US of A, it's clear that no other gaming phone stacks up in 2022, which is why the ASUS ROG Phone 6 ranks at the top of AP's awards for gaming phone of the year.

While RedMagic and Black Shark offer some interesting options at a fraction of the price, ASUS knows a thing or two about gaming, and it goes full bore each year with top-of-the-line specs that don't skimp. This is why the cheapest ROG 6 starts at a cool $1K and only goes up from there, but you get a high frame rate 1080p screen (up to 165Hz) that can easily chew through demanding games thanks to the included Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and 12GB RAM, which is precisely why AP has chosen the ASUS ROG Phone 6 as our gaming phone of the year, there isn't a mobile game we can throw at the device that makes it buckle.

Our review for the ROG Phone 6 Pro gave the device an eight out of ten rating. Deservedly so, and the differences between the Pro model and the base model aren't even much different besides some extra RAM and storage. So you have your pick if you require even more RAM, up to 18GB, but 12GB is definitely enough for any mobile game.

For me, what I love about the ROG 6 is that it packs a huge battery, 6,000mAh to be exact, which will easily see you through a day or two of typical use. While you won't get days of battery endlessly playing demanding games like Genshin Impact, the excess battery overhead is certainly a boon when using the device as a typical smartphone. And the conveniences don't stop here. There are two, count them, two USB-C ports, and you can even pass through power on the side port to keep the device going while avoiding any charging, thus avoiding any excess heat, which is very important for such a small device pushing so much power.

ASUS even offers a few peripherals to improve the gaming experience, ranging from an external clip-on fan to a clip-on controller that works a lot like the removable Joycons on the Nintendo Switch. Thankfully this controller works pretty well, which is good news since ASUS has moved the position of the bottom USB-C port so that it's not compatible with third-party clip-on controllers.

Still, if you're on the hunt for the most performant and well-supported gaming phone on the market, ASUS is still the only manufacturer going all out with its hardware. This means you'll pay a pretty penny to use the best gaming phone, but now that plenty of sales are happening for the ROG 6 as we inch closer to the new year, now's the best time to buy the best gaming phone on the market if you can find a deal.