A lot of people still are n’t positive gaming speech sound are something that should even subsist . But if there was one telephone that might be able to shake mass ’ sentiment , it ’d be Asus ’ Republic of Gamer ( or ROG ) Phone . In fact , based on somerecent corporate shuffling , Asus is so emboldened by the ROG speech sound that the ship’s company is tilt its mobile scheme to concentrate even more on mobile gambling and high - end users . That ’s an challenging bet , but after trifle around with ROG Phone , I have to hold there is a little glitter to this nomadic battle bus .
ROG Phone
What is it ?
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
A premium phone for mobile gamers
Leontyne Price
$ 900
That little alien-like chevron symbol etched into the side of the phone is one of the ROG Phone’s AirTriggers.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Like
RGB lights , top - notch performance , lots of ports , funky design
Do n’t care
Annoying ( and well lost ) port covers , TwinView Dock is expensive and special , escape blistering , no wireless charging or microSD card expansion slot
Sure , the phone features an overly edgy design that caters to an progressively played out gamer aesthetical . But on the ROG Phone , Asus goes so heavily with all the gunmetal and orange , it ’s honestly kind of impressive . In front , there are two stereo speakers beautify with shining pig grillwork , while around back , there ’s a pseudo electrical circuit add-in thing going complemented by another tangerine lattice ( this time for zephyr circulation ) and a hexagonal fingermark lector and camera module . And to top everything off , Asus ’ angry ROG logo is dead center and sports , you guessed it , customizable RGB light . Truly , this is a masterclass showcase of gamer conception . * kisses fingerbreadth *
But behind its belligerent frontal , there ’s in reality a lot to like about the ROG Phone ’s shape . Down below , there ’s a USB 3.1 Type - one C port and a 3.5 millimeter diddlyshit , but if you front around to the side , there ’s a diminutive silicone polymer plug that hides two more USB - degree Celsius ports . Actually , it ’s more like one and a half USB - C ports , because if you look closely , you ’ll see that one of the ports is colored orange . That ’s your monition that it ’s not mean to be used as normal , but only in tandem bicycle with Asus ’ mixed bag of ROG Phone accessories ( more on those afterwards ) . However , that still result a 2d full USB - C at your disposal , which is something I would n’t take care see on more phones in general .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
And if you expect even closer at the ROG Phone ’s sides , you ’ll see three small symbol ( two on the right and one on the left ) that are actually pertain sensitive buttons that be customized for gambling . The way it works is that by going into the phone ’s Game Genie configurations ( yes , that ’s really what it ’s called ) , you’re able to sweep fiddling circles over a wandering plot ’s traditional on - screen dominance and set them so that can be triggered by the ROG Phone ’s skin senses - sensitive AirTriggers . While it ’s not a perfect fix for on - screen push , it does straight off give you a estimable way to make for title like Fortnite or PUBG Mobile .
Meanwhile , the ROG Phone ’s UI athletics a to a great extent themed smell that apes its exterior design , with the Game Center app dish up as your portal to ensure thing like the headphone ’s rear RGB light , various game profiles , performance mode ( Asus calls it X Mode ) , and more .
you may even see the phone ’s memory custom and the clock speed of your CPU and GPU , which might normally seem out of place on a fluid twist . But on the ROG Phone , it makes perfect sense , because if you desire velocity , the ROG Phone has have it .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip ( which Asus claim was specially pick out to deliver optimum performance ) , 8 GB of RAM , and 128 GB of warehousing ( or 512 GB if you upgrade ) , the ROG Phone is a roving powerhouse . On Geekbench 4 and 3DMark , it deliver five to ten percent higher number on benchmarks compare to other flagship phone , and easily equalize the kind of public presentation we run into from theRazer Phone 2 . And while the ROG Phone ’s vivacious 6 - inch AMOLED video display does n’t offer the same 120Hz refresh rate ground on Razer ’s competitor , its colouring material pa - more than the Razer ’s LCD display , and Asus ’ 90Hz screen ( which is in reality the refresh pace the Razer Phone 2 is set to out of the box seat ) still makes games see a tiny bit smoother than normal .
What might be even better than the ROG Phone ’s horsepower is its battery life . Thanks to a big 4,000 mAh battery , the ROG Phone live 12 hours and 57 minutes our on rundown psychometric test , which place it in the same mountain range as the iPhone XS Max ( 13:07 ) and only about an minute behind the Galaxy Note 9 ( 14:11 ) .
Ok , so how bout those accessory ? Well they are plentiful and quite wide-ranging , and are one of the ROG Phone ’s main advantage over the Razer Phone 2 . Included in the boxful , the ROG Phone come up with a cracking little lover ADHD - on that bind to the speech sound ’s side - mount up USB - C porthole . Sadly , it ’s ability to keep the earphone assuredness is kind of slay or drop , but even when it is n’t properly moving air around , it also features a pass through USB interface and an supernumerary headphone jack . This means when you ’re holding the phone in landscape mode — as you often do while play — the sides of the headphone are clear of cord and cable .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
My favourite ROG Phone Accessory is probably the $ 230 Mobile Desktop Dock . Not only does it shore up the telephone up for use as a mini presentation , it also includes a long ton of ports so you may knock off the ROG Phone up to a shiner , keyboard , and an external proctor so you may game in way and with enhanced preciseness . Ai n’t no one break down to out snipe you again . And if $ 230 feels a little unconscionable , there ’s also a smallerPro Dockthat has a few less ports but does essentially the same matter .
However , the one accessory that did n’t quite dwell up to expectation is Asus ’ batshit $ 400 TwinView Dock . From the outside , it sort of calculate like a controller add - on , but when you afford it up , there ’s really a second 6 - inch covert that connects to the ROG Phone . lamentably , even though it see like it should , the TwinView Dock does n’t turn the ROG Phone into a futuristic Nintendo DS , since almost no apps can really expend the second screen in a meaningful direction .
I was hope that in games like PubG , you ’d be able to use the lower screen as a dominance pad , leave behind the top video display clean for playing the literal secret plan . But by from a handful of title , that ’s not really possible . Basically , that mean the estimable you could do is put two dissimilar plot or video on each screen , which sounds substantially in theory than it officiate in real sprightliness . And because multitasking on Android is still somewhat circumscribed , when you go to play one game , the other gets suspend . So you ca n’t even really play two game at the same time , no matter how heavily you try .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
As a regular phone , one bright patch of Asus ’ gaming handset is that thanks to the company ’s experience making French telephone , the ROG Phone is really a reasonably decent picture taker . In front , there ’s a 8 - MP selfie cam , while the back offers a 12 - MP primary camera with a 8 - MP secondary shooter for snapping spacious - slant movie . Compared to the Razer Phone 2 , the ROG Phone generally beguile slightly more detailed and vibrant photos . And in the one shot of some bean where the ROG Phone ’s came out slightly underexposed , Asus ’ play phone brook from way less racket and captured thing like the texture on the bowl and trim more accurately . For a phone targeted at gamers , it would have been so easy to cut corners on the ROG Phone ’s camera quality . But Asus did n’t , and instead of being just OK — while still not quite on the floor of aPixel 3orGalaxy S9 — it turns out that the ROG Phone ai n’t half unsound .
In the oddment , the most divisive affair about the ROG Phone is its $ 900 starting Leontyne Price . That ’s not to say that Asus ’ gaming phone does n’t have the eyeglasses or features to back that up , it does , well at least as much as any telephone that be close to $ 1,000 can . But anything this recession and this expensive is always pass away to be a knotty sell .
But when liken to the Razer Phone 2 , the ROG Phone is better in almost every direction . It ’s get superior cameras , long stamp battery life , and nifty AirTriggers , and its collection of admittedly high-priced accessories grant you to flex your mobile play muscle in a means Razer ’s competitor does n’t . And with hideous styling and RGB lighting , the ROG Phone is unapologetic embrace of GaMeR LiFe , for better or unsound .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
README
The ROG Phone ’s performance is as serious as it gets for a Snapdragon 845 - powered machine , and its battery life is pretty solid too .
For a gambling earphone , the ROG Phone ’s cameras are dependable than expected .
Asus ’ gamer aesthetic is so fast-growing it ’s almost endearing .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Starting at $ 900 , this thing ai n’t cheap , peculiarly if you are thinking about tacking on some of Asus ’ pricey ROG Phone accessory .
Only works on GSM postman like AT&T and T - Mobile .
SPEC DUMP
consort Android 8.1 • Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 • 8 GB of RAM • 128 GB of memory • 6 - inch 2160 x 1080 90Hz OLED show • 8 - military policeman front photographic camera • 12 - MP/8 - MP rear cameras • stereo loudspeaker • 4,000 mAh barrage fire • USB 3.1 type - speed of light port plus fillip USB - deoxycytidine monophosphate port • 802.11 a / b / thou / n / ac / advertising wi - fi • Bluetooth 5.0 • 3.5 mm jack • 6.25 x 3 x 0.33 - in • 7.05 ounces
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