After months of rumor, it finally happened: ASUS has become the latest manufacturer to join the gaming phone market. This was made official today with the unveiling of the new ASUS ROG Phone which took place at ROG Press Event in conjunction with Computex 2018.
One of the phone’s main highlight is its Snapdragon 845 processor which has been carefully selected with the help from Qualcomm and able to be clocked higher than a common variant of the chip. As a comparison, a standard Snapdragon 845 goes up to 2.8GHz while unit inside ROG Phone is clocked at 2.96GHz.
Alongside the processor, the ROG Phone also comes with 6-inch full HD+ 18:9 AMOLED display that has 90Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, 108% DCI-P3 gamut and supports HDR through a dedicated image processing chip. The phone also comes standard with 8GB LPDDR4 RAM and up to 512GB UFS2.1 internal storage.
In order to cool down the high-performance phone, ASUS has implemented GameCool vapor-chamber cooling solution into the ROG Phone. Not only that, the company has also designed a detachable external fan called AeroActive Cooler which comes standard with ROG Phone to help reduce its heat even further. Users can even adjust the speed of the fan using the Game Center app on the phone.
It seems that the ROG team has also give some extra thought on how to make gamers feel more comfortable when using the ROG Phone and this is done by features side-mounted USB Type-C port. By doing this, USB cable would not obstruct gamers when they hold the device in landscape position. Users can also plug in their 3.5mm-based headphones in similar manner too but it can be done only when the the AeroActive Cooler is attached.
Other that that, the ROG Phone is also equipped with programmable touch sensors called AirTrigger alongside force-feedback capability and dual front-firing speakers that is paired together with a smart amplifier. Not surprisingly, ASUS decided to implement its Aura RGB lighting and Aura Sync support into its first ever gaming phone as well.
Camera-wise, the ROG Phone features 12MP camera on its back together with another 8MP 120-degree wide-angle camera. For selfies, the device depends on another 8MP camera on its front. Completing its general hardware specifications is a 4000mAh battery that supports ASUS own HyperCharge direct-charge tech that apparently able to deliver faster battery charging while keeping its temperature at bay although it still able to support Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 and QuickCharge 4+.
Giving its status as a gaming phone, ASUS has also come out with a number of accessories for ROG Phone. Among them is the TwinView Dock that provides dual-screen capability and additional 6000mAh battery as well as Mobile Desktop Dock for users that want to game with the phone using keyboard, mouse, and external display.
ASUS has also worked together with gamepad manufacturer, Gamevice in order to support its Android’s gamepad. ROG Phone also supports ASUS’ own WiGig Dock which allows users to enjoy contents and games on external display wirelessly.
While its price tag is not yet known at the moment, gamers can expect to see the new ROG Phone to be made available throughout the world starting from Q3 2018 onwards. Its peripherals will be released within August or September.
