Barely a year since ASUS ROG Phone, the handset and computer maker’s first true gaming phone, was available for pre-order in stateside, the company has announced a follow up: ASUS ROG Phone 2. If you haven’t gotten around getting the ROG Phone, well, good for you because, you are going to hear about the second-generation mobile gaming smartphone. Aesthetically, it looks pretty much like the first.
The most obvious change at a glance is the size. It is significantly larger. The ASUS ROG Phone 2 measures a hunky 170.99 x 77.6 x 9.78 mm (6.73” x 3.05” x 0.38”) and weighs a hefty 240g (8.47 ounce) where else the ROG Phone measures 158.83 x 76.16 x 8.65 mm (6.25” x 3.0” x 0.34”) and tips the scales at 200g (7.05 ounce). I know. It is crazy, but the bump in size and heft might just be worth it.
The new ROG Phone sports a larger 6.59-inch AMOLED display that, though has a modest resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 pixels, boasts up to 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling and 1 ms response time, affording it with silky smooth gaming experience. Another worthy mention is the processor; it is among the first device to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus, Qualcomm’s overclocked gaming-focused chip.
The processor is accompanied by Qualcomm Adreno 640 that runs at up to 672 MHz for graphics duties, 12 GB LPDDR4X RAM and a choice of 128 or 512 GB UFS 3.0 flash storage. The high refresh rate display, new and more capable processor with generous amount of RAM and super fast storage, should really make this a beast for mobile gaming. And then there’s the unheard of in the industry, massive 6,000 mAh to keep it going for days. Well, days if you don’t game as much. Then again, would not game with this thing?
Other key details include under display fingerprint sensor, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 front and back, support for 10-bit HDR, subtle holographic inlays, dual main camera setup (a 48 MP Sony IMX586 item and 13 MP wide angle variety) with dual tone LED flash, a 24 MP front facing camera, functional copper vent for cooling, customizable Aura-powered RGB LED logo inlaid in the back glass, dual front firing speakers with DTS:X Ultra DSP, 3.5 mm headphone jack, mappable capacitive AirTriggers (shoulder buttons), and like its forebear, it also has a second USB-C port, so you can charge the device without the cable getting in the way when gaming in landscape mode.
Better yet, the side port also supports transfer of data at up to 10 Gbps via USB 3.1 Gen 2, output 4K video using DisplayPort 1.4, and as far as charging is concerned, it totally embrace Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, Quick Charge 4.0, and USB Power Delivery 3.0 adapters. Strangely though, the usual Type-C port supports just USB 2.0 transfers. Though it does support QC 2.0 and PD 3.0 adapters.
In addition to the USB-C port on the long side, there is an ASUS proprietary connector for hooking up with accessories like the TwinView Dock II, Mobile Desktop Dock, and of course, the included ROG AeroActive Cooler II. Another major difference with its predecessor is, you get a choice of two software: stock Android OS or ASUS ROG UI during setup.
We read that the global availability will be on the first week of September. While the global pricing is not known yet, we do know that the Chinese model has a starting price of 3,499 yuan (roughly US$508). ASUS in China is already taking pre-orders as we speak.
Images: ASUS.
