As expected, the second gaming smartphone will be one of the most powerful Android phones to date.
The Asus ROG Phone II features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor, which is said to bring a 15 percent boost in graphics performance. It sports 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. And the phone has a 6.6 inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel AMOLED display with a 120 Hz screen refresh rate at 49ms touch latency.
It also has a massive 6,000 mAh battery to keep the phone running, ant support for 30W fast charging so you can refuel the battery in a hurry.
Oh, and it has a headphone jack.
Asus hasn’t announced global pricing details yet, but the ROG Phone II will go on sale in China this week, along with a bunch of optional accessories aimed at gamers.
Update: The ROG Phone II is up for order in China with an 8GB/128GB model selling for about $510, and a 12GB/512GB model going for about $870. It’ll likely cost a bit more if and when it makes it to Europe and North America.Â
While the phone has impressive specs, I think it’s these optional accessories that really make the ROG Phone stand out from other so-called gaming phones, which aren’t really all that different from standard smartphones.
The accessories make use of the fact that this phone has two USB ports: a USB 2.0 Type-C port on the bottom for charging, and a second USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port on the side that supports 30W fast charging and DisplayPort 1.4 output.
Accessories include docking stations for connecting a display and USB accessories, cooling accessories, an updated version of the TwinView Dock that gives you a second screen when using the ROG Phone II in handheld mode, a new ROG Kunai Gamepad that puts physical game controller buttons on the left and right sides of the phone, and a ROG Lightning Armor Case with LED lighting on the back.
Here’s a run-down of the phone’s key specs:
- 6.6 inch, 2340 x 1080 (19.5:9) 120 Hz AMOLED display w/240Hz touch sampling
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor
- Adreno 640 graphcis
- Up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM
- Up to 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage
- 48MP + 13MP wide-angle rear cameras
- 24MP front-facing camera
- USB 2.0 Type-C + USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Stereo front-facing speakers
- Quad microphones
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad WiFi
- Bluetooth 5.0
- NFC
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- 6,000 mAh battery
- 171mm x 77.6mm x 9.5mm (6.7″ x 3.1″ x 0.4″)
- 240 grams (8.5 ounces)
Asus says it’s also improved the heat dissipation in its second gaming smartphone, allowing it to run at top speeds longer than other phones — but a side effect of the big battery and improved cooling is that this is a pretty big phone. It has a bigger screen than the 6 inch first-gen ROG Phone, but it’s also thicker and heavier, measuring almost 0.4″ thick and weighing slightly more than half a pound.
via xda-developers, AnandTech, and Android Police
I’m always disappointed by these so-called “gaming” smartphones that don’t have a built-in gamepad.
I know that there have been a few in the past that do. But, I either heard about them too late, and/or they were lacking in some other regard.
A smartphone is something one typically carries with them wherever they go. An external gamepad is not. That’s why an external gamepad doesn’t really scratch the itch for me. I want a phone with a gamepad that is always there.
I suppose a compromise (although, still less than ideal for me) would be a phone case that was also a gamepad.
An the end of the day, I guess there just isn’t a big enough market for it.
Smartphones are already pushing the limits of what’s pocketable.
And external gamepads like the iPega 9055 are not pocketable. So together they are no longer “mobile” in the sense of say the PSP Go, but possible if you carry around a handbag or a backpack everywhere (not ideal).
What would be an acceptable compromise is if you had a good flagship that was pocketable, then were able to slip Dual-JoyPads on each side of the phone. Then, when you were done gaming, both of the sides would come off, and they would be small enough to slip into one pocket together, as the phone slips into another pocket.
The Kunai II controllers are small/achieve this, but they mount onto a case which is not ideal and it is too large. And the phone itself is a little too long and thick to slip into most pockets. So again, this isn’t a portable solution unless you carry a handbag (which I don’t).
This is cool and all, but has some blatant issues:
Other than that it’s the “ultimate” phone!
– Low availability (small stock, will sell-out)
– Late release (probably in November)
– High price (roughly USD $999)
– Locked Bootloader (NO Root or Custom Roms)
– Software and Hardware support (ASUS has lacked here for a while)
– No IP68 Waterproofing and/or Removable Battery
– No microSD Slot, IrDa Blaster, FM Radio
– Very heavy, very thick, very tall, very wide**
– Weird 20:9 aspect ratio is pointless, better to go 21:9 or best is 16:9
**better to have 180 grams, 5000mAh, 170 x 74 x 8.9mm, 6.8in 21:9 screen
You are talking about LG V20, right?
If only that was a modular phone!!
– Software old? Update it.
– Battery old? Replace it.
– Screen old? Upgrade it.
– Front-cam old? Replace it.
– Rear-cam old? Upgrade it.
– SoC is old? Update it.
The Samsung Note 4-Exynos is also a “Ultimate” phone. Sadly there’s very little in the way of phones offering front-firing stereo loudspeakers and removable battery or IP68 protection.