ROG Phone 2: Asus’s new gaming phone revealed with massive 6,000 mAh battery, 120 Hz display, Snapdragon 855 Plus processor and more
Asus has finally unveiled the second iteration of its latest Republic of Gamers (ROG) ultra-gaming smartphone, ROG Phone 2 (ROG Phone II) targeted at gaming enthusiasts. Its predecessor, ROG Phone was launched at Asus’s Computex keynote in Taiwan last year.
As far as specifications are concerned, ROG Phone 2 is the very first smartphone that will come with Qualcomm’s newly-enhanced Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC (system-on-chip) clocked at 2.9GHz, which promises to 4% higher CPU speed and 15% high GPU speeds than the standard variant.
In terms of display, the ROG Phone 2 now has an upgraded 6.59-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display that refreshes at 120Hz along with 240Hz touch sampling rate as well as support for 10-bit HDR. The panel has a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 and is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 6. Asus claims that ROG Phone 2 has the lowest latency of any phone at 49ms.
In terms of memory and storage, the device has 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 512GB UFS 3.0 of internal storage. It will come in two storage variants – 128GB and 256GB. Further, dimensions of the phone are 170.99×77.6×9.78mm, and it weighs a hefty 240 grams.
The ROG Phone 2Â comes with a dual rear camera setup that comprises of a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor and a 13MP sensor with an ultra-wide viewing angle of 125 degrees. It also has a single 24MP camera on the front to take selfies. The device can also capture 2160p videos from the rear setup and 1080p videos from the selfie sensor.
Connectivity options on the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi-Direct, NFC, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 5.0, and dual USB Type C ports for charging, data syncing and connecting accessories.
Further, the ROG Phone 2 comes packed with a massive 6,000mAh battery, which supports 30W fast charging. Asus claims that one can play PUBG Mobile for about 7.1 hours at 60Hz. The device also has extra side-port so that one can play comfortably while holding the phone in landscape and charge concurrently.
The smartphone runs on the latest Android OS, which is 9 Pie. However, those who want more custom options can choose between two different UI offered by Asus, which is the customized ROG UI for a more gamer-focused experience or the bloatware-free ZenUI.
Other notable features of the Asus Rog Phone 2 include in-display fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor, dual front speakers with DTS:X Ultra, ARCore, hall sensor, Active Cooler with inbuilt fan, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, quad microphones with noise cancellation support, ultrasonic AirTrigger sensors, TwinView dock, attachable gamepad, mobile desktop dock and LED-lit logo on the rear.
While the pricing of the smartphone is yet unknown, ROG Phone 2 will be launched on 23rd July in China at a joint event held by Asus and Tencent, developer of PUBG. The smartphone is expected to be launched later in the U.S. on September 1.
