ASUS unveiled a ton of new and impressive tech just this month, and its ROG-series products were undoubtedly one of the main highlights of its hardware reveals. As such, the latest iteration of its smartphone line – the ROG Phone 8 series – is evidence that the Taiwanese manufacturer continues to have faith in its Android-powered hardware offerings. With that in mind, the ROG Phone 8 series builds on features that were introduced by its predecessors, while adding some new elements to the mix – let’s take a look!
Design and Display
Perhaps the biggest change one would notice with the ROG Phone 8 is the approach to design. While the phones still retain a look and feel inspired by ASUS’ other ROG offerings, they have a more minimalist look, at least when compared to models like the ROG Phone 6 and 7. Gone are the overly angular lines and seams on the rear panel, which have now been replaced by a more modest design. Some might even describe it as a refinement, especially given how “loud” earlier ROG Phones looked.
With that being said, ASUS hasn’t completely abandoned the gamer aesthetic – there’s a glowing ROG logo on the back of the base model, while the Pro and Pro Editions feature what ASUS calls the “AniMe” display, a customizable mini-LED display on the bottom half of the rear. The upper left corner houses a camera island, which consists of a triple-lens setup, while the front of the phone is dominated by a 6.78-inch AMOLED display, complete with a 165Hz refresh rate, a maximum brightness of 2500 nits, and 720Hz touch sampling rate.
Internal Specs and Software
Of course, aside from their appearance, the ROG Phones are most notable for their performance, with ASUS always incorporating whichever high-end components are available at the time. For the ROG Phone 8 series, ASUS has included the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which works in tandem with up to a whopping 24GB of RAM, as well as up to 1TB of storage. The phone runs on a 5,500 mAh (typical) capacity unit, with support for wired 65W fast charging and as wireless 15W Qi-certified charging speeds.
For most users, this might be overkill, but ASUS isn’t exactly targeting the moderate smartphone crowd with these phones – one example is the amount of gaming-centric functions exclusive to the ROG phone line, as well as AI-integrated software features like X-Sense, X Capture, AI Grabber for gaming; AI Noise Cancellation, AI Wallpaper, and Semantic Search for lifestyle. The phone also features a rapid-cooling conductor setup, which according to ASUS is part of the advanced GameCool 8 thermal design, and works with the all-new AeroActive Cooler X clip-on cooler that can reduce the back cover temperature by as much as 26°C.
Cameras, Pricing and Availability
ROG Phones aren’t exactly known for top-tier camera performance, but that doesn’t mean that ASUS has cheaped out on the imaging hardware. The ROG Phone 8 series features a main shooter setup which consists of a 50MP main lens with a 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 3.0, a 13 MP ultra-wide lens, and a 32 MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom and OIS. On the front is a 32MP selfie camera for selfies and video calls, and ASUS says that this has been enhanced with an RGBW sensor that improves performance in low-light conditions, as well as a wider FOV that makes it ideal for group photos and such.
Interested buyers in the UK can grab the ROG Phone 8 starting at £949.99 and £1,099 for the Pro model, from ASUS, select retailers, and authorized stores.
