If you notice in recent years, you’ll see a pattern in the smartphone segment. For the last 3-5 years, smartphones are focusing more on camera. Though we’ve seen some innovations like Bezel-less Display, fast charging technology, and multitasking features. But one thing that Smartphone failed to provide is the gaming experience. Sometimes we get a good processor but failed to address battery and form factor. Asus recent development in gaming technology paved the way for ROG series laptops and phones. This pushes the gaming experience on both laptop and phone. Today I’m going to review the Asus ROG II phone which is currently the ultimate gaming phone user can purchase.
Hardware & Design
When you pick up the phone for the first time, the first thing you’ll experience the sheer size of the phone and bulkiness. The phone comes with a 6.6-inch HDR AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The higher rate is important for the gamer as it gives a smooth experience while playing the gaming. The backside is made of plastic with the backlight on the center which lights up the logo while playing games. There are also ROG signature style graphics on the back of the phone which gives it signature style and can easily recognize from distance.
If you notice that you won’t find in any other phone is that you’ll Dual USB-C Charging ports, once is at the bottom and the second one is on the left-hand side. If you’re playing landscape gaming then you can use the left-hand side port so that it won’t come in between your palm and you can play the game with full confidence.
Display
The Asus ROG Phone 2 has a 6.6-inch 10-bit HDR AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. The first impression of the display is big and smooth, you’ll enjoy the phone display which gives you smooth scrolling throughout the app. The graphics look beautiful in a big giant display especially the gaming, you’ll enjoy the experience of the big display with a high refresh rate. 10-bit HDR colors also help to reveal the details in the shadow part of the game.
Software & Gaming Performance
The Rog Phone 2 runs on Android 9.0 Pie with ROG UI & Asus UI. When you set up the phone, it asks you to choose the UI, ROG UI has more traditional icons and wallpaper to match the outer graphics. The phone comes with the Armoury Crate app which acts as a gaming hub, which tells which apps are compatible with ROG phone II and you can also manage the fan, RGB lightning, CPU & RAM Usage.
The Software also comes with X-Mode which overclock the CPU to further fine-tune the gaming experience. Air Trigger also greatly improved, you can use hidden sensors as buttons to use console buttons. My favorite experience is the Dual Vibration motor that really makes the gaming immersive especially the Asphalt 9, the best way to see the raw power of this phone by playing this game on the phone. Only then you realized the power of the phone and hope more games will support the ROG features.
The sound quality of the phone is next level, instead of going bezel-less, they decide to put Dual Front 5 magnet stereo loudspeakers powered by Dual NXP Amps and DTS:X Ultra. The Phone Game Genie can be accessed by swiping left during the game. With game genie, you can lock the brightness, restrict notification and calls, speed up the phone or go live.
If you’re gamer then ASUS ROG II is the best thing happen in the recent years in the smartphone history.
Camera
Asus ROG Phone 2 is the gaming phone so the company can’t compromise in terms of hardware so to cut down the cost, the company have to sacrifice some feature and that cut comes from the camera department.
The ROG Phone 2 camera is good in almost all conditions but If you compare it with another phone in the same pricing bracket then you may feel the camera lack punch.
The phone comes with a dual-camera setup, 48 MP Main camera with IMX586 Sony sensor, F/1.79 aperture and 13 MP Ultrawide Camera. The phone camera works superbly in daylight condition, it ticks mark all the checklist that we want from the flagship camera. The Asus also did solid work on low light photos, still not perfect as Pixel Night Sight, but you’ll love the final result.
The only disappointment in the camera department is the front camera, it misses the Ultrawide camera which is now necessary especially in the selfie case. However, the 24 MP front camera still gives you a crisp selfie but yeah I miss the Ultrawide lens on the front.
Camera Samples
Battery
The Asus ROG 2 is carrying a massive 6000 mAh battery which means it’s a powerhouse when it comes to battery life. Yes, the phone does come with a large display and a higher refresh rate still it manages to run for 2 days for me. Even when I’m playing games then it lasts for 1.5 days for me. The big battery provides a massive advantage when playing games like PUBG which gives you extended play hours without bothering about plugging the phone.
Conclusion
The Asus ROG Phone 2 is the fresh take in the Smartphone industry, especially for the gamer. There are plenty of people out there who uses a Smartphone as a gaming device. ROG Phone 2 change the gaming dynamics, now we can actually play the high graphics games on phone with immersive experience without compromising on battery or display. However, heat management could be better. If you’re looking to buy this phone just go ahead. the phone is superb in almost every department.
