The universe of smartphones is truly huge and is constantly expanding. The famous brands with which we now have to deal every day continue to churn out increasingly technological products suitable for every market segment, so as to increasingly broaden their commercial horizons. ASUS is certainly not new to this market, but with its ASUS ROG Phone it has decided to meet a more elite and so far little considered market peak, that of gamers. The first gaming phone, capable of satisfying all the needs of gamers, therefore makes its debut. How did he behave in our hands? Read on to find out!

Packaging

The product is presented in a well-finished and very particular box: it is not the usual triangular packaging, but it is instead a parallelepiped with a triangular base and, if viewed from the side, it resembles the shape of a two-dimensional diamond. Inside, in addition to the smartphone, we find a cable with double USB Type-C connection, a 30W power supply for fast charging and an Aero Cooler , a fan to be applied behind your device that will allow you to significantly lower the temperature of your smartphone. .

Design

The design of this smartphone is really very aggressive and futuristic and we like it a lot ; in fact, it differs greatly from all other products currently on the market. The red finishes present on the whole body are really very beautiful and, considering that we are talking about a phone specifically created for gaming, we find the two air intakes made of composite materials (carbon and copper) placed right on the dedicated part absolutely spot on. on cooling. Precisely the presence of the latter, however, highlights a small defect in this phone: the lack of waterproofing , a negligible feature if we think that until recently it was something unthinkable or almost for an electronic device.The ASUS ROG PHONE weighs 200g , so it’s not a featherweight, but if we think about the materials used for its construction (metal for the most part) and the Gorilla Glass, we can’t ask for more.

Specifications

• Operating System:  Android 8.1 ROG Gaming UI Oreo
• Dimensions: 158.8 x 76.2 x 8.6 mm
• Weight: 200 grams
• Sim: Dual Sim Dual Standby Quad Band (850/900/1800/1900)
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• CPU: 4x 2.9 GHz Kryo 385 + 4x 1.8 GHz Kryo 385
• GPU:  Adreno 630
• RAM: 8 GB
• Memory: 128GB / 512GB non expandable
• Display:  6 inches 1080 x 2160 pixels (402 ppi) AMOLED
• Rear Camera:  12 Mp (1 / 2.55 ″ F 1.8)
• Front Camera: 8 Mp (F 2)
• Video recording: 4K – 3840 x 2160 pixels 60 fps
  
• Connectivity: 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, bluetooth 5.0 with A2DP / LE / aptX
• Battery: 4000mAh

Performance

The hardware present in this device is truly respectable and in many cases is able to surpass even that present in the top-of-the-range smartphones of the competition. The processor inside it is an octa-core Snapdragon 845 that can go up to 2.96GHz and to guarantee excellent performance there are an Adreno 630 GPU and 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The real big flaw of this device is the impossibility of expanding the internal memory forcing us to use 128 GB or 512 GB of space depending on the model we have chosen. The product in question performs well in all respects and always guarantees a smooth and pleasant navigation, but obviously gives its best during gaming sessions.The audio is also excellent, which is powerful and absolutely not disturbed.

Camera

When we think of a device whose primary function is to play video games to their full potential, we are led to believe that secondary hardware, such as cameras, are of inferior quality to the rest. This is not the case, however: in fact both cameras present are of good quality and in optimal light conditions, guarantee respectable shots. The same is not the case in the absence of light, but thanks to the night mode you can still shoot even if with a lower resolution.

Display

This smartphone is equipped with a 6-inch AMOLED display with FULLHD + resolution (1080 × 2160 pixels) really bright and with vivid and beautiful colors. It also supports the HDR standard and has a refresh rate of 90 HZ and a response time of less than 1 millisecond ; truly essential features if we think that it is a device designed for gamers.

Software

The ASUS ROG Phone is sold with a version of Android with custom graphics and very nice to look at . The presence of customizable gestures allow the user to facilitate everyday life, but the real news revolves around the world of gaming. Thanks to the presence of an X mode , the user is able to completely empty the RAM of the device and significantly improve the performance of the video games being played . Furthermore, by connecting the external fans supplied with the smartphone you will have the possibility to easily choose their power through a graphic interface.

Since this is a device for gamers, a feature linked to streaming could not be missing, which allows you to stream your games on Twitch and Youtube with a simple touch. In short, if you are a gamer, you could not ask for better from your device.

Autonomy

ASUS ROG Phone contains a 4000 mAh battery that will allow you to arrive safely at the end of the day even by making a rather intense use of the device. Everything changes if your purpose is to play with your smartphone: in fact, the autonomy reaches a maximum of 7 hours, an excellent result if we think of the intense work of the hardware. Thanks to the powerful power supply with which this device is equipped you will still have the possibility to recharge your smartphone in a very short time, in fact we are talking about about 60% of autonomy in just 30 minutes. Beware though, unlike many other high-end products, wireless charging is missing.

Price

Asus ROG Phone is certainly not cheap, but it is still a top of the range and as such its price remains quite high. The list price for this product is 899 euros , but on Amazon it is possible to save a few euros: the product is in fact sold and shipped by Amazon for 858.49 euros , which can go down further if we rely on third-party sellers on the same platform. of sale.