The Asus ROG Phone 3 is designed for video games like PUBG Mobile. But additionally it is a preview of options that different extra mainstream telephones may undertake over the following yr or two.
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Gaming telephones have a distinct segment viewers, however their options are sometimes adopted by extra mainstream telephones later down the road. An amazing instance of this are shows with excessive refresh charges, which first confirmed up in 2017’s Razer Phone and the unique Asus ROG telephone in 2018. Now telephones just like the Galaxy S20, the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, Motorola Edge and Edge Plus all have excessive refresh charge screens. Asus’ latest gaming telephone is the third iteration of the aforementioned ROG telephone, often known as the ROG Phone 3. The telephone takes all its {hardware} and cranks it as much as the following degree, with the purpose of getting the perfect efficiency of any Android telephone. At the ROG 3’s coronary heart is the brand new Snapdragon 865 Plus processor that enables it to be 10% sooner than the common 865 processor present in different premium Android telephones.
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After spending time with it, I discovered that the ROG 3 does in truth dwell as much as its claims and is really essentially the most highly effective Android telephone we have ever examined to this point. But the efficiency would not cease there. The ROG 3 has extra RAM than most individuals’s laptops and one of many largest batteries discovered on any telephone as we speak. Asus lent us a preproduction ROG 3 with preproduction software program and as such I can solely give an in-depth hands-on of the telephone as a substitute of a completely rated evaluate. In reality, the ultimate software program is due out on the identical day this story publishes. Also, Asus hasn’t introduced a worth for the ROG 3 — which is another excuse why I am unable to give an official worth judgement. If it has the identical $900 price ticket as final yr’s Asus ROG Phone 2 although, I’d don’t have any hesitation recommending it. Heck, with the 5G help, I can see this justifiably being a $1,000 telephone. The Asus ROG Phone 3 will probably be out there within the US this fall.
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Asus ROG Phone 3: We go hands-on with essentially the most highly effective…
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Asus ROG 3 is essentially the most highly effective Android telephone The ROG 3 leaves all different Android telephones within the mud. Its mixture of that 865 Plus processor, 16GB of RAM (although there’s additionally a 12GB model) and UFS 3.1 storage makes this an absolute monster. When I put the telephone into X mode (aka efficiency mode), it is not solely sooner than each Android telephone we have examined this yr, I can use it for lengthy intervals of time for gaming with out experiencing any dip in efficiency. Asus mentioned that we might check the efficiency of the preproduction ROG 3. So we did. My evaluate pattern’s software program construct is model quantity 17.0822.2005.11. Below are the outcomes of our efficiency checks so you possibly can see the way it stacked up towards a handful of Snapdragon 865-powered flagship telephones. 3DMark Slingshot Unlimited
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Geekbench v.5.0 single-core
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Geekbench v.5.0 multicore
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
When I’m not gaming, all that energy helps apps open up quick and animations look buttery easy. Its 144Hz show (which I’ll get into later) together with every thing else about this telephone makes the remainder of my world appear gradual now. This type of peppiness and pace at my fingertips is totally addictive and I’m undecided how I’ll return to a “slower” telephone. X mode lets the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor push itself to the max. An modern cooling system and separate fan that you simply connect assist maintain the ROG 3 acting at excessive speeds for lengthy intervals of time.
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The ROG 3’s buttery easy 144Hz show It’s close to unattainable to explain how “alive” a 144Hz display screen appears like. Though the ROG 3 is not the primary telephone with a 144Hz display screen (that honor goes to the RedMagic 5G telephone) it is nonetheless compelling. When I’m going again to my work telephone with its 60Hz show, it appears a lot extra blurry and is nearly irritating to make use of. The display screen has a contact charge of 270Hz as nicely, which suggests when your finger faucets or swipes on it, that the telephone registers them as rapidly as doable. This makes gameplay appear quite a bit sooner and I by no means felt I used to be ready round for a gun to fireplace or a leap to occur after tapping on the display screen. The Asus ROG Phone 3 has a display screen with a 144Hz refresh charge. Graphics and animation look easy and engrossing.
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And if onscreen controls aren’t sufficient, there’s the third technology of AirTriggers that permits you to use the perimeters of the telephone like shoulder buttons. You can assign on-screen controls to the AirTriggers. And you should use the AirTriggers as buttons or swipes, which made gameplay in PUBG Mobile extra immersive and extra like a recreation controller. But the display screen is not good. The high quality of the ROG 3’s 6.59-inch AMOLED is nice, however it may be sharper. It nonetheless has an HD decision and I want textual content appeared extra crisp. The Asus ROG Phone 3 has a huge battery The ROG 3 is powered by a 6,000mAh battery. So you get the perfect Android efficiency with out sacrificing on battery life. I ran a looped video check at 50% brightness and the refresh charge set at 144Hz in Airplane mode and the ROG 3 lasted 24 hours and 3 minutes. While we’ve extra checks to run — and I’ll replace this piece when these numbers are available — that’s spectacular. Obviously when gaming, the telephone is not going to final 24 hours straight. But I had no drawback making it by means of a 2.5-hour gaming marathon taking part in PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9, Alto’s Odyssey and Sdorica. The Asus ROG Phone 3’s heft comes in-part from its 6,000mAh battery.
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On prime of that, the ROG 3 has essentially the most in depth choices for battery care and longevity that I’ve seen on any telephone. There are a wide range of methods to optimize the battery life, together with numerous energy and financial savings modes, customizable schedules for energy mode and restrictions on battery charging. Asus ROG Phone 3 is identical chunky behemoth As spectacular because the specs are on the ROG 3, maybe essentially the most spectacular factor Asus did was to make it precisely the identical dimension and form as final yr’s ROG 2. That means it could actually benefit from all the identical quite a few equipment Asus makes for ROG telephones like circumstances and gamepads. Though Asus has new variations of most of its ROG equipment to tempt you and your pockets additional. This additionally implies that the ROG 3 has the identical chunky behemoth heft as earlier than. It weighs over half a pound, so when you’re a small telephone lover, simply look away. Though I would not advocate becoming it in small denims pockets and going about my day, the heft feels good, particularly when taking part in video games.
Despite the identical dimension and form, there are some variations within the our bodies of the ROG 3 and ROG 2. Namely, there is not any headphone jack on the ROG 3 until you employ the included fan attachment. Also, it has an even bigger digital camera bump. The Asus ROG Phone 3 would not have an IP score for mud or water resistance and lacks wi-fi charging. As for its aesthetics, the ROG 3 is modern and even a contact understated in comparison with the ROG 2. The copper warmth sink sits underneath a clear sliver of the Gorilla Glass 3 again, which I assumed seemed intelligent. It’s type of like how Lamborghini’s makes use of a glass cowl over their engines. In reality each, the ROG 3 and a Lamborghini share an identical over-the-topness in the case of fashion and efficiency. The ROG 3 sports activities 5G While gaming is the ROG’s foremost focus, additionally it is a 5G telephone and can work on US carriers that provide sub-6 5G, which incorporates AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. The space the place I dwell would not have 5G protection, however I’m excited to see how the battery handles these calls for. The ROG 3’s triple rear cameras Though the telephone has the perfect digital camera array on any Asus ROG telephone to this point, the telephone’s triple rear cameras are in the end simply respectable. It’s not going to be named the perfect digital camera of 2020 and even shut. There are three rear cameras: a foremost 64-megapixel digital camera, an ultrawide-angle digital camera and a macro digital camera.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Photos from the principle 64-megapixel digital camera look good, particularly when taken with HDR. Skin is smoothed a bit greater than I’d desire and colours skew a tad magenta. The foremost 64-megapixel digital camera makes use of pixel-binning to create detailed 16-megapixel photographs in good and medium lighting.
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The ROG 3 can seize lots of element in good mild.
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The ROG 3 renders pores and skin moderately tender. Some folks might desire this, however I’m not considered one of them.
Patrick Holland/CNET
There is an evening mode which truly produces some stellar pictures. Night mode on the ROG 3 actually impressed me.
Patrick Holland/CNET
The ultrawide angle digital camera is stable and matches the principle digital camera extra so than final yr’s ROG 2. This implies that the visible distinction in picture high quality isn’t as noticeable between the principle and ultrawide cameras. The ultrawide digital camera could make topics look further dramatic.
Patrick Holland/CNET
The foremost digital camera gives up higher element and dynamic vary than the ultrawide. Though the ultrawide digital camera comes near capturing related colours. Also, discover the magenta hue within the sky.
Patrick Holland/CNET
And then there’s the macro digital camera, which is enjoyable to make use of however feels a bit extra like a gimmick as a result of it is not one thing I’d use quite a bit versus say a telephoto digital camera.
Impressively, the ROG 3 can shoot 8K video. Take a have a look at the video above to see 8K video straight out of the Asus ROG Phone 3. In some conditions it appears good, however there’s lots of banding — particularly when capturing a sky or in low-light conditions. The ROG 3’s different enhancements Compared to the ROG 2, the ROG 3 makes stable tweaks and enhancements to just about every thing. It runs Android 10 with Asus ZenUI and there is a darkish mode too. The telephone’s removable fan, which is known as the AeroActive Cooler, now has a kickstand. And identical to earlier ROG telephones, there’s a second USB-C port/accent port on the left aspect for horizontal gameplay. The ROG 3 comes with a 30W charger and also you get three months of Google Stadia Pro at no cost. I look ahead to testing the Asus ROG 3 extra particularly when its remaining software program comes out. Asus ROG Phone 3 specs vs. Motorola Edge Plus, Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, OnePlus 8 Pro, LG V60 ThinQ
Asus ROG Phone 3
Motorola Edge Plus
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
OnePlus 8 Pro
LG V60 ThinQ 5G
Display dimension, decision
6.59-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels
6.7-inch FHD OLED
6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X
6.78-inch AMOLED; 1,440×3,168 pixels
6.8-inch OLED; 2,460×1,080 pixels
Pixel density
391ppi
TBA
511ppi
513ppi
395ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
6.73 x 3.07 x 0.39 in
6.34 x 2.81 x 0.38 in
2.99 x 6.57 x 0.35 in
6.51 x 2.93 x 0.35 in
6.67 x 3.06 x 0.35 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)
171 x 78 x 9.85mm
161.1 x 71.4 x 9.6 mm
76.0 x 166.9 x 8.8mm
165 x 74.4 x 8.5 mm
169.3 x 77.6 x 8.79mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
8.48 oz; 240g
7.16 oz; 203g
7.76 oz; 220g
7.02 oz; 199g
7.72 oz; 218g
Mobile software program
Android 10
Android 10
Android 10
Android 10
Android 10
Camera
64-megapixel (foremost), 13-megapixel (ultrawide), 5-megapixel (macro)
108-megapixel (normal), 8-megapixel (telephotos), 16-megapixel (macro/ultrawide-angle)
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 48-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), time-of-flight digital camera
48-megapixel (normal), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 8-megapixel (telephoto), 5-megapixel (‘coloration filter’)
64-megapixel (normal), 13-megapixel (wide-angle), time-of-flight digital camera
Front-facing digital camera
24-megapixel
25-megapixel
40-megapixel
16-megapixel
10-megapixel (normal)
Video seize
8K
6K
8K
4K
8K
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Storage
512GB (UFS 3.1)
256GB
128GB, 512GB
128GB, 256GB
128GB
RAM
12GB, 16GB
12GB
12GB, 16GB
8GB, 12GB
8GB
Expandable storage
No
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
No
2TB
Battery
6,000mAh
5,000mAh
5,000mAh
4,510mAh
5,000mAh
Fingerprint sensor
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
Connector
USB C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Special options
5G enabled, 144Hz refresh charge show, 30W quick charging vis Quick Charge 4.0, AirTriggers, removable fan with built-in headphone jack
5G enabled
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh charge; 100X zoom; water-proof (IP68)
5G enabled; Warp Charge; reverse wi-fi charging; water-proof (IP68); 120Hz refresh charge
5G connectivity; water-proof (IP68); wi-fi charging, Fast Charging 4.0
Price off-contract (USD)
TBD
$999 Verizon unique
$1,399 (128GB), $1,599 (512GB)
$899 (8GB RAM/128GB), $999 (12GB RAM/256GB)
$800 (with out Dual Screen case); $900-$950 (with)