Asus has been making the occasional Android phone since the early days of the platform, but only recently has the company’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) division gotten into mobile. The third-generation ROG Phone launched this summer internationally, and now it’s officially coming to the US for a hefty $1,000.
As a “gaming phone,” the ROG Phone 3 prioritizes some features that often fall by the wayside in mainstream phones while skimping on features that might not matter as much to avid mobile gamers. For example, it has a super-fast 144Hz display refresh display, but the 6.59-inch panel is only 1080p. Likewise, it’s got a whopping 12GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 865+ in the base model, but a relatively modest camera array with no telephoto lens.
Because the ROG Phone 3 is for gamers, it has some interesting extras that no doubt contribute to the high price. On the back, the phone has a large ROG logo that lights up — you can even control the colors and patterns in software. When held in landscape orientation, the phone has touch-sensitive ultrasonic shoulder buttons on the “top” that allow you to trigger buttons on the screen. This can make shooters like Fortnite (which is still available on Android) much easier to play on a phone. Asus says it has improved these “AirTriggers” with additional gesture and screen mapping tools.
There’s also a second USB-C port on the side (bottom in landscape) that can be used to charge the phone or to connect various accessories. The phone comes with a cooling fan module, but it doesn’t seem to do much aside from making the phone heavier and adding a headphone jack. Other add-ons include a $150 gamepad and the $330 TwinView dock that boasts a second display.
The Asus ROG Phone 3 sports a big 6,000mAh battery and 5G connectivity. Both of those features tend to inflate the size of a phone, and the ROG 3 is unsurprisingly beefy at 240g. The similarly sized OnePlus 8 is just 180g.
This phone doesn’t have millimeter wave 5G, which would have made it even more bulky and expensive. That means it won’t work on Verizon’s 5G network, which only has mmWave at this time. It’s not a big loss — mmWave signals only travel about a block and can’t pass through walls. It will work on T-Mobile and AT&T 5G, which is more widely available. Although, current low-band 5G implementations aren’t much faster than 4G in the best circumstances. Still, you probably already know if you want this phone, and 5G support won’t be a deal-breaker. It’s available from Asus, Amazon, and other retailers.
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