Plus, with TUV Low Blue Light and Flicker Reduced certifications, the display should be much easier on the eyes too. What's worse, Asus wasn't able to tell me when users can expect the update. Asus … The ROG Phone 3 has been officially revealed by Asus, but with more leaks than a sinking ship in the run-up to the event, it’s not really a surprise. Dubbed the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition, the smartphone features a Snapdragon 865 alongside 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and comes in at a more tempting €799 (around £718). It's not something you'll notice very often, but it's a pretty amateur blunder, particularly for a device where the display is such a focus. If you don’t mind not having the fastest experience possible and want to save a bit of cash, the Asus ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition may be the one to go for. 'Classic' is pretty close to a stock experience.
Left: A regular photo in dim lighting. Mobile gamers, rejoice: the Asus ROG Phone 3 5G beast is shipping in the US … But look closer, and you can't miss the funky camera module, the cooling vents, and the REPUBLIC OF GAMERS branding.
The phone comes with ROG UI on top of the Android 10 operating system. You’ve even got access to a 480fps slow-mo video mode, and the ability to capture 4K time-lapses too. It's also running an old version of Android, and there's no indication of when it'll see an update. There are a number of gaming-centric software enhancements built in, like the ability to silence different types of notifications while games are open. If that wasn’t enough, Asus has gone a step further by providing PC-esque control of the SoC, giving users the ability to either overclock the CPU and increase the throttle limit to boost performance and produce a sustained high frame rate, or underclock it to lengthen battery life and keep the phone cool. Asus toned down the aggressive gamer aesthetic of previous ROG Phone generations.
The fan's value is questionable; my phone never got hot enough without it to limit performance, and running benchmarks in 3DMark with and without the fan on showed statistically insignificant differences. Your money would probably be better spent on something like the Samsung Galaxy S20+ or, Android is a trademark of Google Inc. | © Illogical Robot LLC, 2009-2020, Asus ROG Phone 3 review, three weeks later: Clearly a bad buy, It's not easy to make a case for this $1,000 phone, 64MP f/1.8 primary, 13MP f/2.4 ultrawide, 5MP f/2.0 macro, 24MP f/2.0 selfie. For one, we've learned that it starts at $1,000 in the US, $100 more than the previous two generations cost when they launched stateside — $1,100 if you want the unnecessarily beefy 16-gig model I used. It’s also incredibly bright, with a claimed 1000 nits peak brightness - the iPhone 11 Pro caps out at 800 nits, for reference.
No wireless charging or water resistance.
You can let the phone choose its refresh rate dynamically depending on what's on screen or manually peg it to 60, 90, 120, or 144Hz. The only real letdown in the ROG Phone 3's panel is that it's a little uneven; when it's dim, grays appear grainy. There are certainly big improvements compared to ROG Phone 2, offering an upgraded 144Hz refresh rate and 10-bit HDR10+ support.
Pre-orders aren’t live just yet, but we’ll be sure to update this section once they go live. Left: Cooling fan attached. Macro performance isn't particularly impressive. Subscribe to Android Police's weekly newsletter, with the biggest stories, latest deals, and insight on the week's news. ASUS ROG Phone 3: New gaming smartphone launching in Chinese, European and North American markets on July 22 07/06/2020 Leaked video confirms familiar design for the Asus ROG Phone 3 … Still, it's sharp enough unless you're really looking for flaws. | 22 Jul 2020. This phone is a spec monster and it handles accordingly. There's also a notification LED above the screen — a throwback a certain set of enthusiasts still go nuts for. By The Asus ROG Phone 3 may not look too different on the surface, with the same overall design and gamer-esque Aura RGBs on the rear, but there are plenty of upgrades on offer. Low-light photography is another weakness. Learn more. If you really want to up the 1337 factor, you can set the RGB ROG logo to light up in practically unlimited ways. 30 June 2020: Launch event on 22 July suggested Your Instagram followers won't think you have a Pixel or an iPhone — white balance and exposure are sometimes a bit off and low light performance isn't great — but detail and dynamic range are pretty spot-on in good light from both the standard and ultra-wide shooters. Here’s everything you need to know about the Asus ROG Phone 3, from release date and pricing to UK availability and the key new features of Asus’ latest gaming-focused smartphone. In dim light, pictures are dark and blurry (like the one of my dog Leon in the first gallery above). It's currently sitting at a 5.5/10 rating on our update tracker, and its standing probably won't improve considering last year's ROG Phone II has missed seven updates. To accommodate its gaming-oriented flourishes, the ROG Phone 3 forgoes modern conveniences like wireless charging and IP-rated water resistance. That size strains the limits of 1080p's viability on a device you'll be looking at all day; I would've liked to see 1440p. But for a gaming enthusiast with the right expectations, it could be a great fit. While the ROG Phone 3 was revealed today, 22 July 2020, Asus didn’t mention the release date during the reveal livestream.
While not the main focus for gamers, there’s also an upgraded camera setup available. I'm just not sure whether that person exists. Asus being Asus, it wants to do everything to the extreme, and that’s why the ROG Phone 3 can record at [email protected], more than the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, along with [email protected] on both the front- and rear-facing cameras. The phone was already a dubious proposition at an assumed $900, but for four figures, it's hard to recommend anybody, gaming enthusiast or not, buy it. You can get some okay shots with enough light — I love the picture of the bee below — but generally speaking, you'd be better off cropping in on a photo from the primary camera.
The ROG Phone 3, launching soon in the US, pairs top-shelf internals with custom hardware and software tailored to creating an excellent gaming experience — and that laser focus on performance means it's great at other things we all use our phones for, too. 2 July 2020: Asus ROG Phone 3 launch date official Asus has confirmed that the ROG Phone 3 will be revealed on 22 July. You won't kill this thing in a single day.
The temperature control is boosted by the new GameCool 3 cooling system that actually moves heat out of the case to keep the phone cool during high-intensity gaming sessions.
Asus ROG Phone 3 release date, price, features and spec news The Asus ROG Phone 3 is among the first to pack the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor, and it's a powerhouse of mobile gaming. Battery life is similarly stellar.
Pair that much memory with the 865+, and you've got a phone that's absolutely unflappable.
You’ll get the exact same hardware as the standard ROG Phone 3 - the only difference is in terms of power. Still, Asus looks to provide the most capable gaming smartphone on the market in 2020 with powerful internals, gaming-specific hardware, a huge battery and a range of accessories that further extend functionality, but UK fans may have to prepare themselves for disappointment. Just enter your email below.
Shooters, in particular, benefit greatly from the addition; Call of Duty Mobile and Doom are considerably more fun on this phone. Asus tells me it'll be certified to take advantage of AT&T and T-Mobile's 5G signals in the US, but it's not compatible with CDMA networks — that means Verizon is out. But for all the (frankly surprising) finesse in the ROG Phone 3's software, I've got one critical hangup: it's out of date. In the interest of transparency, I have to confess: I'm not big on the gamer aesthetic.
There’s also a more budget-friendly option available. Right: No fan. It handles the most intensive multitasking and gaming I can throw at it without breaking a sweat. There’s also a range of accessories, all sold separately, to further enhance the high-end gaming experience Asus wants to offer, including the AeroActive Cooler 3 and the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad.
If you have to ask, no. But for all the (frankly surprising) finesse in the ROG Phone 3's software, I've got one critical hangup: it's out of date.
We’re awaiting confirmation from Asus, and we’ll update this section once we know more. The side port is also in a better location for charging the phone while you play games.
I'd sooner my electronics look like they belong in my home than a garish neon spaceship. Keeping your phone cool is key when gaming, as a hot phone will often lead to performance issues.
Thankfully, though, the hardware is cutting edge: the ROG Phone 3 comes with the latest-and-greatest Snapdragon 865+. But nagging flaws more expected from budget phones make it hard to recommend to any but the most ardent mobile gamer. You’ll find a main 64Mp Sony IMX686 camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 1.7in sensor, along with a 13Mp 125-degree ultra-wide camera with real-time distortion correction and a simple 5Mp macro sensor for close-up shots. Worse still, in the few months since the ROG Phone 3 was released internationally, it's already missed one monthly security update, and the two that it has received were notably late — the August 2020 patch didn't arrive until the end of September. It's hard to say for sure whether anybody in the US should buy the ROG Phone 3, though, because Asus still hasn't announced how much it'll cost here. Despite the fact that you could buy the Asus ROG Phone 2 in the UK, the ROG Phone 3 may not be released in the UK. The large-for-2020 top and bottom bezels house stereo front-facing speakers, and they're wholly excellent — they sound better than some cheap laptop speakers, with plenty of bassy punch. In keeping with modern smartphone design, Asus saw fit to include a low-resolution macro camera in the ROG Phone 3. I only wish wireless charging were an option — I think that would be more use to more people than the RGB lighting on the phone's rear. Last year’s ROG Phone 2 wasn’t released until September 2019, meaning we may be waiting until September 2020 for the ROG Phone 3 to finally go on sale. On paper, at $900, it's not a good buy for most people. The Asus ROG Phone 3 is official, and it's a monster. The phone will ship with Android 10 when it launches in the US, weeks after Android 11's debut. The 6.59in AMOLED display is the fastest and most accurate display available on a smartphone right now, according to Asus.
It's been a few weeks since I first tested the ROG Phone 3, and there have been new developments in the meantime. The headphone jack it adds is a nice bonus, but the phone's considerable size coupled with the fact that it has no water resistance makes me think it could've been built in. But it produces some surprisingly competent shots. This story was originally published 2020/09/23 6:30am PDTon Sep 23, 2020 and last updated 2020/10/11 8:11am PDTon Oct 11, 2020.
Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. There's also the AeroActive Cooler 3, an attachable cooling fan that makes use of the ROG Phone 3's secondary accessory port and adds a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.
The selfie camera has also seen an upgrade, with a 24Mp sensor. It's not unusual for budget phones to be behind on major Android releases, but a premium device running obsolete software from day one is a pretty big faux pas. And when it does need a top-up, 30W fast charging should get you going pretty quickly. Touch latency is also down to 25ms, and there’s an improved 270Hz touch sampling rate for improved touch response times.