Android gaming phones might not appeal to many people, but they must be selling well enough as companies continue to make them. The Razer Phone was last year's high-profile launch in the sector, and this year we've also seen efforts from Nubia and Xiaomi. Specialized ASUS brand Republic of Gamers (ROG) has just unveiled its own competitor at Computex 2018.

The ROG Phone boasts an exclusive Snapdragon 845 SoC with a higher clock speed (2.96GHz, Qualcomm's fastest ever), along with the world's first 3D vapor-chamber cooling system and an additional snap-on cooler. A lot of gaming phone features tend to sound like overkill, but ASUS has clearly decided to really go for broke with the ROG Phone.

SPECS

Processor

Exclusive 2.96GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno 630

Display

6.0“ 18:9 (2160x1080) AMOLED, 90Hz refresh rate with 1ms pixel response time, 108.6% DCI-P3 color gamut and 10000:1 contrast ratio, 10-point multi-touch (supports Glove Touch), discrete image processing chip supports HDR

Memory

8GB RAM (LPDDR4X)

Storage

128GB / 512GB (UFS 2.1)

Sensors

Accelerometer, e-compass, proximity sensor, Hall sensor, ambient-light sensor, fingerprint sensor, gyroscope, 2 x ultrasonic AirTriggers

Connectivity

802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad 2x2 MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct and WiGig 802.11ad wireless display support, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. GPS, aGPS, Glonass, BeiDou

Side I/O

Custom USB-C supports USB 3.1 Gen 1, DP 1.4, fast charging (15W)
ASUS HyperCharge direct charging

Bottom I/O

USB-C supports USB 2.0, fast charging (20W), Direct Charge
3.5mm headphone jack

Cameras

Dual rear - 12MP + 8MP (120° wide-angle) / Front - 8MP

Audio

Dual front-facing stereo speakers with smart amplifier, 24-bit/192KHz Hi-Res Audio, DTS Headphone: X 7.1 virtual surround-sound, Qualcomm aptX High-definition Bluetooth® wireless audio

Battery

4,000mAh

Dimensions

158.8 x 76.2 x 8.6mm

Weight

200g

Other impressive sounding specs include a specially-optimized Adreno 630 GPU and a 6" AMOLED HDR display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms pixel response time. Ultrasonic AirTriggers give you programmable shoulder buttons (when the phone is held in landscape) that free up screen space for immersive action. The additional cooler attachment provides an extra Type-C port and headphone jack on what is the bottom edge of the phone in landscape, making it easier to play and charge at the same time.

ASUS ROG also announced various other new gaming products at the event, including a new laptop and router. Some accessories that work with the ROG Phone were also shown off, such as the Delta Type-C gaming headset and desktop dock so you can play mobile games with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor if you wish.

The ROG Phone will be available "shortly" in two configurations, with either 128GB or 512GB of storage. Pricing information hasn't yet been announced, so we'll have to wait and see how (un)affordable this phone ends up being.

PRESS RELEASE