With the new Asus ROG Phone II, you get to enjoy premium smartphone gaming experience. Made for both hardcore gamers and Android power users, the device sports a 120Hz 10-bit HDR screen, along with a unique collection of accessories as well as key partnerships with game developers.
The device allows you to switch between a near-stock UI (a feature that was borrowed from the Zenfone 6) and the game-focused ROG user interface.
This dual nature can also be seen in the phone design. To make it one-handable, the width was kept below 78mm, while the Taiwan-based maker optimized all features and capabilities for landscape use.
Its 6.59-inch AMOLED screen is capable of running at up to 120Hz refresh rate with 1ms (millisecond) latency; both 60Hz & 90Hz modes are equally available. Its touch sensor, equipped with a sampling rate of 240Hz and optimizations to the Android core, was able to achieve lower touch latency in comparison with the iPhone XS Max, according to Asus. (Apple’s iPhones were always faster than their Android counterparts as regards this.)
The device screen gets a resolution of 1080 by 2340 pixels, along with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, and comes with 10-bit HDR support. It is able to offer more than the bounds of the DCI-P3 color space (108 percent). Also, it features perfect color accuracy (deltaE < 1).
If you own ROG hardware, you should be familiar with Asus’ game launcher, the Armoury Crate, enabling you to personalize the settings for each game, such as whether you would like to run your screen in 120Hz mode, if you want the high-performance X-mode enabled, and so on. Apart from these, you also have the Game Genie, which helps you handle notifications, locking the brightness, incoming calls, and the likes.
At both sides of the screen, you will see the front-facing stereo speakers that are built with DTS:X Ultra support, allowing them to simulate multi-channel audio. They have been improved with larger chambers, so are 2.5 times louder in comparison with the speakers on the 1st-gen ROG Phone.
Additionally, the AirTriggers are new and also come with enhanced capabilities. Apart from the fact that they recognize a new swiping gesture, they can tell when you press down as you rest your fingers on them, just like you’d on actual triggers.
The Asus ROG Phone II offers you 2 vibration motors: There is one on the left, while the other is on the right. The motors come handy in games, like Asphalt 9, where directional haptic feedback is uber-cool. Also, they’re used by the AirTriggers, when you need to press down and release for simulating real buttons. The manufacturer improved the vibration motors for cutting down on the vibration feedback latency for the triggers to 20millisec.
A 3.5mm headphone jack ensures that you keep up with the theme of low latency (this offering is faster than even aptX LL). This gaming smartphone has 4 microphones, so regardless of the way you hold the device, it’ll still provide you with clear audio — either to have a talk with your teammates or listen to commentary while streaming.
You would find the 24-MP front cam perfect for this, which is optimized for landscape use. As the antenna is carefully placed, you get to enjoy low-latency, high-throughput Wi-Fi connectivity, another awesome feature for competitive gaming & streaming.
The new phone draws power from the Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, overclocking the Adreno 640 GPU to 675 megahertz (MHz) to supply a 15 per cent boost in performance. Also, the prime CPU core is overclocked, though there are just 4 per cent gains.
In a bid to avoid thermal throttling, Asus used vents which dissipate the heat away to the external vents from the vapor chamber. There is also the second generation AeroActive Cooler II that is 4x quieter (24 decibel) and ensures the exterior of the phone stays cooler, as it drops the temperature by 5 degree Celsius lower, up from 4 degree Celsius. This cooler can equally serve as a kickstand, enabling you to leave your smartphone on the table and make use of a wireless controller.
In the accessory section, there is the ROG Kunai Gamepad, the best accessory for the new device, which has very similar gaming modes with the Nintendo Switch.
You will be able to attach both halves to the sides of the Asus ROG Phone II to give you a handheld experience. Alternatively, you can attach them together and wield them as a wireless gamepad. Used in this manner, you can opt for one of the docks (WiGig wireless display dock, the Mobile Desktop Dock, or Pro Dock) to output image to your TV.
The Kunai Gamepad is utilized, combined with the TwinView Dock II as well. The accessory brings another 120Hz/1ms touchscreen, along with a cooling fan & a 5,000-mAh battery. Some new features have been added to this dock’s design to make it lighter and provide better weight distribution. Apart from Asphalt 9, Shadowgun Legends is another game also supporting the TwinView Dock II (and dual vibration, too).
The smartphone packs massive 6000-mAh capacity, which will be able to outlast its rivals, significantly, as it provides 7 hours of non-stop PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) action. The phone also has the quick charge support, 30W ROG HyperCharge, which makes use of a standard 3A cable (it supports Quick Charge 4.0 as well).
