Asus ROG Phone 3

The ROG 3 is the next in Asus’ line of super gaming phones., While gaming is the main focus of the new phone, they claim its also a capable phone as well. Is this phone the best of gaming and communications combined?

Design

Asus has never been one to skimp on design and the ROG 3 is no exception. While not changing too much from the original design, the latest version is a lot sleeker. You can still find the RGB illuminated logo on the back. Instead of vents, they’ve opted for a transparent cooling chamber without the sharp lines. It’s encased in Gorilla Glass 6 with aluminum rails along the sides.

Display

You can’t have an epic gaming phone without a good display and reviews indicate Asus has managed this quite well. The AMOLED screen supports frame rates up to 144Hz which is practically unheard of on a mobile phone but makes games feel silky smooth. The display is also very bright and can be easily read in daylight. The only complaint was the phone’s resolution (2,340-by-1080 pixels.) Reviewers just found it hard to adjust to.

Tom’s Guide says, “I never quite got used to the extremely wide 19:5:9 aspect ratio, but otherwise, it’s a gorgeous display, with rich colors: 168% of the sRGB spectrum.”

Performance

The Asus ROG Phone 3 is lightning fast as a gaming phone should be. No stuttering or pausing between apps on this machine.

Android Authority states, “The ROG Phone 3 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus, which overclocks the CPU prime core to 3.1GHz. This makes it one of the absolute fastest phones on the market, especially when paired with the super-fast UFS 3.1 storage and GDDR5 RAM.”

Software & Storage

The Asus ROG Phone 3 runs a cleaned-up version of Android 10 and has updates from both Asus and Google guaranteed for an unspecified time. It also uses Game Genie and X Mode software to help optimize the gaming experience. While it doesn’t have a MicroSD slot or expandable storage, 512GB of storage is more than enough for a solid game library.

Cameras

These cameras won’t compete with top-tier camera phones, but they still produce really good pictures. Multiple modes for taking photos — including night mode, macro, motion-tracking, and time-lapse — make it better at taking phones than you might expect for a gaming-oriented phone. Reviewers stated the pictures were bright and clear, with very little to dissuade them from giving it a good score.

Battery Life

Being a gaming phone, the battery is much larger than your average smartphone. Unfortunately, reviewers had trouble estimating battery life. It all depends on what games you play and for how long. A larger, more graphics-intensive game is going to drain the battery quicker than your average puzzle game. Even with this in mind, more reviewers were quite happy with battery life for the Asus ROG Phone 3.

Audio

Reviews indicate that the phone’s two stereo speakers provide impeccable sound. Most experts couldn’t boast enough about the quality of sound that came from the phone compared to their usual smartphone experience.

Digital Trends remarks, “Asus has worked with an audio company called Dirac, passing over bigger brands like Dolby, and the result is often extraordinary. There’s a level of detail, clarity, and definition you don’t always find on phones, along with a wide soundstage and a genuinely full sound from the dual stereo speakers. The ROG Phone 3 sounds like no other smartphone.”

Specs at a Glance

• Gorilla Glass 6 and aluminum chassis
• 6.59-inch, 144Hz AMOLED display
• Octa-core 3.1 GHz processor Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+
• 12/16GB of RAM
• Android 10
• 512GB of storage
• 64-MP primary shooter, a 13-MP ultrawide lens, and a 5-MP macro
• 24MP front-facing camera
• 6000mAh battery

Bottom Line

With a lot of people turning to gaming on their phones, it only makes sense for a company to make a phone meant for it. Asus provides a level of performance that is unsurpassed so far with the ROG Phone 3. Great sound, great picture, long battery life, and enough power to run even the most graphics-intensive mobile games out there make it a compelling package. Reviews indication that it’s going to be very hard for anyone to beat this beast of a gaming phone..

Android Authority says, “Asus has figured out how to make a gaming phone that also excels as a regular smartphone. The ROG Phone 3 is one of the fastest phones on the market right now, and its killer battery life and simple interface make it a great device for anyone.”

Tom’s Guide states, “The Asus ROG Phone 3 is a powerful and robust Android gaming phone, although it gets hot easily and can be cumbersome to use. It’s surprisingly well rounded for a gaming-focused handset, though buyers interested in other luxuries, like camera quality, may want to consider a more traditional flagship phone like the Galaxy S20 or OnePlus 8 Pro instead.”

Digital Trends remarks, “The ROG Phone 3 is unrivaled among gaming phones. This should tell you all you need to know about whether it’s for you. It’s a spec monster, providing all the power anyone will need for just about any task they’d want to do on a phone. If a game doesn’t run well on the ROG Phone 3, it doesn’t run well on a phone, period.”