Asus has announced a sequel to the ROG Phone (that stands for Republic of Gamers, for those new to the company’s gaming brand) called the ROG Phone 2, and it’s a massively powerful, giant-sized mobile gaming monster. The phone is due to launch in China on July 23, and the rest of the world from early September.
We’ve already tried the phone out and you can read our first impressions here, or continue below to find all the juicy specs and tech details.
Design
Asus hasn’t changed the design much from the first ROG Phone. The body is made of glass — shiny for the China model, and a matte finish for the international phones — and has a flat 6.59-inch AMOLED screen on the front, with bezels above and below for the stereo speakers. An in-display fingerprint sensor takes care of security, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted USB Type-C charging port, and a crazy RGB-lit logo on the back. The ROG Phone 2 is heavy at 240 grams, and quite thick at 9.4mm too.
You can augment the design with a variety of accessories. The Kunai gamepad makes the ROG Phone 2 look a bit like a Nintendo Switch, with two joypads attaching to either end of the phone, or together to make a Bluetooth-linked gamepad. The TwinView Dock 2 adds a second 120Hz screen and a 5000mAh extra battery for a dual-screen gaming device, and the AeroActive Cooler 2 is a clip-on fan to reduce device temperatures by 5-degrees.
The list continues with several cases, and several dock systems to make the ROG Phone 2 the heart of a gaming system in your living room or home office. Asus will even sell you a travel suitcase stuffed with all these accessories, the phone itself, and a special carry bag.
Specification
Asus has improved on the 90Hz screen on the first ROG Phone — and the one on the OnePlus 7 Pro — and has fitted a 120Hz AMOLED screen on the ROG Phone 2, putting it a step above the 120Hz LCD screen on the Razer Phone 2. The 6.59-inch screen has a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution, is tweaked at the factory to provide the most accurate colors possible, and has 240Hz touch sampling for low touch latency.
The first ROG Phone stood out for its use of a “binned” Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which provided more power than a regular Snapdragon 845. The ROG Phone 2 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, offering a 4% CPU boost, a 15% GPU boost, and an improved clock speed of 2.96GHz. A 3D vapor chamber, vents on the body, and even a clip-on fan keep the phone cool when it’s working hard. It has 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage space, with UFS3.0 technology for fast app launches.
Asus has fitted four 802.11ad Wi-Fi antennas to help maintain a strong connection even when holding the phone in landscape, four microphones with noise cancellation, plus dual stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra. Powering everything is a massive 6,000mAh battery with 30-watt fast charging, which is performed using either the wide-mounted connector, or one on the bottom of the phone.
While games are the reason for the ROG Phone 2’s existence, Asus has fitted the same, very capable dual-lens rear camera from the Zenfone 6, to make sure it can take good photos too. The main lens has 48-megapixels, and the 125-degree wide-angle has 13 megapixels. A 24-megapixel selfie camera is on the front. For the software, Asus has also turned to the Zenfone 6, and will use the same almost stock version on the ROG Phone 2. The Chinese version will have more stylized software similar to the first ROG Phone.
Launch and release date
Asus has revealed the ROG Phone 2, and it will launch it in China on July 23, where it will be co-branded with internet company Tencent. The international launch will come at the beginning of September, and the phone will launch in the U.S., the U.K., and other regions. The price has not been announced yet.
Gaming partnerships
Asus has partnered with several developers for the ROG Phone 2’s launch, adding in some special content to some of the world’s favorite games. ROG Phone 2 owners playing Asphalt 9 will get a special ROG-branded Porsche 911 car, and the game takes advantage of the phone’s new vibration technology, can be played on the TwinView Dock 2, and will have a higher frame rate.
Shadowgun Legends players will get an ROG avatar with ROG armor, an XP boost, ROG guns, and access to special events. The game runs at 120Hz, and can be played on the Kunai controllers and the TwinView Dock 2. Finally, Rockman X Dive can also be played on these two accessories and runs at 120Hz, while players get a special ROG gun and ROG wallpaper. Asus will launch the ROG Phone 2 in China with Tencent, where the phone will be co-branded, and likely come with various pre-installed titles.
Asus mentioned that other partnerships and collaborations may be announced in the future.
Updated on July 22, 2019: Added in all official launch details for the ROG Phone 2.
