Asus ROG Phone 2 Review

Asus launched their second generation of ROG Smartphone i.e. Asus ROG Phone 2, a few months back in India and we are here with the review of the same. This review is based on our usage of the phone for more than a week as a full-time primary device. This is a review unit (returnable) provided by Asus i.e. the 8GB RAM variant with 128GB internal storage which is priced at Rs. 37,999 in India. Just keep in mind that this is a Gaming Phone and every feature/hardware that the phone uses, is chosen based on Gaming aspect priority.

ASUS ROG Phone 2 Specs

• Display 6.6-inch AMOLED Full HD+ (2340×1080 pixels), 120Hz refresh rate, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 108% DCI-P3, 10000:1 contrast, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, HDR, Optical In-display fingerprint scanner
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus
• Operating System: ROG UI/Stock Android 9 Pie (user’s choice)
• GPU: Adreno 640
• Memory: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X RAM
• Storage: 128GB/512GB UFS 3.0
• Selfie Camera: 24MP, f/2.0 aperture
• Main Cameras: 48MP Sony IMX586 f/1.79 aperture 0.8μm pixel size, 13MP wide-angle 125° FOV f/2.4 aperture
• Battery: 6,000mAh
• Ports: USB Type-C side-port, USB-C main port
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad 5GHz, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 GPS/GLONASS/BDS/Galileo/QZSS
• Dimensions: 170.99 x 77.6 x 9.48 mm
• Weight: 240g
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Digital compass, Gyroscope, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor
• Misc: 3.5mm headphone jack, Dual front-facing stereo speakers, Google ARCore support, Aura RGB lighting, 3D vapour chamber, 2 x AirTrigger sensors (ultrasonic)

Asus ROG Phone 2 Design and Build Quality

In terms of design, it truly looks different from a normal flagship device with the exposed air vent at the back with that ROG logo on the back that also lights up. Thanks to a monster battery of 6,000mAh and 6.6-inch display it feels large & heavy in hand. In terms of specifics, it weighs 240gms and is 9.48mm thick, which makes it the heaviest phone around. The rear panel is also slippery making it harder to handle during normal usage. Obviously while playing games, you usually handle it in portrait orientation and you feel good holding it.

It includes an additional USB Type-C port, along with a custom port on the left side for using it with accessories. This supports USB 3.1 (Gen2) along with video output up to 4K and Quick Charge 4.0. The phone still has the 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. The 6.59-inch AMOLED Full-HD+ display comes with a 120Hz refresh rate which can also run on90Hz and 60Hz and comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 for protection. But once you have used the 120Hz, it’s very difficult to go back to 60Hz or even 90Hz. Obviously, the 120Hz option consumes more battery but it is worth the experience.

The phone does come with bezels yet you won’t dislike it. There is a dual Nano-SIM tray on left but you cant use a MicroSD card for expansion. Some Gaming specific features include 2nd Gen of Asus’s AirTrigger system that lets you rest your fingers on the buttons without pressing them. It also includes a dual vibration system that vibrates as per your Gameplay on the phone and gives you some incredible feel of gaming. Other features include dual front-facing stereo speakers, Google ARCore support, Aura RGB lighting, 3D vapour chamber etc.

Thanks to some incredible hardware that powers the ASUS ROG Phone 2, such as Snapdragon 855+ SoC, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM & UFS 3.0 storage, the phone performs excellently well in every department. You can easily call it a beast when it comes to performance. The 120HZ display along with the flagship hardware, dual vibration system and great sound quality makes it perfect for gaming.

If you love to play games on smartphones, Asus ROG 2 will change your perception of playing games on a mobile device. I am not even an average gamer, yet it loved to play Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile on the phone. Even under highest graphics settings, everything runs flawlessly. Keep in mind that our review device was updated till December OTA updates from Asus fixing some of the intial issues that some other Reviewers encountered. But yes, we did encounter some heating after prolong gaming on the phone.

The phone runs on ROG UI / Stock Android 9 Pie that users can select while booting the device for the first time. To be honest, there is no Stock Android UI, but it’s just a theme based implementation which gives the look of Stock Android. But behind the scenes, it is the same ROG UI or Zen UI. There are no issues with software performance, yet we at AndroidPure are always biased towards Stock Android. It includes additional features such as Motion & touch Gestures, Twin Apps support, One hand mode etc.

If you look at the Antutu Scores of Asus ROG 2 Phone, it reaches around 5,00,000 which is like numero uno for a smartphone and it reflects in the performance. Some additional features for gaming on phone included the X Mode and Game Genie.

Battery performance is impressive and it easily lasted for two days even after heavy usage (including 15-20 minutes of gaming / day). Our only issue with the battery of Asus ROG Phone 2 is, too long charging time even after considering the fact that this is a 6,000mAh battery. Every time it took more than four hours to fully charge from 0 to 100% in spite of using the 18W fast charger. We hope that Asus can make it much faster. Asus should have given the 30W fast charger with the box itself instead of the 18W charger. The 30W charger claims to charge from 0 to 100% in approximately 90 minutes.

Asus ROG Phone 2 cameras

We didn’t tested the cameras as extensively as we do for other flagship as this one is a gaming smartphone and also, the rear camera sensors on the phone are same as  that of Asus 6z ( Read Review) except the laser autofocus sensor. We have already talked about the camera performance in Asus 6Z review and this one is no different. The Camera app comes with loads of options including the Pro Mode and Night mode. The front selfie camera sensor is 24MP with f/2.0 aperture which manages to shoot some great selfie shots including the portrait ones. Check out some of the camera samples that give a good glimpse of what they are capable of.

Asus ROG Phone 2 Camera Samples

Conclusion

Asus ROG 2 Phone is a great Gaming smartphone with 120HZ display along with the flagship hardware, dual vibration system & great sound quality & you should buy it if you are a gaming enthusiast and can afford the pricing. But if you are not a gaming enthusiast, you can probably get more options in that price range that includes phones such as Realme X2 Pro, OnePlus 7T or even Black Shark 2 or Nubia Red Magic 3.