Asus Rog Phone 3

A brand that is known for its computers and computer components. Asus makes high powered gaming laptops as well, these go under the ROD and TUF labels. Asus has used the ROG line to introduce smartphones that are also targeted at gamers.

The design of the ROG Phone 3 is slick, as is the case with most gaming devices and peripherals.

Asus ROG Phone 3

ROG stands for Republic Of Gamers, this lets you know what the purpose of this smartphone is. Made with powerful specs that can handle your gaming needs, this smartphone has been called a beast for its time. It has gaming-centric features that make the gameplay process streamlined. The smartphone also has a small variety of accessories that are made just for it, which can expand on your gaming needs.

With one of the key features being the AirTriggers which are set to one side, so when you rotate the screen to play your index fingers are on them. This system places motion sensors on the edge of the phone which mimic shoulder buttons. These support multiple gestures and also have the option to be set to a specific task within a game. 

OS and internal specs

The Asus ROG Phone 3 makes use of Google's Android base, using Android 10. On top of that their own user interface ROG UI has been layered. The ROG UI allows for Game Genie and X Mode, both of which are specifically designed for gaming.

Game Genie is an overlay app which lets you control the frame rate, brightness and other performance metrics. It also lets you block calls and texts while you are gaming. Game Genie is simple to use and does not slow the games down. 

X Mode on the other hand is a kind of like removing an electronic muzzle on the system, allowing one to access three different performance levels. The higher you go the more powerful the phone becomes, at the cost of putting out more heat and of course eating battery.

Although generally the Asus ROG Phone 3 can handle games without needed the X Mode, but still a useful feature if newer games come along that require more beef.

The powerhouse at the centre of all this is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus which has been produced using the 7nm method. This is integrated with the Qualcomm Adreno 650, which is considered to be one of the best current options for a GPU and is used in high end Android devices.

For RAM and storage there are multiple variations, one can get 12GB RAM with 512GB storage or 16GB RAM with the same storage. There are also options with lower RAM and storage, one can choose based on their need. The storage is based on USF 3.1 which is a high performance standard of memory execution.

Display on the ROG Phone 3

Another powerhouse feature is the display, a crucial element involved in gaming. At 6.59 inches, the resolution of this display is 1080 x 2340 pixels which brings the pixels per inch to 391. The display is based on AMOLED technology, has 1 billion colours and has support for HDR10+.

The brightness levels are rated at 650 nits. A very important aspect of gaming smartphones is their refresh rate, the ROG Phone 3 has a 144Hz refresh rate. This is a high-level spec and helps ones games and overall display quality be smooth. Making sure the graphics are not choppy is important for gameplay.

This powerful display system is protected on the front by Corning's Gorilla Glass 6.

Cameras

Although the cameras are not an area of focus for this smartphone they are still good. The main camera is a wide 64MP f/1.8 sensor, with the secondary at 13MP f/2.4 which is ultrawide and the third is 5MP f/2.0 sensor for macro shots. The main camera system has gyro-electronic image stabilisation to make shooting easier.

On the front camera, video has multiple resolution and frame rate options. Starting at 720p with a frame rate of 480fps, on to 1080p which can be shot at 30, 60 or 240fps. The higher resolutions are 4K which can be shot at 30, 60 or 120fps and then on to 8K which can be shot only at 30fps.

For the selfie camera, Asus has gone with the 24MP f/2.0 wide sensor. This camera can shoot video at 1080p with a frame rate of 30fps.

Both sides support HDR and panorama modes.

Connectivity and sensors

The connectivity gamut includes Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. Radio is missing in this smartphone. The porting options are dual, which is rare. The Asus ROG Phone 3 has two USB ports, one is a USB Type-C 2.0 and the other is a USB Type-C 3.1. One of these ports is on the bottom while the other is on the side, so if one is gaming the wire is not in the way, again a feature that is specifically gamer oriented.

Sensors on this smartphone include a gyro, a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, a compass and a fingerprint reader that is under the display. 

Battery

Given that this smartphone is built with such heavy specs the battery is large, it is a 6000mAh Li-polymer cell. The charging system features Fast Charging 30W, Power Delivery 3.0 and Quick Charge 4.0 & 3.0. Also reverse charging is possible too.

Accessories for the ROG Phone 3

This smartphone has a range of options which can enhance the smartphone's performance and also improve gameplay. One of the main issues to battle with high-performance machines is that they put out heat. For this one can buy the AeroActive Cooler 3, this is a clip-on fan system that helps the device dissipate heat a lot faster.

TwinView Dock 3 has another screen built into it, so if you set your smartphone into it you have a split-screen system for more space. The ROG Clip lets you connect your smartphone to a game controller, giving you more ease in playing through a hardware controller. Another form of the controller is the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad which essentially is like the Nintendo Switch controllers.

One can also opt for two different cases, one of which has RGB lighting. Another accessory is the Mobile Desktop Dock, which lets you connect a display, mouse, keyboard and an Ethernet cable for faster internet.

Comments

This smartphone does not feature a 3.5mm audio jack but has speakers on the front too which are DTS:X stereo speakers for better game-environment immersion. They have 2 dedicated amps so the sound is as high quality as can be at this size.

The only major concern with this beast is that it heats up with extended gameplay, which is why the AeroActive Cooler 3 is a very useful add-on for heavy gamers.

The Asus ROG Phone 3 has set a new standard with some of its functions and is a high-end smartphone that is from an expensive price point.