TRIED AND TESTED
THE BEST MOTORING PRODUCTS, PUT THROUGH THEIR PACES BY EVO INDIA
We get our hands on the gaming focused ASUS ROG Phone 2 that’s a huge improvement over its path breaking predecessor
ASUS ROG PHONE 2 `37,999
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WHEN THE ASUS ROG PHONE CAME OUT A WHILE ago, enthusiasts sure were excited about it. But a high sticker price of ` 70,000 meant that most mainstream buyers chose to stay away. This time however, ASUS has gone ahead and launched the ASUS ROG 2 at a price point that’s smack bang in the middle of the high volume, affordable flagship part of the market. With flagship level specs and an attention grabbing design focused solely on gaming, the ASUS ROG 2 sure made some headlines and we at evo India decided to put it to the test.
The ASUS ROG Phone 2 continues where its predecessor left off and retains the sharp, edgy design albeit with smaller vents, subtler orange highlights and a darker finish. There’s no mistaking the ROG Phone 2 for anything else, especially from the back with the glowing ROG logo. Another aspect that really stands out on the ASUS ROG 2 is the sheer size and bulk of the phone. It weighs in at 240g and is a hefty 9.48mm thick. Although you don’t feel the weight so much when using it to play games in landscape mode, it does feel a bit too heavy for single-handed use.
The fingerprint scanner is now beneath the 6.59inch 120Hz AMOLED display and does work fairly well, although it is not as quick as some other flagships. Face recognition on the other hand, works splendidly, even at odd angles. The right side of the phone gets the power button and the volume rocker while the left gets an additional Type-C port along with a dedicated port for ASUS’ gaming accessories.
The ROG Phone 2 also features the second version of ASUS’ AirTrigger where you can rest your fingers on them without activating them. The Air Triggers are ultrasonic pressure sensitive sensors placed on the side of the phone and they can be configured for individual games. There are other gaming focused optimisations too, like the ones done to reduce latency (the lowest among all flagships) and improve responsiveness (touch sampling at 240Hz). And even though these improvements were conceptualised for gamers, they make a huge difference in day-to-day use. Things like the side mounted charging port and loud speakers are great additions.
Powered by a Snapdragon 855+ processor and 8GB of RAM, it is blazingly fast at everyday tasks and is never found wanting even while playing games. A 6000mAh battery is simply put, unprecedented in a flagship and the ROG Phone 2 easily lasts two days, even with the display at 120Hz. And when you do need to plug in, the 30W charger does come in handy.
The ROG Phone 2 gets a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor as the primary shooter, with a 13MP wideangle lens and both do a pretty good job, as does the 24MP front shooter. The ROG Phone 2 is a compelling package with optimisations and enhancements that make it great for not just gamers but also regular people. With the aggressive pricing, it is hard to not recommend the ASUS ROG 2 to just about everyone.