Asus' ROG lineup deals in some of the best gaming laptops there are, and since 2018 that portable gaming prowess has expanded into the mobile world with the ROG Phone. Today, Asus revealed the ROG Phone 8 series — a new revision to the brand's mobile catalog that's aiming big.
While the ROG Phone has often been hailed and typecast as the "gamer phone," the 8 Series is ready to prove there's more to this device that cranking out buttery smooth Subway Surfers gameplay. The ROG Phone 8 series is here to prove itself against top-tier flagship smartphones, packing an undeniable combination of quality components under its hood.
Let's take a closer look at the Asus ROG Phone 8 series in full, and see exactly what this device is packing to cause such a potential rift among the best smartphones on the market.
We're on the scene in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech at this year's CES 2024 showcase. Be sure to tag along on our CES 2024 journey by following Laptop Mag on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Flipboard, and Facebook for the most up to date hands-on impressions and news coming from the convention floor.
CES 2024: Asus ROG Phone 8, 8 Pro
The ROG Phone's new 6.78-inch, near bezel-less, FHD+ E6 flexible AMOLED display offers vivid colors and contrasts packed with 2,500 nits of peak brightness and a refresh rate of 165Hz that leaves the competition blushing (I'm looking at you Apple).
The impressive performance in question comes from the ROG Phone 8's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor — the very same set to appear in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12 though with an ROG exclusive X Mode for even more performance.
Better still, the ROG Phone 8 crushes what the Galaxy S24 Ultra has in store by offering up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. This is a seriously amount of performance on board and can be used for more than just gaming, with AI processing also making great use of things for the phone's 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer, 10x Hyper Clarity AI zooming, AI text grabbing, AI noise cancellation, generative AI wallpaper generation, and AI Semantic Search being leading features on the device.
Keeping all of that tech cool is the ROG Phone 8's second generation 360-degree Cooling System, a rapid-cooling solution that can be further augmented by the use of the AeroActive Cooler X — an attachable fan to further pull heat away from the device's SoC through the rear of the phone.
The rear of the phone is of course where you'll also find the main camera array which consists of a 50MP main lens, a 13MP wide free-form lens, and a 32MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Back to the front of the phone, you'll find a 32MP RGBW selfie cam.
Outlook, price and availability
While we've all been busy pondering if the OnePlus 12 can topple the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, not many were expecting the Asus ROG Phone 8 to join the melee also. However, with a spec-sheet like this, it's undeniable that Asus have a firecracker of a smartphone on its hands.
With its original and compelling design, incredible power, and a host of software designed to push the hardware to its max, the ROG Phone 8 and Phone 8 Pro have rocketed into consideration for the best smartphone of 2024. Well played, Asus.
The Asus ROG Phone 8 series is available in three models: the ROG Phone 8, ROG Phone 8 Pro, and ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition. Configurations and prices for each are 16GB/256GB for $1,099, 16GB/512GB for $1,199, and 24GB/1TB for $1,499 respectively.
The ROG Phone 8 series is expected to become available for purchase in Q1 2024 with preorders opening in February.
