Asus ROG Phone 2 Smartphone Review – 120-Hz display and improved air triggers
The predecessor was almost 30 grams lighter. Both the chassis and the battery have grown in size, and the display now measures 6.59 inches diagonally. The Nubia Red Magic is even bigger, but it weighs less. What we are most concerned about, though, is the difference in performance between the two devices. The competing devices include: the Nubia Red Magic, the Xiaomi Black Shark 2, the iPhone 11 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S10 Plus.
Comparison Devices
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.2 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2019 | Asus ROG Phone 2 SD 855+, Adreno 640 | 240 g | 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | 6.59" | 2340x1080 | |
| 88.2 % v6 (old) | 11 / 2018 | Asus ROG Phone SD 845, Adreno 630 | 212 g | 512 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.00" | 2160x1080 | |
| 87.3 % v6 (old) | 05 / 2019 | Xiaomi Black Shark 2 SD 855, Adreno 640 | 205 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.39" | 2340x1080 | |
| 86.8 % v6 (old) | 06 / 2019 | Nubia Red Magic 3 SD 855, Adreno 640 | 215 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.65" | 2340x1080 | |
| 87.8 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2019 | Apple iPhone 11 Pro A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU | 188 g | 256 GB NVMe | 5.80" | 2436x1125 | |
| 87.4 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2019 | Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Exynos 9820, Mali-G76 MP12 | 198 g | 512 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.40" | 3040x1440 |
Case – ROG logo adorns the gaming phone
Asymmetry and the illuminable RGB logo dominate the back of the very well-built ROG Phone II. The fingerprint scanner is situated below the touchscreen. The dock connector is still on the left side of the phone and the invisible sensor buttons are still on the right side. The third sensor button intended for use in portrait orientation is gone. The USB-C port and the headphone jack are located on the bottom of the device. There is a headset with a 3.5-mm plug in the box.
Hardware - External fan in the box
Our review device is the Elite version, featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+, 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal memory. The larger Ultimate edition offers 1 TB of internal memory, and the smaller Strix edition has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory.
The ultrasonic trigger buttons for gaming in landscape mode have been improved: Now they are easier to use and confirm inputs with haptic feedback. Our review device also comes with a fan, which the Strix edition does not include.
Software – Preinstalled game launcher
Our review device comes with Android 9 preinstalled. The security patches were last updated in November 2019. The predecessor was updated to Android 9, so there is some hope that the ROG Phone II will be updated to Android 10 as well.
In addition to the advanced game launcher known as "Armoury Crate”, the calculator, the phone app, the gallery app, and the file manager directly come from Asus.
Communication and GPS – Wi-Fi weaknesses eliminated
The poor performance that we saw last year is a thing of the past. The ROG Phone II does not support Wi-Fi 6, but we had no problems with sending data over Wi-Fi with our reference-grade router Linksys EA8500. For the optional WiGig Display Dock, our review device comes with Qualcomm's 802.11ad technology, which is not enabled by default. It operates at 60 GHz and lowers the latency with speeds of up to 7000 Mb/s. The ROG Phone II supports many frequency bands. Moreover, both SIM cards can operate in LTE networks.
When it comes to geolocation, the ROG Phone II supports GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Beidou and QZSS. Outdoors, it has no trouble acquiring our location. However, indoors it takes longer to determine the location and provides less accurate results.
In order to determine how accurate our review device is when it comes to geolocation, we take it with us on a bike ride. On this bike ride we are also accompanied by the professional navigator Garmin Edge 500. The smartphone did not map the route that we took very accurately. There were very large deviations, especially after we passed a small lake. However, after that it managed as well as many other smartphones; if the navigation fails while you are out and about, it could cost you some valuable time.
Telephony and Call Quality
The telephone application offers the ability to record conversations and features the ROG design. The microphone works well. We did not encounter any issues while talking on the phone. The conversation partner sounds a little muffled, but they are easy to understand both when using the headset and talking on the loudspeaker.
Camera – Does not live up to expectations
For highly detailed, high-resolution pictures, the main camera combines a 48-MP sensor from Sony with a 12-MP sensor. In low-light conditions sharpness is reduced to make images less noisy. There is also a 13-MP ultra wide-angle camera that can shoot video in 4K at 60 FPS. The front-facing camera has a 24-MP sensor. However, it does not produce the images that are as sharp as one would expect from such a camera.
We compare the main camera against a DSLR, the Google Pixel 3a and the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. The city shot is about as well-detailed as the rest of the competition. However, in the bear shot, it is clear to see that the image is rather blurry. Nevertheless, everything in the shot is still recognizable and the bear is clearly delineated from the background. In low-light conditions, the ROG Phone II has less noise in the images then the Pixel phone; Samsung has the most natural colors here.
The photo of the ColorChecker Passport, which was taken under controlled lighting conditions, reveals that the colors are a little too bright and there is no color tinge. However, under low-light conditions, a noticeable color cast emerges. The further you move from the center the lower the contrast becomes.
Accessories and Warranty
The box contains the SIM card removal tool, the user guide, the Aero Active Cooler II (not in the Strix edition), the ZenEar Pro headset, a light case and the charger with the cable.
Separately sold accessories include a Mobile Desktop Dock and the WiGig Display Dock Plus. Last year’s GameVice Controller is no longer available. It has been replaced with the Kunai Gamepad and the TwinView Dock has been replaced with the TwinView Dock II, which has a 120-Hz dual screen, a 5000-mAh battery and a built-in cooling solution.
The smartphone comes with a 24-month warranty.
Input Devices & Handling
Google’s GBoard, a customizable easy-to-use keyboard, responds with haptic feedback when typing. However, the intensity of this feedback is very high. The touchscreen reacts to inputs without any delays or hitches.
The smartphone can be unlocked with either the fingerprint or the face. The finger is occasionally not recognized when it is wet. The face is recognized even with a hat on, but from time to time facial recognition fails even under normal circumstances. It can be best described as relatively good, but at the end of the day, you will have to enter the pin code every now and again.
Display – Up to 120 frames per second
Together with the case, the size of the AMOLED screen grew from 2160x1080 to 2340x1080. Movie lovers will appreciate the 19.5:9 aspect ratio as well as support for Widevine Level 1. With the exception of the original ROG Phone, the ROG Phone II is the only gaming smartphone with a 90- or 120-Hz refresh rate. Moreover, it also has the brightest display. The brightness is distributed more evenly on Xiaomi’s smartphone, and other non-gaming phones such as the iPhone 11 Pro and the Note 10 have brighter AMOLED screens.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 580 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 5.4 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
Gamma: 2.17
| Asus ROG Phone 2 AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.6" | Asus ROG Phone AMOLED, 2160x1080, 6" | Xiaomi Black Shark 2 AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.4" | Nubia Red Magic 3 AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.7" | Apple iPhone 11 Pro OLED, 2436x1125, 5.8" | Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus OLED, 3040x1440, 6.4" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -10% | -8% | -56% | 49% | 22% | |
| Brightness middle | 580 | 597 3% | 409 -29% | 294 -49% | 787 36% | 710 22% |
| Brightness | 599 | 637 6% | 412 -31% | 298 -50% | 793 32% | 721 20% |
| Brightness Distribution | 91 | 83 -9% | 95 4% | 80 -12% | 98 8% | 97 7% |
| Black Level * | ||||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.9 | 5.12 -4% | 5.2 -6% | 10.58 -116% | 1.2 76% | 3.7 24% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.1 | 10.9 -20% | 8.9 2% | 17.04 -87% | 2.6 71% | 10.3 -13% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.4 | 7.3 -35% | 4.8 11% | 6.7 -24% | 1.5 72% | 1.5 72% |
| Gamma | 2.17 101% | 2.203 100% | 2.21 100% | 1.631 135% | 2.2 100% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 7487 87% | 7371 88% | 7430 87% | 7184 90% | 6339 103% | 6611 98% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 510 Hz | ≤ 99 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 510 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 510 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8437 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The ROG Phone II covers 98% of the DCI P3 color space. There are four display modes. The spectrophotometer running CalMAN’s software reveals a slight bluish cast. The color temperature is on the cooler side, but this is not noticeable in day-to-day life
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 10 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 12 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.3 ms). | ||
The display is very reflective. The screen content is not legible in direct sunlight. However, in all other situations the screen content is easy to read because of high display brightness. The viewing angles are very stable.
Performance – Most powerful device
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 Plus is an updated version of the Snapdragon 855 in the Black Shark 2 and in the Red Magic 3. Both SoCs have four high-efficiency Cortex-A55 cores, three fast Cortex-A76 cores, and one prime core, which is clocked at 2.84 GHz in the case of the Snapdragon 855 and at 2.96 GHz in the case of the 855+.
The Snapdragon 855+ also features the fastest graphics chip in the Android world. Only Apple’s A13 GPU is capable of beating the Adreno 640.
| Basemark GPU 1.1 | |
| 1920x1080 Vulkan Medium Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (38.9 - 44.6, n=2) | |
| Vulkan Medium Native (sort by value) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (28.5 - 35, n=2) | |
| 1920x1080 OpenGL Medium Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (42.2 - 45.3, n=2) | |
| AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Asus ROG Phone | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (n=1) | |
| AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Asus ROG Phone | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | |
The ROG Phone II does very well in the browser benchmarks, and in everyday use even demanding websites feel perfectly smooth.
| Jetstream 2 - 2.0 Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 387, n=165, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 (Chrome 78) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (62.4 - 70.9, n=5) | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 74) | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 (Chrome 73.0.3683.90) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samung Browser 9.0) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 (Chrome 78) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (113.9 - 120.8, n=5) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samsung Browser 9.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 70) | |
| Speedometer 2.0 - Result | |
| Average of class Smartphone (15.2 - 569, n=147, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (39.1 - 69.1, n=4) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samsung Browser 9.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 74) | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 (Chrome 73.0.3683.90) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 (Chrome 78) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (38 - 347, n=68, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samsung Browser 9.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 (Chrome 78) | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 70) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (89 - 111, n=5) | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 (Chrome 73.0.3683.90) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2228 - 100368, n=207, last 2 years) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (23781 - 25353, n=5) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 (Chrome 74) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samsung Browser 9.0) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 70) | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 (Chrome 73.0.3683.90) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Xiaomi Black Shark 2 (Chrome 73.0.3683.90) | |
| Nubia Red Magic 3 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ROG Phone (Chrome 70) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus (2007 - 2134, n=5) | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 (Chrome 78) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Samsung Browser 9.0) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (277 - 28190, n=166, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Safari Mobile 13.0) | |
* ... smaller is better
Asus forgoes expandable storage, offering 512 GB of internal memory instead, which should be more than enough for downloading MOBAs or RPGs with all their associated files. The read and write speeds of UFS 3.0 flash memory are very fast – when it comes to loading times in games, the ROG Phone II is unbeatable.
| Asus ROG Phone 2 | Asus ROG Phone | Xiaomi Black Shark 2 | Nubia Red Magic 3 | Apple iPhone 11 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus | Average 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -28% | -48% | -28% | -47% | 25% | 134% | ||
| Sequential Read 256KB | 1487 | 725 -51% | 793 -47% | 777 -48% | 811 -45% | 1593 ? 7% | 2043 ? 37% | |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 386.4 | 243.3 -37% | 195.6 -49% | 190.5 -51% | 249.1 -36% | 565 ? 46% | 1659 ? 329% | |
| Random Read 4KB | 165.9 | 141.6 -15% | 145.2 -12% | 152.2 -8% | 135.2 -19% | 211 ? 27% | 285 ? 72% | |
| Random Write 4KB | 165.3 | 152 -8% | 25 -85% | 160.1 -3% | 22.7 -86% | 196.5 ? 19% | 327 ? 98% |
Gaming – Air triggers for more comfort while gaming
The powerful SoC and a massive 12 GB of RAM make the dry specifications sheet glow. The Adreno 640 is only second to Apple’s A13 GPU, and on the Android side there is nothing that can beat it. There are dedicated chips for Gaming HDR and Mobile HDR, according to the manufacturer. Our performance analysis with Gamebench shows that all games that we have benchmarked run at the maximum frame rate almost all of the time.
The game launcher known as "Armoury Crate" allows users to view their game library, to check the CPU, GPU and battery status and to configure the air triggers, the fan speed and the RGB logo.
When using the air triggers, reaching on-screen buttons with your thumb can be quite difficult. However, this is not a problem in such games as Fortnite, where you can easily move the on-screen buttons around.
Arena of Valor
Asphalt 9: Legends
Subway Surfers
Temle Run II
Dead Trigger 2
Emissions – Temperatures are not critical even without the fan
Temperature
The device becomes noticeably warm when taxed. However, the maximum temperature of 38 °C is not that unusual. The frame rates drop slightly under continuous load, and after a while they drop even further, but even then they are still on a high level.
The FLIR images show what kind of improvements the fan brings to the table: The smartphone is 10 °C cooler when running in performance mode with the fan on.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.2 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.3 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speakers – Good and loud
The speakers are very loud, thanks to the dual NXP amplifier. The overall impression is good, but it is nothing extraordinary; the flagships from Apple and Samsung and the gaming phone from Xiaomi sound much better.
The included in-ear headphones also sound just okay. However, when used with the ZenEar Pro audio profile, the earphones sound quite good.
Asus ROG Phone 2 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (89.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.6% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.7% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 22% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 69% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 43% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 50% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 15.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 9.3% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (2.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 22% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 69% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 43% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 50% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (87.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 8% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 86% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 28% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 65% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery Life
Energy Consumption
With the exception of the Red Magic 3, all other smartphones featured in this review manage their power consumption quite well. Here, Samsung’s flagship smartphone has the highest power draw under load and the iPhone 11 Pro the lowest.
| Off / Standby |   0.01 / 0.15 Watt |
| Idle |  0.68 / 1.05 / 1.07 Watt |
| Load |
4.14 / 9.05 Watt |
    
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Asus ROG Phone 2 6000 mAh | Asus ROG Phone 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Black Shark 2 4000 mAh | Nubia Red Magic 3 5000 mAh | Apple iPhone 11 Pro 3046 mAh | Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 4100 mAh | Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -18% | 1% | -62% | -20% | -39% | -57% | -39% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 0.68 | 0.6 12% | 0.73 -7% | 1.3 -91% | 0.58 15% | 0.73 -7% | 1.183 ? -74% | 0.872 ? -28% |
| Idle Average * | 1.05 | 1.4 -33% | 1.01 4% | 1.6 -52% | 1.99 -90% | 1.53 -46% | 1.883 ? -79% | 1.415 ? -35% |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.07 | 1.7 -59% | 1.13 -6% | 2.3 -115% | 2.03 -90% | 2.07 -93% | 2.32 ? -117% | 1.556 ? -45% |
| Load Average * | 4.14 | 3.8 8% | 3.64 12% | 5.8 -40% | 3.13 24% | 6.03 -46% | 4.91 ? -19% | 7.04 ? -70% |
| Load Maximum * | 9.05 | 10.6 -17% | 8.86 2% | 10.2 -13% | 5.43 40% | 9.18 -1% | 8.59 ? 5% | 10.6 ? -17% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
The ROG Phone II lasted for over 14 h in our scripted Wi-Fi test. This is a very good result, which has been achieved due in large part to the 6000-mAh battery.
| Asus ROG Phone 2 6000 mAh | Asus ROG Phone 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Black Shark 2 4000 mAh | Nubia Red Magic 3 5000 mAh | Apple iPhone 11 Pro 3046 mAh | Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 4100 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -37% | -9% | 3% | -7% | -43% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 851 | 533 -37% | 774 -9% | 879 3% | 791 -7% | 483 -43% |
| Reader / Idle | 1110 | 952 | 2084 | 1560 | ||
| H.264 | 800 | 666 | 1046 | 921 | ||
| Load | 216 | 295 | 336 | 187 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Asus combines very powerful hardware with well-optimized software, here. Future smartphones with the Snapdragon 855+ are not very likely to feature 12 GB of RAM and the same level of power management.
The gaming phone is a good overall package.
The Elite version with the cooler has an MSRP of 899 Euros (~$994). There are cheaper, although less powerful, alternatives such as the Strix edition and the Black Shark 2.
If you are not interested in gaming, then justifying the high weight becomes quite hard. Moreover, the smartphone lacks an IP certification and there are devices out there with much better cameras.
Asus ROG Phone 2
- 09/03/2022 v7 (old)
Inge Schwabe
Price comparison
