ROG Phone 8 Pro bend test proceeds directly to teardown in new durability test video

Given that Samsung has decided that it's acceptable to charge nearly $1,500 for a new 12GB/512GB flagship Android smartphone, it is just as well that it comes with the OEM's latest titanium frame and Gorilla Glass Armor for its flat front panel. Asus charges just about the same amount of money for a new ROG Phone 8 Pro, as JerryRigEverything host Zach Nelson discovered when sourcing one for his series of torture-testing videos.

Nevertheless, the 8 Pro's display "scratches at a level 6, with deeper grooves at a level 7", just like any other non-Galaxy S24 Ultra device before it. Nelson did find some things to like about the ROG Phone 8 Pro, however, such as the AniMe Matrix rear panel it has picked up in this generation (even as it is dropped in the 2024 Zephyrus G-series laptops).

Unfortunately, that was mostly because they were soon on show in the new JerryRigEverything clip, following an audible crack in the 8 Pro's rear panel during its bend test. Therefore, even though it did considerably better than its 6 Pro forebear with its 165Hz AMOLED remaining on, the device was ripe for a teardown.

That part of the video does partially explain the ROG Phone 8-series pricing, mostly as it is stuffed with advanced GameCool 8 technology. The 8 Pro is, for example, liberally slathered with a forbidden "frosting" of boron nitride thermal paste for components such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC and UFS 4.0 storage, and also comes with the OEM's latest AeroActive cooler in the box.

The 8 Pro also comes with up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage. Then again, its minimal improvement in terms of durability may not bode well for its sales, or for its rumored non-gaming counterpart the Zenfone 11 Ultra.

Then again, the 8 Pro has yet to become available on Amazon, whereas one can spend all that money on the Galaxy S24 Ultra - which just barely lost out to the iPhone 15 Pro Max in its own latest epic drop-test - from now.