The ROG Phone 2's Chinese pricing may work out great for mobile gamers, if not for Vivo

According to some new leaks, the OEM Vivo has a 5G phone just about ready for launch. It is rumored to bear this company's high-value sub-brand, iQOO, and to be called the Pro 5G. The first part of this name may be a homage to the freshly-released premium processor to which it has become linked.

This SoC is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus, a mid-year refresh of the original 855. It is said to be paired with 8GB RAM in the iQOO Pro 5G. This phone also offers 128GB in fixed storage. The latest rumor surrounding this rumor states that all this will cost 4498 yuan (~US$654) when the device is launched in an as-yet unspecified event.

This may seem like a particularly competitive price, particularly with all the up-to-date hardware; for example, the non-5G 8GB OnePlus 7 Pro currently goes for $699. However, as of today, it is not the cheapest  Snapdragon 855 Plus prospect around. Asus has just released its ROG Phone 2 for reservations on JD.com, and the variants on its new page include a SKU with the same conformation as that of the iQOO Pro 5G.

This phone also ships with next-level gaming specs such as a 120Hz display - and the cost? It starts at 3499 yuan, or just under $509 at present. Then again, those in search of this phone's top-end 12GB variant do not get off so lightly: this model is priced at 5999 yuan, or around $872.

On the other hand, the putative Vivo still has its 5G edge, and is likely to be directed at different audiences. In addition, this argument is somewhat invalidated by the fact that both SKUs of the ROG Phone 2 are now out of stock to reserve (correct at time of writing).