Asus ROG Phone 2 review

• The Asus ROG Phone 2, the successor to the gaming-centric ROG Phone from last year, is here. The first iteration was as great a gaming phone as it was a regular handset, but the ROG Phone 2 is bigger and packs in more power than ever.
• While the jury is still out on whether we actually need gaming smartphones, coupled with the slow development in the mobile gaming industry, the Asus ROG Phone 2 continues to cater to the existing niche.
• It's not just the ROG Phone 2 itself either, as the smartphone comes with a bunch of cool accessories aimed squarely at enhancing the gaming experience by a huge margin over rival handsets such as the Razer Phone 2 or Red Magic 3.
• We got to try the Asus ROG Phone 2 before its official launch and here’s what we think about it.

Price and Availability  

• Asus ROG Phone 2 in India starts at Rs 37,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Whereas the maxed-out version with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage has been priced at Rs 59,999.
• Asus will ship an 18W Quick Charge 4.0 adapter with the base variant of the ROG Phone 2 along with the Aero case. Buyers who go for the top-end model will be provided with a 30W ROG fast charging adapter, Aero case and AeroActive Cooler II in-the-box.
• What's a gaming phone without some complimenting accessories? Thankfully, Asus has made sure that its bunch of accessories will further elevate the gaming experience of the users.
• The TwinView Dock II comes with a secondary screen which is the same as that on the ROG Phone 2. It has a dedicated turbo-fan cooling system and is powered by a 5,000mAh battery. It can be used with the Kunai Gamepad and is priced at Rs 19,999.
• Asus ROG Kunai Gamepad is a modern take on gaming controllers. It consists of three parts: bumper case, Kunai controllers and holder. Now, users have two choices here-- either attach the controllers to the holder to use it as a gamepad or put on the bumper case on the phone and attach the two controllers to the sides. This is priced at Rs 9,999.
• In addition, Asus also offers a Mobile Desktop Dock for extended functionality with USB and HDMI inputs and is priced at Rs 12,999. There's an AeroActive Cooler II being offered by Asus which adds a dedicated fan cooling system to the ROG Phone 2. It is priced at Rs 3,999.

Display: Smooth gets a new definition 

• While the design hasn't seen an evolution in the ROG Phone 2, the display surely has. Oh yes, that too a big one. Last year's model had a 90Hz panel and Asus could have continued with that for this year as well. But 90Hz is so 'last year' and someone at Asus thought - let's go bonkers smooth with a 120Hz AMOLED panel.
• And boy this screen is so smooth. At 6.5-inches, the display is huge and the Full HD+ resolution doesn't pose any challenge in terms of sharpness. The panel supports HDR10 colours and whatever you are doing on this phone, it will look amazing. The colours are bright and vibrant with high contrasts and wide viewing angles. I would have liked the display colour pop like Samsung panels but it's alright given that the refresh rate is extremely smooth.
• The 120Hz refresh rate makes every animation and video look fluid. If you were impressed by the 90Hz screen on OnePlus 7 Pro, the screen on this one will simply blow you away with its smoothness. I played a couple of games supporting 120Hz refresh rate and all of them feel naturally smooth. The 240Hz touch refresh rate with 1ms response time make for extremely high sensitivity and that helps a lot while gaming. Alto's Odyssey feels like a dream whereas the benefits of a faster display are pronounced in Shadow Fight 3.
• That said, the in-display fingerprint sensor isn't as fast as the best in business as it does need more than a single attempt quite often to unlock the device. Thankfully, the face unlock is fast and work most of the times, except for the dark conditions.

Performance: Fast and Furious 

• Whenever I try out a gaming phone, I end up writing the same stuff - this phone is extremely fast and smooth. And it's true for every phone these days with a Snapdragon 855 chip and above. Hence, whether you are playing games or multitasking a lot, any flagship phone will feel fast these days.
• How does the ROG Phone 2 differ? Hardware-wise, there's a Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset that's paired with UFS 3.0 type storage. This already makes a lot of difference as compared to a phone like Asus 6z in terms of speed. The chip offers greater graphics performance and the faster storage aids faster app load times. The newer chip is also more power-efficient and, trust me, it manages heat quite efficiently as never did I found the games to suffer from frame drops after an hour of intense gaming. The extra graphics performance over the regular Snapdragon 855 chip is visible while playing resource-intensive games such as PUBG MOBILE, Asphalt 9: Legends, Fortnite, F1 Mobile Racing and Real Racing 3.
• This also shows that Asus' custom cooling solutions work as promised in the background. The massive vapour cooling chamber along with the heat vent on the side does help to keep the temperatures low. Even the glass body never warmed up enough to make it uncomfortable while gaming.
• This though is all the hardware stuff that Asus is good at. Where the ROG Phone 2 differs from other Asus phones is the presence of the ultrasonic Air Triggers that make for customizable touch buttons. You can customize these triggers for certain functions in games to get a gamepad-like experience. Honestly, though, I have been used to on-screen controls and it took me time to get used to these triggers. But once accustomed, these triggers do help in a big way to make for easy gameplay.

Battery: It takes a lot more than gaming to Kill it 

• Yes, if the subheading baffles you, we weren't surprised. The ROG Phone 2 has a monstrous 6000mAh battery, which is one of the biggest batteries a smartphone has to offer in 2019. Paired with the efficient Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset and the smart ZenUI, the ROG Phone 2 is easily a 2-day phone. And when I say it's a 2-day phone, I include two hours of gaming in total along with all the usual phone stuff. Get this - On an average, I played a lot of PUBG and Fortnite throughout the day, texted a lot on WhatsApp, made a couple of calls, watched a lot of YouTube videos and some occasional photography - the ROG Phone 2 ended the day with almost 50 per cent juice left.
• Sadly with the base version, you only get the 18W fast charger which does over two hours to fill up the massive battery. The 30W ROG charger is only present with the top-end variant and you will have to buy one if you opt for the entry-level variant.

• If you want the verdict quick, I will cut the crap - the ROG Phone 2 is the most powerful Android phone you can buy right now. If you love gaming on your phone and want something that doesn't hinder your gameplay skills, this is a phone that will support instead of asking you to adjust accordingly. It's silly fast and smooth as well. The 6000mAh battery makes for reliable battery life and the audio through the speakers is impressive. What else do you need from a gaming phone?
• However, the ROG Phone 2 is more than just a gaming phone now. At Rs 37,999, the ROG Phone 2 competes directly with the recently launched OnePlus 7T, the Asus 6z and the Xiaomi Redmi K20. All these are extremely impressive phones as everyday premium flagships. Does the ROG Phone 2 get on this list? In many ways, it surely does. The design may not appeal to fashionistas but apart from that, this phone has everything going for it. You have top-notch performance, a great and one-of-its-kind 120Hz display, an outstanding battery life, good cameras and a clean software experience. Someone at Asus was thoughtful with the ROG Phone 2.
• Hence, the ROG Phone 2 is highly impressive as both a gaming phone and regular flagship phone. If you want a true all-rounder under Rs 40,000, I think there's no other phone, save for the OnePlus 7T, in this category. Asus finally has a phone that delivers what we want.