The Asus ROG Phone II follows the footsteps of its predecessor and comes armed with powerful internals, the mighty Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ and impressive hardware. It has been launched in India at a starting price of Rs 37,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB RAM storage variant while the 12GB+512GB variant is available for Rs 59,999.
We used the 128GB storage variant for few days and here's how it fared in real life.
Essentially a successor to last year's original ROG Phone, this phone packs in an improved Adreno 640 graphics, a crisp and big 6.59-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz for effortless gaming.
The huge AMOLED display also had a high contrast ratio and deep blacks, courtesy the OLED technology. The screen is a refreshing change from the notches, water drop-styled displays and punch-hole screens. Rounded corners and notch-less display meant no distraction for gamers.
Talking further about the screen, a layer of Gorilla Glass 6 protects the AMOLED panel. The glass rear stretches from the top to bottom, albeit for a tiny gap which is a copper thermal vent.
The device gets almost all the gaming aesthetics right with RGB lighting, coloured accents and a busy design.
The smartphone is bit on the heavier side which is because of the solid built.
The phone packs in a hefty 6,000mAh battery which isn't present in either Samsung's Galaxy Note 10+, OnePlus 7T Pro or any other flagship device. It also supports Quick Charge 4.0 (30W) technology.
We managed to squeeze in over a day and a half of juice on a single charge and light to moderate users should be able to get more than that.
One important aspect of the device is the camera which features sensors which we saw on the company's flagship 6Z, albeit for the autofocus lens.
There's a 48MP sensor that misses out on optical stabilisation while the other lens is a wide-angle one with a 13MP sensor.
The camera app has plenty of features to choose from and daylight photos came out really good with detailed highlights and lowlights.
We especially liked the images shot in HDR mode as the images looked vivid with accurate white balance. The macros also looked great with enough detailing.
The ROG Phone 2 houses a 24MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture that's capable of clicking pretty decent self-portraits. However, we felt the edges of the face could have been sharper.
Conclusion: The ROG Phone II is lightning fast, has superb battery life complimented with a vivid screen and performance.
The hardware is impressive and top-notch and offers superior gaming experience than OnePlus 7T Pro, courtesy of the higher 120Hz refresh rate that made gaming super smooth. Those looking for a gaming smartphone with a premium-built should definitely go for the ROG Phone II.
(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@.in)
( With inputs from IANS )