The ASUS ROG Phone II is the real gaming smartphone, bar none.

Note: This article was first published on 24th November 2019.

What maketh a great gaming smartphone?

If the ASUS ROG Phone II looks familiar, and it should, it’s because it follows much of the same form and design aesthetic of last year’s original, where it stood out in the gaming smartphone segment for its Air Triggers – touch sensitive sensors that act like the shoulder trigger buttons on a game controller.

But there are noticeable changes that makes the ROG Phone II more appealing this time around. The offset fingerprint sensor has been removed from the back and replaced by an in-display sensor, and the smaller vent is not just for show but functional. Under its hood, this year’s model also comes with increased battery size of 6,000mAh, speedy UFS 3.0 storage, an incredible 12GB of RAM, and bragging rights for being the first smartphone to sport a 120Hz AMOLED display, as well as the fastest Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC available.

ASUS is dead serious here – the ROG Phone II heaves with power and performance. Let’s look at the specs compared to other flagship smartphones, right after this 30-second overview from ASUS:-

Design overview

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Like its other members of the Republic of Gamers family, the ROG Phone II is loud and proud about wearing the brand on its back. The glossy finish is sleek and is, not surprisingly, quite the magnet for smudges and fingerprints. While I’d prefer a more tone-down and less “gamer-ish” design, I can appreciate that many gamers will love the copper accent on the working vent, the multi-colour reflective highlights, and of course, the RGB-lit logo.

Going against the trend of killing off 3.5mm headphone jacks, the phone comes with one next to the USB-C charging port at the bottom. There’s a dual USB-C connector on the left side as well, which acts as both a second charging port – cleverly made for when you hold the phone in landscape mode so that the cable does not interfere with gaming when you are charging it at the same time – and as a docking port for the included active cooler accessory and the jaw-dropping mountain of other accessories available separately.

Using the ROG Phone II in landscape gives you access to the previously mentioned Air Triggers. First appearing in last year’s original ROG Phone, the Air Triggers here on the sequel have a much-improved response time that eliminates the laggy issues faced by many ROG Phone owners. I’ve mapped the Air Triggers in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and PUBG Mobile and I can say with utmost certainty that ASUS seems to have eliminated that issue here in the new phone. In fact, I’d even go as far to say that using Air Triggers on the ROG Phone II can potentially give gamers an unfair advantage in online matches, by allowing thumbs and index fingers to be used simultaneously.

The ROG Phone II’s heavyweight specs does mean that it comes with a weight penalty at 240g (comparatively 16g heavier than the already beefy iPhone 11 Pro Max) and coupled with its large 6.59-inch AMOLED display, that’s a lot of bulk. So, while the heft gives a lot more confidence when held in the hands, it’s not exactly pocket-friendly and its large presence will be felt.

Visual and Audio

I have got to say that the 2,340 x 1,080 pixels resolution (which is about 391 ppi pixel density) HDR10 AMOLED screen makes gaming and movie viewing utterly fantastic. You can also switch the refresh rate to between 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. But it’s really 120Hz that you want to set as default, as it allows for very noticeable smooth in-motion visuals and seamless scrolling. 120Hz refresh rate is the sweet spot for PC gaming, and I believe it’s a technology that’s essential for a great mobile gaming experience as well. There are already plenty of games from the Google Play Store that are optimised to run at 120 frames per second, and thankfully ASUS hascompiled them here.

So, if 120Hz is such a big deal, why aren’t more mainstream phone makers using it for their phones? Well for starters, OLED displays that could run at that kind of refresh rates were only available recently; they are also expensive. Before the ROG Phone II came along, gaming smartphones the likes of Razer Phone 2 come with LCD displays that could support 120Hz – these displays were fast and inexpensive but had inferior contrast and colours compared to OLED based screens. Secondly, I’m hazarding a guess that ASUS likely struck a timed exclusive arrangement with its display supplier (which seems likely to be Samsung) to use 120Hz-capable AMOLED panels on its ROG Phone IIs. It’s only a matter of time we see it appear on future phones from here on (perhaps even on Samsung’s future S and Note series?)

When you add that visual performance to the two independently amplified speakers, you get multimedia performance that's virtually unmatched by any other smartphone. The speakers are loud, they don't sound tinny at all, and provide a great stereo effect.

Even if you're not a gamer, but you love streaming Netflix or YouTube on your mobile, this is a strong contender for one of the best mobile devices for media consumption. Although if you're out and about in public, then please plug in a pair of headphones - this phone has a 3.5mm jack too, so no excuses to not use it or any other wireless options.

The ROG Phone II also uses an optical in-display fingerprint sensor, which is another key differentiator between it and the original ROG Phone. I’ve always preferred dedicated fingerprint sensors located on an Android smartphone’s side or back, as it’s usually quicker and more accurate. However, ASUS pleasantly surprised me with its in-display fingerprint sensor implementation that works well, in fact, better than on Samsung’s latest S and Note phones!

Software inside

A gaming display calls for a host of customisation options within the settings, and the Android 9-powered ROG Phone II doesn’t disappoint. Screen colour mode options are extensive and offer granular control over saturation and viewing profiles. You can also drop the refresh rate to 90Hz or 60Hz, change the system colour scheme by enabling a dark mode, and toggle an always-on display on or off.

While everything about a phone, from its design and screen through to its battery life and specs, go into its performance as a gaming device, no other phones bring together as many gaming highlights as the Asus ROG Phone 2.

From a software point of view, the ROG Phone 2's game centre 'Armory Crate' consists of two elements - Games Lobby and a Console, in which you can browse through games free from the distraction of other apps, and fine-tune the phone’s performance for each specific title.

This granular control also extends to overclocking the CPU, changing the color of the RGB logo around the back, and even syncing it with your ROG laptop or gaming PC. This is also where you can control the phone's fan speed if you clip on the optional accessory (more on that below).

As for optional accessories, the new fan, or to give it its full name, the AeroActive Cooler II, is four times quieter than the earlier version and cools the chassis temperature by up to five degrees. This particular accessory is also included in the phone's package. A host of other accessories can also be bought separately, including the TwinView Dock II, which we will cover in a separate article.

Camera

While most flagships have at least three cameras these days, the ROG Phone II features two, excluding the telephoto module.

Its main sensor is the 48MP Sony IMX586, and the other camera is a 13MP ultra-wide, which also uses a Sony sensor. These let you shoot virtually any scene in good light and you’ll almost always get a decent photo out of it despite the phone’s lack of optical image stabilization (OIS). HDR+ processing also kicks in to avoid blown-out highlights and too many dark-looking areas (or at least, it tries).

Even without using the dedicated night mode, you can expect low-light images that appear brighter and clearer than they seem to the naked eye, with fair sharpness and solid detail. Night mode really helps with the edges of the shot, which can tint purple in dark scenes when shooting in auto.

The Asus ROG Phone 2’s secondary wide camera doesn't perform quite as well at night. Some fuzziness crops up when you pinch in. Having said that, unlike some phones, you can use the phone’s night mode with the ultra-wide camera too, which nicely brightens things up.

Video shooting capability is at a maximum resolution of 4K at 60fps, and despite the lack of OIS, electronic image stabilization clearly kicks in across frame rates, which cap out when you hit 4K resolution at 30fps. The quality is impressive from the main camera across lighting conditions, though dark areas do flare up with some colour noise.

The front camera captures selfies at 24MP or video at Full HD 60fps. While there's no autofocus, it still captures clear photos and videos, and image stabilization is solid, though it does have a narrow field of view compared to most selfie cameras.

Performance

On paper, the ROG Phone II with its Snapdragon 855 Plus processor and 12GB of RAM makes it the highest-spec Android phone in the market right now. But how does it compare in our benchmarks against other brands’ top-of-the-line phones? Let’s find out.

JetStream 2

​​​​​JetStream 2 measures the browsing performance of a device when processing JavaScript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but rewards browsers that start quickly, execute code well, and run smoothly. It runs a total of 64 sub-tests for multiple iterations, with each benchmark weighed equally, taking the geometric mean to compute the overall score.

This is a somewhat new benchmark for us, so we’re still building up our database of scores. Based on the phones we’ve tested here though, we’d say the new ROG Phone II performed well, as compared to the competition - and as well as the best performer we've had to-date on the Android camp with the OnePlus 7 Pro.

As you can see here though, the OnePlus 7 Pro absolutely bests the competition with a score of 66.441. That's some 20 points ahead of the nearest competition (the Galaxy Note10), and much higher than the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, even though they both use the same Snapdragon 855 processor. 

Antutu v.7.2.2

AnTuTu is an all-in-one benchmark that tests CPU, GPU, memory, and storage. The CPU benchmark evaluates both integer and floating-point performance, while the GPU tests assess 2D and 3D performance, the memory test measures available memory bandwidth and latency, and the storage tests gauge the read and write speeds of a device's flash memory.

Given that the ROG Phone II is the only phone that features the fastest Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, it’s no surprise it outperforms everyone here. Yes, much better than even the OnePlus 7 Pro which has been our lead performer for this benchmark on the Android camp prior to the ROG Phone II.

Geekbench 5

Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 5 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 4,000 (which is the score of an Intel Core i7-6600U CPU processor).

Here the ROG Phone II’s single-core performance is on par with the Samsung phones, only gaining a small if negligible gains over them. Its multi-core performance is where the superior Snapdragon 855 Plus processor shows – leaving the rest of the pack to play catch up to it.

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme

3DMark Sling Shot is an advanced 3D graphics benchmark that tests the full range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and ES 3.0 API features including multiple render targets, instanced rendering, uniform buffers and transform feedback. The test also includes impressive volumetric lighting and post-processing effects.

If anything, the results here only affirms what the above benchmarks have shown – for mobile gaming, there’s really no other Android-based phones that outshines the ROG Phone II.  Oh yes, the famed OnePlus 7 Pro is left behind in the dust.

Battery Life

With a massive 6,000mAh battery inside, even the massive power demands of a huge 120Hz screen does not stop the ROG Phone 2 from impressing. It lasts a full day without breaking a sweat on auto-brightness, and if you’re careful, it can get you through two days - just make sure the gaming-centric X Mode and the phone's RGB lighting are turned off.

Within the settings, there’s a PowerMaster feature that opens up control over apps that auto-start, giving you access to a range of battery modes, including Power Saver, Super Saver, and Battery Care, as found in Sony Xperia phones, which slows down charging time to preserve the longevity of the ROG Phone 2’s battery during its entire life.

Turn it off, and thanks to the 30W Quick Charge 4 HyperCharger that ships with the phone, you’ll get about 40% of battery in about 30 minutes, which is impressive given the sheer size of the battery capacity inside the ROG Phone 2. The downside here, however, is that the phone doesn’t support wireless charging.

In our standard battery test rigour for mobile phones, the ROG Phone II still fared well. The following parameters were used for our tests.

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on

Conclusion

The ROG Phone II has a lot going for it. Its display is fantastic and fast, and the battery life is a champion in the class of any Android phones and quite possibly even the current iPhones as well. You might not get great results with its cameras, but you are guaranteed performance and dedicated gaming buttons in the form of the Air Triggers so if you are all about mobile gaming, the ROG Phone II is a no brainer – it’s the only choice.

As functional and well thought out for its intended audience, unfortunately, its extreme nature comes at a fairly high price tag of S$1,598. It's definitely not the most expensive in the field of Android devices, but given that its design and functional aesthetic works even better with the optional ROG Phone II accessories, which if you choose to collect them all, would cost almost as much as buying another flagship phone!

Think of the ROG Phone II as an extreme smartphone with real gaming prowess and great for all manner of multimedia – there aren’t any other phones quite like it. But if you’re after a more elegantly designed phone that has more all-rounded features appealing to users beyond just gamers and boasts excellent camera performance, then this isn’t it.

However, I can’t think of any other better phones I would like to get my rounds of Fornite or Mobile Legends or for me to binge-watch my downloaded Netflix shows on my next long-haul flight.

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