ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition review

The ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional is a brand new formidable contender in opposition to different flagship Android gadgets. This newest mannequin isn’t only a mere improve however a big leap ahead in redefining what a gaming smartphone might be. There’s a lot to shout about, together with the ridiculous cooling answer ASUS ROG appears to be sticking with – spoiler: it’s sensible now. There are additionally some questionable downgrades, such because the battery measurement, however is it value dropping your Samsung or Pixel to get the perfect gaming expertise on Android?

Gaming telephones have one thing to show in 2024. Some individuals assume all cell phones can play any recreation or run any app, however that’s not true. Whereas most trendy telephones can run most releases, ASUS ROG Telephone 8 and Professional fashions concentrate on participant expertise with further buttons and AI-powered instruments that truly could make a distinction. Are all of those gimmicks sensible? Nicely, let’s discover out.

Execs: 

• Greatest-in-class gaming efficiency
• Improved cameras
• Huge inside storage

Cons: 

• Costly
• Cooling fan isn’t at all times sensible

Value and availability

ROG Telephone 8 is available in Phantom Black and Insurgent Gray with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage and shall be obtainable for £949.99. Fancy a sooner expertise with extra storage? ROG Telephone 8 Professional with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage shall be obtainable at £1,099.99.

The model lined on this evaluation, ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version with 24 GB RAM, 1 TB storage, and an AeroActive Cooler X within the field, shall be obtainable for £1,299.99. This mannequin is unique to ASUS’s Official On-line Retailer.

Specs

Options

The ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version enhances cellular gaming with the options present in ASUS homegrown tech, X Seize and X Sense 2.0. X Seize makes use of an AI sample recognition system to detect and file important moments throughout gameplay mechanically. It data kills, deaths, and victory moments, so that you don’t want to fret about capturing that large frag – Unreal Match should make a comeback because of this alone.

X Sense 2.0, optimized for in style video games like Genshin Affect, affords functionalities like auto pick-up, fast-forward, and auto escape, enhancing gameplay by automating repetitive duties and permitting gamers to concentrate on strategic facets of the sport. You’ll solely normally discover this in emulators, dishonest software program, or turbo controllers, and should you choose to make use of it, you must accomplish that responsibly.

ASUS AI options may also do helpful issues for followers of auto battlers, like protecting video games working in background mode. One other useful function is utilizing the software program to file key phrases to search out guides on-line. Simply admit it: all of us use them. Combining these AI Gaming options within the ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version creates a user-centric gaming expertise. Better of all, it’s elective, giving gamers much more alternative.

ASUS has included the Recreation Cool 8 cooling system to relax its highly effective internals. This progressive system makes use of a five-section design, together with a vapor chamber and superior supplies like Boron Nitride, to reinforce thermal effectivity. This environment friendly cooling mechanism is crucial to keep up peak efficiency throughout prolonged gaming periods, stopping thermal throttling that may hinder processor efficiency.

ASUS contains the AeroActive Cooler X within the Professional Version pack, that includes twin triggers on the prime to go with the telephone’s double-touch triggers on its aspect. It options one other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 IoC to regulate temperature extraction of fixing to the ROG Telephone 8 again plate for optimum warmth distribution. Utilizing the Chilled setting virtually actually turns the contact pad right into a fridge. It’s a tremendous little bit of tech.

The ROG Telephone 8 Professional additionally makes use of AI-driven machine studying in its audio providing for computational noise cancellation. Supporting add and obtain instructions, this tech ensures incoming and outgoing audio is crisp and clear, each out and in of video games. Staff-based video games ought to run with out a hitch.

The mixing of DIRAC VIRTUO know-how for headphone spatial sound is one other spotlight. It helps all headphones, offering an immersive audio expertise no matter headphone model or mannequin. Spatial audio through headphones is one other stage of audio design in gaming, from thrillers to shooters. Listening to footsteps behind or bullets taking pictures previous one’s head wraps you in immersion.

In a world of Bluetooth and different wi-fi tech, it’s nice to see highly effective gaming handsets rock a 3.5mm headphone jack. Whether or not wired or wired, the sound high quality is incredible. It provides flexibility for individuals who want more cash to splash out on a premium Bluetooth headset or buds.

Design

The ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional elevates design to new heights, presenting a kind that’s as useful but putting. The telephone’s chassis, considerably lighter than its predecessor, virtually shouts how ASUS has designed it purposefully for players. Its lowered weight enhances portability and ensures extended gaming periods are comfy, an ergonomic consideration for these trying to play for hours at a time.

In comparison with the ASUS ROG Telephone 7, the ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version contains a 14% thinner bezel and a 15% slimmer profile, driving dwelling consolation and ease of dealing with regardless of this slimming down. It’s nonetheless a difficult piece of equipment, however one made extra engaging because of enhanced moisture safety with its IP68 water resistance score. Now, the republic of players has peace of thoughts in varied environments, whether or not a wet day or an unintended spill. Simply don’t attempt to play Pokémon GO within the pool.

It additionally has a twin display. Nicely, type of. ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version has a rear “Anime Imaginative and prescient” Mini-LED show that includes 341 programmable LEDs. This function provides a customizable aptitude and introduces sensible functionalities like notification indicators and NFC-enabled secret animations. The power to customise these shows with user-created GIFs affords a brand new stage of personalization, which yow will discover in varied telephones with an outer display, however the mini LEDs make it novel.

Show

On the coronary heart of the ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version’s attraction is its 6.68-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED show, rocking 2500 nits peak brightness and LTPO adaptive refresh charge peaking at 165Hz. These specs translate right into a visibly superior gaming and viewing expertise. The excessive brightness ensures wonderful visibility in diversified lighting circumstances, which is essential for gameplay in several environments. In the meantime, the adaptive refresh charge contributes to battery effectivity by adjusting primarily based on content material, offering easy visuals with out pointless energy drain.

The 720Hz touch-sampling charge of the show is a game-changer for responsiveness. This function is very helpful in fast-paced video games the place each millisecond counts, providing players an edge over opponents. Victus 2 Gorilla Glass underscores ASUS’s dedication to sturdiness and solely provides to its rock-solid design, together with an eye fixed safety mode for lengthy periods.

Digicam

The ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional’s digital camera system is a powerhouse, that includes a 50 MP main digital camera geared up with a 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer, guaranteeing sharper pictures and considerably lowering blur in motion photographs. The 13MP ultrawide and 32MP telephoto lenses add layers of versatility, providing all the pieces from expansive panorama photographs to detailed zoomed-in pictures. This vary permits customers to seize numerous photographic situations, from gaming occasions to on a regular basis moments, with professional-level high quality.

AI-driven options like ASUS-developed AI Object Sense, which identifies and processes completely different objects in a photograph individually, bettering total picture high quality. The Handheld Mild Path mode is one other progressive addition, ultimate for capturing motion in varied environments like site visitors or nature scenes. These options bolster the telephone’s images capabilities and cater to artistic customers who search extra than simply normal snapshots from their smartphone cameras.

On the entrance, the 32MP RGBW sensor with a 90-degree ultrawide angle and pixel-binning know-how stands out for its skill to seize high-quality selfies and group photographs with better readability and shade accuracy. That is notably advantageous in low-light circumstances, guaranteeing customers can seize clear, vibrant pictures whatever the setting. The entrance digital camera’s wide-angle additionally makes it ultimate for video calls and streaming, offering a broader area of view that’s particularly helpful in gaming and social interactions.

Efficiency

The guts of the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version’s efficiency is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Its 3.3GHz CPU clock velocity delivers a 30% total efficiency enchancment over ASUS ROG 7. This improve interprets into sooner app launches, smoother gameplay, and extra environment friendly multitasking.

This improvement means enhanced gaming experiences with lowered lag and improved body charges for players, which is essential for aggressive gaming situations. The chipset’s 20% elevated effectivity over these above means higher battery administration, permitting longer play periods with out frequent charging interruptions.

The telephone’s graphics efficiency, powered by a 25% extra environment friendly GPU than ROG 7, ensures the perfect efficiency on the Android-based cellular market. This enchancment is obvious within the excessive Antutu benchmark scores, the place the ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version outperforms opponents just like the Xiaomi 14 Professional. These numerical scores mirror real-world efficiency positive factors that customers can expertise each day, particularly in visually demanding video games and purposes.

Battery

The one gripe we’ve had with the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional is the downgraded battery energy. The 5500mAh high-capacity battery remains to be smaller than ROG Telephone 7 by 500mAh, however it does function help for a 65-watt HyperCharge adapter. This fast juicing know-how allows the telephone to cost from 0% to 100% in simply 39 minutes. Have to cost earlier than leaving for work? Don’t fear about it and take a bathe, you filthy animal.

Along with wired charging, the ROG Telephone 8 helps the Wi-fi Qi 1.3 normal, which is handy however gained’t cost wherever close to hypercharge speeds. It does add a layer of flexibility, permitting customers to take a seat at dwelling and use public wi-fi cost pads.

Do you have to purchase the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version?

The ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version is a testomony to ASUS’s mastery in crafting a gaming smartphone that transcends typical boundaries. ASUS ROG Telephone 8 and eight Professional supply a complete bundle that appeals to hardcore players and basic customers in search of top-tier efficiency. The gimmicks, resembling AI-powered key phrase storage and noise cancellation, are sensible options to points cellular video games face. If that feels like a sexy proposition to you, then this smartphone is certainly value its excessive worth level.

It’s almost excellent, however we’re nonetheless ready for an ASUS Rog Telephone that may cool itself and supply stable cellular controls with out plugging an enormous fan into the again of it. It’s a ravishing fan with good responsive triggers, however it’s not sensible on the go.

Options

If our ASUS ROG Telephone 8 Professional Version evaluation hasn’t satisfied you, listed here are some options for cellular players.

iPhone 15 Professional Max

The large canine of the most recent collection of Apple gadgets is a powerhouse for gaming, with the iPhone 16 Professional Max beating out many Android options. This smartphone is the apparent various to the ROG Telephone 8 for individuals who aren’t a fan of Android software program and would somewhat play it secure with an iPhone. After all, it’s much less customizable, and the inner and exterior cooling choices aren’t as spectacular as the most recent ROG Telephone, however should you’re an iOS die-hard, that is the potential various for you.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely

Till the approaching launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, the S23 Extremely remains to be the premium machine from the Korean tech model, providing the perfect Android expertise available on the market. Whereas the S23 Extremely isn’t as gamer-friendly because the ROG Telephone 8, with not almost as many helpful options only for play, it’s a incredible all-rounder nonetheless able to working high-intensity video games like Honkai Star Rail and PUBG Cellular.