Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Asus ROG review: Pricey, but worthy smartphone for digital gamers on the go


Priced at Rs 69,999, the phone seems to be on the pricier side. However, if you are a die-hard gamer and it's not money that concerns you too much, the Asus ROG phone can be a delight for you.


Launched earlier this year in Taiwan, the Asus ROG smartphone recently came to the India market, becoming the first performance-centric gaming device aimed at the country’s niche gamer community. If you are fond of digital gaming, you might already know about the Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. The Asus ROG phone has the same DNA that runs across full-fledged ROG-branded like laptops or desktops.

True, most flagship devices of the current generation are able to deliver good gaming performance. But the Asus ROG phone is as much about the overall gaming experience as it is about performance. Speaking of performance, even six months after its international launch, the ROG phone remains the most powerful Android smartphone in the market. It has Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip with a maximum operating frequency of 2.96GHz — that is 200MHz more than the regular Snapdragon 845 chip that powers most current-generation flagship smartphones.

What’s more, it’s not just the processor — everything in the Asus ROG phone seems to justify its gaming smartphone tag. The phone boasts a 6-inch AMOLED screen of fullHD+ (2160 x 1080) resolution, stretched in a tall 18:9 aspect ratio to show more on-screen content than the traditional 16:9 screens. The screen has a 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time which might go unnoticed during regular day-to-day operations but makes a visible positive impact during in-game sessions. The display also supports the high-dynamic-range (HDR) technology, which improves playback, especially for games like PUBG, by rendering dark areas that otherwise do not appear properly.

The Asus ROG phone has a pressure-sensitive chassis with active sensors on the lower left and right sides, and the upper-right side. In vertical orientation, pressing the lower left and right sides of the chassis simultaneously enables the X-mode, which optimises game-data processing performance and frees up the RAM to dedicate more resources to the game.

Unlike in the vertical mode, when you hold the phone horizontally, the pressure sensors on the sides of the chassis (named Air Triggers) can be assigned dedicated actions in any game to improve the gaming experience. For example, in Asphalt 9: Legends, the left air trigger can be assigned the role of firing up the Nitro, and the right air trigger of changing lanes. This way, with speed boost and steering set to automatic, you can play the game without having to touch the screen.

The Asus ROG phone also has the Game Genie, which shows up as part of on-screen software-based navigation keys. When clicked, the Game Genie slides an on-screen pop-up with four modes — Lock, no alert, real-time info and lock brightness.
Additionally, there are six key settings — speed up, air triggers, macro, record, live and display scaling.


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