I’ve at all times been a fan of gaming telephones, and nobody does a greater job on this section than ASUS. I acquired to make use of all of the gadgets within the ROG Cellphone sequence, and whereas they delivered excellent efficiency, there have been two issues that prevented these gadgets from gaining extra mainstream consideration: the design wasn’t actually delicate, and the cameras have been a definite afterthought.
ASUS is seeking to deal with these shortcomings with the ROG Cellphone 8 sequence. You aren’t getting the identical aggressive styling any longer, with the model as an alternative providing a way more reserved design that makes these gadgets nearer to mainstream telephones from Samsung, Google, and Xiaomi. I used the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional as my every day driver for simply over every week now, and here is why you should take note of the system.
ASUS ROG Cellphone 8 Professional: Design
The largest distinction with the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional is the design; you now get a clear design on the again, with a two-tone end on the usual ROG Cellphone 8 and a matte texture that appears implausible on the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional. There’s nonetheless ROG branding and a few textual content on the again — GLHF, Dare to Win, and so forth — nevertheless it is not seen till you are just a few inches away from the system.
Mainly, the design is all grown up, and whereas I used to be a fan of the aggressive styling of years previous, I’ll agree that this design aesthetic appears way more trendy, and makes the telephones interesting to a considerably wider userbase. Fortunately, ASUS nonetheless retained RGB lighting, however that is restricted to the ROG Cellphone 8; the Professional model will get a dot matrix panel as an alternative that is dubbed AniMe Imaginative and prescient.
One of the best half in regards to the display screen on the again is you can disable it totally, and doing so makes it invisible — there isn’t any approach to inform it has a second panel on the again that reveals notifications, cost degree, and incoming calls. And no, there is not a mannequin that has the ROG Imaginative and prescient panel on the again, however ASUS might debut one other variant down the road. Fingers crossed.
The ROG Cellphone 8 is the thinnest and sleekest cellphone within the sequence by a major margin, and that is instantly noticeable when utilizing it subsequent to the ROG Cellphone 7 Final. It’s simply 8.9mm thick, and at 225g, it’s considerably lighter to carry and use. The design additionally sees flatter sides, however with delicate curves the place the again meets the mid-frame, and this makes utilizing the cellphone an absolute pleasure.
ASUS additionally lavished a variety of consideration on the entrance, decreasing the dimensions of the bezels to a major diploma. Greater than the rest, this alteration places the ROG Cellphone 8 on par with the most effective telephones on the subject of the design. And whereas it’s thinner and lighter, ASUS nonetheless someway managed to supply a 3.5mm jack, not like nearly each different model. And sure, you continue to get a second USB-C charging port on the left aspect.
On the entire, it is a acquainted design that has been modernized, and actually, ASUS did an excellent job. Speaking about positives, the ROG Cellphone 8 boasts a variety of firsts — it has upgraded cameras, together with a 50MP primary lens, 13MP wide-angle, and 32MP zoom module with 3x optical zoom, and what I notably like is that it will get IP68 mud and water resistance. This can be a big deal on a gaming cellphone, and once more, performs into ASUS’s narrative that it’s concentrating on a mainstream viewers.
Simply these additions would have been sufficient to show the ROG Cellphone 8 into the finest gaming cellphone of 2024, however ASUS additionally added 15W wi-fi charging to the system. You get 65W USB PD charging as properly, and you should use any of the 2 USB-C ports to cost the system.
ASUS ROG Cellphone 8 Professional: Display
The ROG Cellphone 8 Professional has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display screen that goes as much as 165Hz, and it’s brighter and extra vibrant than what we acquired in earlier fashions. However the largest differentiator is that it now makes use of LTPO tech, so it seamlessly switches from 1Hz all the way in which to 165Hz based mostly on the content material on the display screen. This can be a massive deal, and it brings the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional nearer to the likes of the Galaxy S24 Extremely and Xiaomi 13 Extremely on this regard.
I additionally just like the thinner bezels across the sides, and the transfer allowed ASUS to shrink the scale of the system whereas nonetheless providing a display screen of the identical dimension as earlier years. Shade vibrancy and distinction ranges are good out of the field, and the display screen is a delight to make use of. ASUS put in a variety of work to make the system excel at gaming, and excessive refresh fee gaming is phenomenal on the cellphone.
ASUS ROG Cellphone 8 Professional: {Hardware}
ASUS is aware of a factor or two about {hardware}, and the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional has what’s arguably the most effective {hardware} package deal of any cellphone I used so far. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it makes use of an progressive cooling system to ship excellent efficiency. Lots of manufacturers use liquid cooling, however nobody does nearly as good a job as ASUS on this regard.
ASUS sells the system in three storage variants: 12GB/256GB, 16GB/512GB, and 24GB/1TB. I am utilizing the 24GB/1TB mannequin, and whereas the RAM is overkill, I am glad there’s loads of storage — I switched to it from the Pixel 8 Professional and its paltry 128GB of storage, and there is considerably extra headroom on this system.
The 5,500mAh battery is not as giant as what we acquired final yr, nevertheless it’s nonetheless greater than ample on the system. I am going to share extra particulars in my evaluate, however what you should know now’s that the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional has a terrific {hardware} package deal.
ASUS ROG Cellphone 8 Professional: Extra to come back
There’s way more to speak in regards to the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, however I am going to reserve that for the full-fledged evaluate. The cameras particularly are significantly better than earlier years, and the 50MP Sony IMX890 lens has confirmed reliability. The software program can also be among the many better of any cellphone in the present day; ZenUI has a clear interface with none bloatware, and also you get intensive customizability.
The one draw back is that the cellphone will get simply two platform updates. I bugged ASUS for years to alter its stance, however the model solely ensures two Android OS updates together with 4 years of safety updates. That is not almost ample when you think about most different manufacturers supply 4 OS updates as commonplace, with the Pixel 8 sequence going as much as seven.
There is not a lot of a distinction between the ROG Cellphone 8 and the Professional mannequin, with the latter getting the 24GB/1TB variant and the AeroActive Cooler X out of the field. There are variances with the design, however apart from that, you get the identical {hardware} and cameras on both system.
Availability has been a difficulty with ASUS prior to now, and the model notes it’ll do a greater job in that space in 2024. General, the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional is popping out to be an early contender to one among my favourite telephones of 2024, and the adjustments to the design and upgrades to the {hardware} make it a superb alternative if you would like a cellphone that not solely excels at gaming, but additionally takes nice photographs, and has all of the extras.
