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Asus ROG Phone 2 review: One of the best gaming phones and that’s not all

Asus ROG Phone 2 isn’t just a gaming beast but an impressive flagship phone overall. Here’s our detailed review of the ROG Phone 2.

By: MARCIA SEKHOSE
Updated on: Aug 20 2022, 17:39 IST
Asus ROG Phone 2. (Asus)
Asus ROG Phone 2. (Asus)

Brand: Asus
Product name: ROG Phone 2
Key specs: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+, 6.59-inch 120Hz display, 12GB RAM, triple rear cameras, 6,000mAh battery.
Price: 37,999 (base model)
Rating: 4.5/5

Asus launched its first gaming phone 'The ROG Phone' in India last year. The ROG Phone was power-packed and loaded with gaming features but its cameras were a disappointment and it carried a hefty price tag too. This year, Asus launched the ROG Phone 2 which comes with even more powerful specifications and an attractive price tag.

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Asus ROG Phone 2 starts at 37,999 for the base model and 59,999 for the high-end variant. The ROG Phone 2 comes with upgrades in the display, performance, battery and camera departments. The ROG Phone 2 proves to be an excellent phone not only in gaming but overall as a flagship smartphone. Here's our detailed review on the ROG Phone 2.

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Asus ROG Phone 2 retains much of the design work like the ROG Phone but with some changes. The display is much taller with a 6.59-inch screen and a higher 120Hz refresh rate. The rear fingerprint sensor has also been replaced with an in-display one. The phone still comes with two USB Type-C ports at the bottom and on the side. The phone will seem a bit too tall for regular users but it's perfect for gaming which is its USP.

Jumping straight to the most important aspect of the phone - performance. Thanks to the top-notch specs, the ROG Phone 2 delivers excellent performance, be it day-to-day tasks or resource intensive gaming. During our period of use, the smartphone barely had any cooling or throttling issues with any kind of workload. Adding to this, the 120Hz display and 240Hz input refresh rate the overall speed of the device was further enhanced.

The Air Triggers, a rather unique feature of the first-gen ROG Phone, are even better in the ROG Phone 2. They now have textured buttons with tiny engravings so that you know exactly which area to press to activate them. Also, they are now embedded in the matte coated metal chassis, so the tactile feedback is much better than the previous generation. However, we did observe that the sensitivity of the triggers becomes unpredictable if there's something stuck in the ridges.

The dual USB-C ports worked to our benefit again as you would find the type-C port in every orientation (one on the side, one on the bottom) regardless of how you hold the device. This means you never have to hold the phone in an awkward position when playing a game. Except, the bottom facing port only works with a select variety of chargers, while the sideward-facing port accepts nearly every charger we connected.

The side port comes with a rubber plug for additional waterproofing. This however is removable and you will most likely end up losing it. While we are talking about charging and ports, let's take a moment to appreciate the ROG Phone 2's battery life. It ships with a 6,000mAh battery which can last anywhere between a day to just shy of three, depending on how you're using it. If you use the phone to its maximum capacity like full display brightness, all antennas on along with heavy gaming, you'll find yourself looking for a charger at the end of the day, which is way better than other smartphones in the market. If you're taking a more conservative approach, you'll soon forget about charge anxiety.

Asus ROG Phone 2 camera. (HT Photo)
Asus ROG Phone 2 camera. (HT Photo)

The first-gen ROG Phone's cameras were a big disappointment especially for its price tag. The experience was much better on the ROG Phone 2. It sports a dual-camera setup of 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor and 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens. We took some photos in bright light and the results were pretty good. Colours are well-balanced while it does tend to show a lighter shade. Portrait mode still needs some work especially with the edges being blurred out along with the background. Low-light photography is still a challenge as most photos turned out with a lot of noise thus resulting in loss of details.

Asus ROG Phone 2 portrait mode. (HT Photo)
Asus ROG Phone 2 portrait mode. (HT Photo)

Verdict

Our experience with the ROG Phone 2 has been near-perfect. The base model of ROG Phone 2 at 37,999 is a great buy especially for performance-driven consumers. It passes off as a great affordable flagship phone as well for those who don't mind the gaming aesthetics. We would highly recommend ROG Phone 2 to those who are looking for a powerful phone with all round performance.

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First Published Date: 03 Nov, 11:45 IST

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