Asus ROG Phone
Google Expands Stadia Support to Gaming Phones, Flagship Samsungs
Google is expanding the list of phones supported by its Stadia game-streaming service on February 20th. Initially supported only on its own Pixel phones, Stadia will support Samsung flagship Galaxy S and Note series phones (S8 and newer), as well as gaming phones from Razer and Asus (ROG Phone and ROG Phone II). For a controller, gamers can either connect a Stadia controller via USB, or third-party controllers via Bluetooth. Stadia competes with Microsoft's xCloud and Nvidia's GeForce Now. Like those other game-streaming services, Stadia runs full console-quality games on powerful servers in the cloud, streaming video of the rendered graphics to the user's device. Such services benefit from the higher data rates and lower latency of 5G networks. Forthcoming 5G SA networks will further reduce latency and improve data rates.
Asus CEO Departs Amid Internal Reorganization
Asus today said its CEO, Jerry Shen, plans to vacate his leadership role after a tenure of 11 years. Shen has been in various roles with Asus for more than 25 years, and oversaw the company's PC and phone businesses. Asus is adjusting its strategy moving forward and will target gamers and power users. The company's latest, the ROG Phone, is a high-end offering for the gaming market. Shen is headed to a startup called iFast where he will serve as chairman and CEO. Asus plans to adopt a co-CEO structure with responsibilities split between executives S.Y. Hsu and Samson Hu. The change goes into effect January 1, 2019.
Asus' ROG Phone Now Available for Preorder
Asus has made its ROG gaming phone available to U.S. consumers. The device is available online from Asus, Amazon, and Microsoft. The 128 GB version costs $899 and the 512 GB version costs $1,099. The company says the phone will start to ship during the last week of October. The ROG Phone has a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and an Adreno 630 GPU. Asus gave the phone a vented copper cooling panel in order to control thermals. The device includes a 6-inch, full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate, as well as a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and a discrete imaging chip for HDR playback. Other features include 24-bit stereo speakers, DTS Headphone with 7.1 virtual surround, a 4,000mAh battery, and a 12-megapixel camera. Asus will make a number of accessories available for the phone, including a dock, case, and game controller, later this year.
Asus Confirms Plans to Sell ROG Phone In the US for $899
Asus says U.S. consumers will be able to pre-order the ROG phone starting October 18. The device will cost $899 for the 128 GB version and $1,099 for the 512 GB version. Asus also announced pricing details for the ROG Phone's myriad accessories. The Mobile Desk Dock will cost $230, the TwinView Dock will cost $400, the Gamevice Controller will cost $90, the Professional Dock will cost $330, and the ROG Phone Case will cost $60. Asus is giving fans of ROG a chance to score a free case. The first 50 people who pre-order the phone from Amazon or Microsoft will earn a free case, as will the first 25 people who pre-order the phone from Asus. The ROG Phone is a dedicated gaming device. It has an overclocked Snapdragon 845 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and an Adreno 630 GPU. Asus gave the phone a vented copper cooling panel in order to control thermals. The ROG has a 6-inch, full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate, as well as a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and a discrete imaging chip for HDR playback. Other features include 24-bit stereo speakers, DTS Headphone with 7.1 virtual surround, a 4,000mAh battery, and a 12-megapixel camera. People will be able to see the phone at a public launch event to be held October 18 in New York City. Asus said the accessories will ship later in the fourth quarter, but didn't say when the ROG Phone itself will reach consumers.
Asus Implies It Might Sell the ROG Phone in the US
Asus North America published a teaser on its twitter account this week that strongly suggests its flagship gaming phone will be sold in the U.S. The tweet contains a darkened image with what looks like the ROG phone in the background. It reads "Coming to New York" on October 18. Asus has yet to formally schedule a press event for that date. The ROG phone is a dedicated gaming device. It has an overclocked Snapdragon 845 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and an Adreno 630 GPU. Asus gave the phone a vented copper cooling panel in order to control thermals. The ROG has a 6-inch, full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate, as well as a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and a discrete imaging chip for HDR playback. Other features include 24-bit stereo speakers, DTS Headphone with 7.1 virtual surround, a 4,000mAh battery, 12-megapixel camera, and support for a range of snap-on accessories. The phone is priced at over $1000 in other markets.
Hands On with the Asus ROG Phone
Asus' dedicated gaming phone in a beast of a device. The ROG Phone has an overclocked processor, a fast display, and a bevy of accessories meant to help it out-game the competition. Did we mention the AeroActive Cooler snap-on cooling fan? We spent some time with the ROG Phone and these are our first impressions.
Asus' ROG Smartphone Has Specially Tuned Snapdragon 845 for Blistering Game Performance
Asus today announced the ROG Phone, a device meant specifically for games and gamers. Asus created the phone from the ground up with gaming in mind and made a number of choices to ensure the phone delivers. To start, Asus worked with Qualcomm on a custom version of the Snapdragon 845 that handles clock speeds up to 2.96 GHz. The processor also ups the minimum clock speed to keep games running smoothly. The 845 is paired with 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and an Adreno 630 GPU. In order to accommodate the heat generated by this processing power, Asus gave the phone a vented copper cooling panel on the rear. The AMOLED display measures 6 inches with full HD+ resolution at 90 Hz for quicker refreshing during games. Asus says the screen has 108.6% DCI-P3 color gamut and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio for deep blacks. It includes a discrete imaging processing chip to support HDR playback. In other to deliver high-quality sound during games, the ROG features dual front-facing stereo speakers with 24-bit high-resolution audio at 192 KHz. It supports DTS Headphone and 7.1 virtual surround sound, in addition to Bluetooth aptX HD. Asus developed what it calls "air triggers" at the corners of the phone, which are pressure sensors in the frame to accommodate gaming actions. The ROG packs a large 4,000mAh battery with rapid recharging. The ROG includes a 12-megapixel standard-angle camera and an 8-megapixel wide-range camera on the back, with an 8-megapixel camera on the front. The ROG phone supports a number of accessories, including the AeroActive Cooler, a snap-on fan that cools the phone while also providing landscape access to the USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack during gaming. This accessory boosts battery recharge times thanks to support for 20W charging. Other accessories including a full hand-held gaming rig and a PC dock. The Asus ROG Phone will go on sale during the third quarter. Pricing wasn't announced.
