Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

 

No gaming smartphone can match the Asus ROG Phone II. So claims Jimmy Lin, Regional Director of ASUS Southeast Asia, when introducing rog phone's second generation gaming smartphone in Indonesia in early December.

Asus ROG Phone II is already eagerly awaited by mobile phone users in the country. The increasing esports in the country is increasingly driving the need for users to smartphones that are capable in specifications and ergonomically used. What Asus is back to present on its latest gaming phones.

Gaming needs can be met by flagship phones such as Samsung Galaxy S10, Realme X2 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, which can certainly be applied to gaming. However, the design construction, features and specific specifications of gaming are the differentiating of a mobile phone said to be a gaming phone or not.  That's what Asus ROG Phone II is all about.

What are the details of this device like? Check out the full Asus ROG Phone II review below.

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

For the unscinged, ROG is an acronym for Republic Of Gamer, an Asus product line devoted to gaming needs. Rog concept has been around since 2006 and is more emphasized on gaming needs in PC and laptop. Until finally now the branding is also applied to their mobile phone creations. ROG briefly used the logo of the letter "G", before switching to a symbol that still included the letter "G" there. More or less so, yes.

Well, the ROG logo can also be found on the design in this Asus ROG Phone II phone. Not forgetting the phrase "Republic Of Gamers" is also there. The logo itself is made large, like a silhouette over a luxurious glossy case. Certainly, anyone who sees it will soon realize that you're using a flagship phone, gaming, and of course expensive.

The camera model is also unusual, with hexagonal indentations containing two main cameras. Asus also presents an aerodynamics system so that the phone can breathe heat. And that can be seen from the orange cavity arrangement on the phone case. The pull of a long line adds to the impression of high tech on this phone. All of these combinations bring an elegant and powerful feel at the same time.

Is it done with the case? It hasn't. If you know the concept of a gaming laptop, which has an RGB keyboard. It was applied by Ausus to his phone, via an RGB case. Yep, rog logo turns out not only silhouette without meaning, but can present a variety of colors titled Asus Aura RGB, which appears when the phone receives notification messages.

Lighting from Aura RGB can be presented in four different options, namely static, breathing, color cycle, and strobing. We can make arrangements for one of the four light options to appear. And finally, to enjoy it make sure you put your phone upside down with the screen facing down.

The other parts of this phone look minimalist. On each side of the phone there is a power and volume function button like any other phone. There is also an audio port, USB type C, and a slot to place additional SIM or micro SD cards. One thing that is different is the presence of additional charting ports with external memory ports on the left side of the phone. This port is protected by a removable rubber cover. Its function is to facilitate gaming while charging in the horizontal longitudinal screen position or landscape.

Overall the design of this phone looks to have been taken into account, and earnest for gaming. Functions and designs go hand in hand in a charming model. Even the notification light gimmick makes this phone look cool.

Display

 

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Gaming phones without big screens will be a disaster for players. The need for a wide screen is indispensable, especially when playing gaming that requires a motion button. Games such as Player Unknown Battleground (PUBG), as well as Mobile Legend: Bang Bang, are among the types of games that bring virtual controls to the screen. It will be very uncomfortable when the phone screen is small, which has a effect on the visuals of the image also shrinks.

Asus ROG Phone II has a 6.59 inch screen, a large size for a mobile phone. It does make it a little uncomfortable in one hand. But it feels exciting when used for gaming, of course.

The display of this phone also has a high refresh rate reaching 120Hz. With response time and touch latency respectively, 1 ms and 49 ms. Very fast to support better gaming visualization. So you don't have to get tired of seeing the graphics rendering process stuck or delayed.

This screen feature already uses AMOLED with a contrast ratio of 500,000:1. Also supported by Delta E < 1 display technology, the ability of the display helps the eye to distinguish colors in small contrast differences. So minor color differences can be more easily accepted by the eyes.

Rog Phone II's screen quality and performance have been very steady. Its ergonomic ness that is lacking when held in one hand, will be very easily forgiven when the phone is used in a landscape position to play games.

ASUS ROG Phone II Performance

Speaking of phone performance, it's certainly not separated from the accompanying specifications. And the Asus ROG Phone II, isn't the only flagship phone on the market today. There are some commensurate opponents there, as mentioned above. Although of course there is something that makes this phone stand different from its competitors.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus is the fastest chipset to date. And indeed the chipset is only used on flagship phones such as ROG Phone II. Chipset working capability measuring 7nm, with 64-bit Octa-Core Processor reaching 2.99GHz.

Relatively high capabilities, especially when combined with large RAM.

The use of Snapdragon 855 Plus also comes with a Qualcomm Adreno 640 GPU. Graphics processor capabilities that certainly make the gaming process more maximal and seemingly limitless. So you don't have to worry about the graphics updates offered by the developers. Yes, at least for the next year.

Testing using popular games like Player Unknow Battlegroud: Mobile, can be easily skipped. The phone is able to run all graphic settings on the right level, aka the highest graphics settings. The gaming experience is further enhanced with the level of accuracy of the AMOLED screens mentioned above.

In this review I get a memory version of 8GB OF LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB ROM. This means that the maximum potential cannot be obtained from this phone, because there is still the highest version with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of ROMs. In antutu testing, this phone did not make the top ten. But that's okay.

Meanwhile, Kunai Game Pad, and Aero Active Cooler are additional accessories that have the potential to enhance the gaming experience. Or you can get in the purchase of a 12GB RAM or ultimate package for all the complete accessories. Kunai is useful for touching the sensation of touching the gaming pad, while Aero Active Cooler helps the phone's air circulation process so as not to overheat. Although rog phone II has actually applied fan, the disposal is in the casing section.

I myself can't talk much about the potential that these additional accessories can present, other than through reviewers who watch via streaming. Mon maap ya. But it can be seen that different experiences are definitely gained. Especially for older gamers who are used to playing with classic consoles like Playstation or Xbox.

Such a luxurious specification is still supported with a large battery capacity of 6000 mAh. That capacity is clearly very supportive of gaming activities. Especially with fast charging capability 4.0, 18 watts. With a battery of that size, the phone certainly lasts longer when used for more casual activities.

All design architectures as well as accessories are the main differentiation between gaming phones and "regular" phones, although they have relatively similar innards specifications. And that also makes gaming phones able to work more efficiently and optimally in running gaming applications.

Gaming Features

 

Gaming activities are generally done in the position of the landscape screen. The problem is when the hand grips the phone in such a position, the speaker located at the bottom of the phone body is closed and the sound does not come out to the maximum. Or when the phone needs to recharge the battery, making the charging cable interfere with the fingers around the phone. And it was realized right by Asus.

Asus ROG Phone II designed this phone with two speakers located facing the user, front-facing speakers. On the top and bottom sides of the display. The sound quality feels unquestionable, as Asus crams dts features: X Ultra 7.1 channel with theatre quality, 24-bit/192KHz. As well as additional features of smart amplifiers. The sound effect is heard very clearly without being blocked by the hand.

While charging can still be done even when gaming. Because you can find an additional charging port on the left side of the phone covered in rubber. Yep, charging landscape position can also be done. In the charging port there is a multipurpose port that can be connected with an additional game pad. The problem of charging is also resolved.

ROG UI and X Mode, is the interface system on this phone. It will be very long to discuss the UI here. In essence, asus creation interface is still based on Android Pie 9.0. Provides a gaming approach with battery settings, lighting, visuals, and notifications. Gives users flexibility to organize a variety of features with a futuristic visual approach. While through additional apps developed by Asus and can be found on the PlayStore, you can sync rog devices. Like laptops, PCs, and phones, of course.

Asus ROG Phone II Camera

 

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Making yourself a gaming phone doesn't make asus ROG Phone II forget about the camera's features. However, the need for cameras remains important and should not be ignored. Also included for those who claim to be gamers.

As mentioned in the design section above. The two main cameras on the back of the phone are slickly designed to make the look not boring. It even blends in with the concept of a futuristic gaming phone. Furthermore, the camera's capabilities do not disappoint.

Asus embeds the exact same main camera capabilities as the Asus Zenfone 6. A 48 MP, f/1.8, 26 mm (wide) lens with PDAF and Auto Focus laser features. The camera features Sony IMX586 sensory, capable of delivering sharp photo quality with stunning color depth. Plus the presence of LED flash for photos in low light areas. The difference is that the camera cannot be directed forward to take a selfie.

Meanwhile, the cameras of both phones use ultrawide, 13 MP, f/2.4, 11 mm lenses. the lens is capable of capturing angular arches up to 125 degrees. Spacious enough to photograph multiple objects in the same frame. The photo quality is quite slick with reviews that are more or less the same as Zenfone 6's.

Some of the features that accompany the power of the rear camera include Pro mode and AI Scene Detection. In PRO mode, you can get raw files with the best quality. As well as exposure ability reaches 32 seconds. While AI detector can present up to 16 different types, namely food, sky, green field, plant, ocean, sunset, snow, flower, stage, dog, paint, people, text, tripod, QR code, night view.

Well, due to the absence of motor technology that can rotate the lens in ROG Phone II. Then Asus slipped the front camera at the top of the phone display panel. There's no annoying ponies in there. The lens quality turns out to be quite large, with a 24 MP aperture of f/2.2. Unfortunately there is no ultrawide function for this camera. So, can't take a wefie photo comfortably.

Video quality? Okay, this phone can be used to record up to 4K, 3840×2160 quality at a rate of 60 fps. It also features video stabilization, which makes the shaking muted. Oya, the 4K quality is not only in the usual recording process, but can be applied also when making time-lapse. While in the slow motion recording process, you can still enjoy Full HD 1080p quality through the main camera.

It's hard to find weaknesses in the camera on this phone. Even for a phone that places itself as a gaming phone, the camera is still highly recommended for producing high-quality photo and video work and creativity. Steady!

Photo:

 

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Asus ROG Phone II Review: Worth Buying from All Sides

Conclusion

A gaming phone does have a distinguishing feature with a phone that does not specialize in the genre.

This was successfully applied by Asus to the ROG Phone II series. From futuristic yet elegant designs, the addition of USB ports, to the presence of user-facing speakers. It's even more perfect when users buy the ultimate package or complete each performance support accessory for this phone.

Retail price rp 8,499 million for minimum purchase package alone has been able to present a powerful gaming experience. With 8GB of RAM, users can freely maximise working memory needs on the phone.

If there is excess funds please proceed to the 12GB RAM package for 12.499 million, or the highest package with complete accessories and hard case luggage worth Rp 21,999 million.

Whichever option, Asus has stolen attention in a positive sense. Asus ROG Phone II deserves to be the ultimate gaming option, it is also capable of presenting the needs of photography memakau. Mobile phones that are indeed value for money.

If you also regret buying the cheapest package, more to the temptation of other tempting accessories to redeem.