Asus ROG Phone II review

10 Sept 2019


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • I8m
  • 13 Sep 2019

What the hell is wrong with the reviewer?????
Not a good buy? Not sensible? Only for those specific people????
The regular one wich still has like 8gb of ram and 128gb ufs 3 storage is only like 500 bucks.

Its pretty much the most decked out high performance decice you can buy at such a low price.
Even if you are not into gaming or don't care about specs that it's still going to be the overall best device you can get and at a fraction of the cost of any other flagship.

And if you don't need any of those fancy features why would you pay double for another device that offers less?
It's display, speakers, connectivity, battery life, speed, and software optimizing put it right up there with the best of the best and even better than the best in some areas. The only area is a bit behind is camera. And that's not by much. It's still right up there with the rest and produces amazing shots still. And could easily be enhanced in updates.

It's one of the most sensible buys you can make. For 1k or more the only thing you get off the iphone is faster chip... barely noticeable in many real situations though.. especially if it comes with its usual ios bugs and slow downs or crashes. Slightly brighter display not necessarily better one. And slightly better camera. Everything else is superior at a fraction of the cost.
Note10? Spen and maybe slightly better display and camera in some aspects. That's it.

Not even devices that are double the price are objectively superior. Whether you use it for gaming or basic functions.

    Love the Community, 12 Sep 2019Sure, get a Samsung S10+ if you're into 1440p 60hz 60fps ga... moreThanks for being civil.
    A lot of people are defensive about this device, even though I'm doing rightly by nitpicking and pointing out it's flaws. If you noticed, noone in this thread could make a proper argument as to why someone should buy this instead of the Nubia RedMagic 3.

    This device isn't for me, but that's because it is oversized. I have extra large hands, but my jeans pockets are standard size and it doesn't fit at all or properly. I'm currently rocking the OnePlus 7 Pro, and there are so many things I have complaints with. But I'm sticking with it because there's no Pixel/AndroidOne alternative.

    I hate this new "dongle life" where you need to carry around spare cable, power bank, usb, thick cases, headphone charging box etc etc. That makes the phone, or at least the experience, a lot bulkier and less mobile than it was. Before we needed Slim cases, few microSD cards, spare battery...done.

    Just imagine if they release in 6 months the Samsung S11+ Plus, where they keep the good properties but upgrade the flaws: Better Exynos SoC, No Notch/Hole, 120Hz AMOLED option. There would be little reason to get the ASUS. Because it would be a more compact phone capable of gaming, better overall, and you could void warranty/Knox/and tinker with the Exynos variant. The monospeaker would suck though, that's one area few have gotten right. However, I rather we have two phenomenal options to choose on the market than just one, which is why I plead for practicality, value, and improvements from a consumer-friendly perspective. We've lost some interesting designs over the years, click on My Devices, to take a trip down memory lane.

      • S
      • S Yu
      • wkc
      • 12 Sep 2019

      This is pretty amazing.

      I wasn't too fond of the gaming theme before but seeing how much functionality they actually put in there (2 C ports AND the 3.5mm jack! I once thought they'd only come together with the kitchen sink!) through a comprehensive review like this, I really only have to overcome the tacky design of the back.

      NEX 3 has the basics, but not the huge battery, not the DAC(probably), not the boosted speakers, button mapping or the tactile feedback shoulder buttons and all that control over SoC behavior. I'd miss the 2x as I have more use for a normal perspective than UWA with Ultra distortion (Gcam would somewhat make up for loss of 2x too), but not the over-curved screen, and I could live with bezels.

      All the effort is even more impressive considering it's all gone into this no doubt small-volume device, and suggests that HTC not selling is rather them not trying hard enough.

      Also, since the back is glass, there remains the possibility of removing most of the bling by removing the colored finish on the inner side of the glass, to make the back transparent, revealing the vapor chamber etc. which arguably look more sophisticated, like what some have done with Samsung devices.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • Len
        • 12 Sep 2019

        My only con is the lack of expandable storage. Still, it is one of the best phones I'm 2019 with a no-holding-back philosophy

        If I were Asus, though, I'd make a $1000 "ROG Note" version that has a pen, just for fun ;)

          • L
          • Love the Community
          • Fv4
          • 12 Sep 2019

          Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... moreSure, get a Samsung S10+ if you're into 1440p 60hz 60fps gaming. Surely, this phone is not for you so it's not for you and you don't have enough rights to call the shots for the RoG Phone 3 if they continue it. The features are fine as is.

          First paragraph, OnePlus isn't Android One. OnePlus themselves has capable software devs to keep it updated as fast as possible. They're not even bankrupt as they are Silicon Valley's darlings (everyone in Silicon Valley, California buys these things) plus they're well known enough that they can settle with OnePlus's profits for years. Yeah, bootloaders. The bane of every warranties. Now going back, There isn't a single SD855 flagship phone on Android One this year. HMD Nokia did it with the SD845 flagship but they used last year's flagship chip so I got the impression that Google will never allow any latest flagship chipset powered phone to get Android One except themselves.

          What? 1TB is already good enough and it's on UFS so I think I found no need for a microSD card. Can't you simply use the USB-C to USB 3.0 cord and connect it to your PC? Data transferring is much faster than doing it on a SD Card. Granted I never use SD cards of my previous phones that had SD card support so I'll never experience what the others are doing. Dude, if space is a concern, put what you need for that phone instead of putting it for collection but never played it. I don't seem to use Emulators as I only use it for Mobile Legends. Again, use the cord and put your stuff on your PC. Oh, just your wallet. Not everyone's.

          But this is like an Anti-Flagship. It doesn't have the tropes of a flagship fashion device such as Samsung and Apple. Also who would even think of going to a beach or a swimming pool with that. Gamers like me are likely to be at bed or stay away from sandy beaches or pools to not only protect their phone from it but they're busy gaming anyway. It would be fun to have a Gaming IP68 phone when I'm gaming on the bathtub. You didn't read my point about IP68 where it muffled sound quality. Sony had an IP67/68 phone with stereo speakers and some complained that the sound is not good. If it's sealed, the output may not be good.

          Swappable batteries in today's future is a pipe dream now. I sure wish the battery companies who provides batteries can make a lot of spares. I sure wish they can work on an IP68 and Removable battery with removable hard kevlar & carbon finish back.

          Sadly, 16:9 is dead on a flagship. 120HZ IPS would sound much nicer; Heck a 120HZ Sharp IGZO LCD would've sealed the deal. I now seem to enjoy a bit of AMOLED (RoG Phone 2 is my first AMOLED phone) such as these (deep blacks, lower battery drain under Dark Mode, Always on Display/Notification Light, Underscreen properties) but I'm aware that it burns in easier and it's difficult to recover.

          The bottom line is again, it's not for you in the end.

            TechEnthusiast, 11 Sep 2019I dont understand how Rog Phone II got a rating of only 4.4... morethey have their metrics, differs from reviewing a phone with feeling

              • H
              • Hijack49
              • t7V
              • 12 Sep 2019

              Best stereo speakers on any smartphone to date..

                • M
                • Mediateksux
                • ypY
                • 12 Sep 2019

                Whackcar, 11 Sep 2019You clearly haven't actually used a OP7 Pro. It is a brilli... moreJust get rid of your oneplus complex already.

                  • M
                  • Mediateksux
                  • ypY
                  • 12 Sep 2019

                  Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... moreAh the guy who's never satisfied.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 6jg
                    • 12 Sep 2019

                    Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... moreYou could say the same for many things , and in the end it just boils down to one thing , this phone is not for you.

                    That's fine. Move on, nothing to see here.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 6jg
                      • 12 Sep 2019

                      jamesabraham, 12 Sep 2019Can the accesorries be purchased separately? For example, i... moreYes, you generally buy them separately, as was the same for rog 1

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • ShL
                        • 12 Sep 2019

                        Take a look at the offical Asus form. There are a ton of problems with the first ROG phone and Asus refused to/cannot fix them. I used to have an Asus ZF3 and it was the only phone I ever had that cannot pair to my car's bluetooth and Asus's solution is for me to change my car! I had long given up on this crap company.

                          Can the accesorries be purchased separately? For example, if I want to buy kunai gamepad, then can I buy the kunai gamepad only instead of buying the whole briefcase?

                            • z
                            • zZz
                            • ni1
                            • 12 Sep 2019

                            Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... morehey there pal

                            as you know OnePlus is not running on AndroidOne! and oneplus in not bankrupt, because of the great value for money the phones have + updates
                            i also believe big os updates is overrated. security updates are far more important.
                            LG, Sony, htc ... are out there with awful os AND security updates, and giving up hopes on asus for that is not fair. big names have problem with this matter and lots of articles in gsmarena about it.
                            (Some of my phones: htc hd2, GS3, GS4, GNote edge, htc one m8, lg v20, had bad update history but i didnt have any problems with them and they worked great.)

                            next is SD card. wellllllll. one TB of storage is pretty hard to fill! i mean having a 128gb phone right now I don't have any problem with memory.
                            how big are game roms? 1GB? well you can have 1000 games! come on. ITS 1TB! i have 1tb external hard drive and i cant fill it. now having that on my phone and on the go?!?!
                            and having not enough storage while taking pictures? how many pictures do you want to take to be able to fill that gigantic memory??????? if you are a picoholic, a DSLR would be a better option! and worst case scenario, you can always use usb otg. dont be nitpicking.

                            about IP vs swappable battery i'm with you. LG V20 is an example, no IP cert but removable battery. but again this phone is giving so much that i can live on with not having them.
                            plus i have a 20000ma power bank and solar charger bag sooooo... not an issue per se for me.

                            LCDs have burn in too. go look for v20 in the forums. other than that i have no comment on LCD vs LED or 60 vs 90 vs 120. not my area of expertise

                            the last paragraph you wrote was very rude so i'd rather not say anything about it.

                            on one hand was mobile device which I talked about above. OS update, LED, Storage and etc...
                            on the other hand, we are talking about gaming on the go.
                            big name here is nintendo switch and thats it! (for me, its obvious that psp or vita and other android devices are out of the discussion, if you have other opinion tell me and we will talk about that)

                            does it have IP cart? replaceable battery? Os updates???!?!?! 1TB of memory?
                            i'm not sure about refresh rate or touch response or ... but i'm pretty sure they fell behind ROG 2.
                            beside game support, what does switch have over ROG 2?
                            that is BUILT FOR GAMERS and no gamer has any issue with what you said above with switch. so why should we have these issues with ROG 2?????!!!!!!! its like saying why isn't gsmarena saying anything about new movies (like Joker!) some may say that would be a great addition to the site, but thats not why we are gathered here! thats not the concept! we dont want that! we dont need that!

                            the only down part for gamers is lack of games for android. and i believe with services like steam link it will be fixed and this phone can be a monster gaming device.

                              Anonymous, 12 Sep 2019AMAZING review, guys. The only one I've reas that does t... morethe most impressive pair of smartphone speakers we have heard. Failing that, they are definitely somewhere in the Top 5
                              GSMArena review

                              Are they kidding right? This expensive gaming device only 5th place

                              And what are the top 4 please enlighten we

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • MNS
                                • 12 Sep 2019

                                AMAZING review, guys.

                                The only one I've reas that does this device justice.

                                  • T
                                  • Tom
                                  • RKh
                                  • 12 Sep 2019

                                  Splendid review GSMarena, you did great this time. The article is well through and details. I especially love the part you included the touch response time. Now please make a comparison table (similar to battery life) for the rest of 2019 phones (or at least what you have atm)

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • iF4
                                    • 12 Sep 2019

                                    If it wasn't a must-buy for the 120 Hz panel alone, the whole phone seems to be a really good package. Very good. Review got it right; once you try a faster display, you're not going to downgrade back to 60 Hz anymore.

                                      • S
                                      • Shubham joshi
                                      • uvj
                                      • 12 Sep 2019

                                      This phone is Waterproof ???

                                        I don't care about what android version is running on my phone. Seriously I used apple till 5, then HTC and Moto and Samsung, now it's Xiaomi. I never brought a phone based on which android version or what happens in future. I only care great battery life and good voice clarity. Once in a while camera and music. Every thing else is gimmicks to me.

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