Asus ROG Phone II review

10 Sept 2019


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Anonymous, 11 Sep 2019Me me me me meeeeeeeee!!!! I always jump to battery life... moreSame here

    Such a great and detailed review by GSMArena, touching all the aspects that people could possibly want to know.

    Great job team!!!

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      • Anonymous
      • RxE
      • 12 Sep 2019

      Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... moreI shall rest my case with the "all-knowing" maybe you want to check 2hich manufacturer provides warranty for any of their flagship against water damages.

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        • singanada
        • vgM
        • 12 Sep 2019

        superb phone

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          • Anonymous
          • t7B
          • 12 Sep 2019

          Kangal, 12 Sep 2019This entire comment does my head in. It's poppycock to say... moreWell said buddy! In the name of practicality, I agree with the points you mentioned. Moreover, sd855 is plenty enough for the majority of games, and I would opt for lower thermal sustenance(like nubia red) rather than a sustained performance at 51degrees even with the fan.

            Love the Community, 12 Sep 2019Geez shut up! 1TB is already big enough and you don't ne... moreThis entire comment does my head in.
            It's poppycock to say AndroidOne is only for Google Pixel. That's just plain wrong. The entire reason why OnePlus is not bankrupt is because people buy it for the software support. Even better if the bootloader can be unlocked, so that people can keep their device alive long after it's been abandoned by the OEM.

            Adding microSD does not mean removing 1TB option. You're just strawmanning there. And it's so much of an improvement to have the microSD slot, then you can switch cards easily to watch movies on the go, or as I said, switch to different emulator roms (PSP, PS2, 3DS, GameCube, Wii require a decent amount of storage). My wallet even has a nifty compartment to store two cards, which is great for traveling so that I can store more photos.

            Also IP67/68/69K is no small matter. This is a standard feature when it comes to Flagship devices. For ASUS to omit this again is utter nonsense at this price. But I would gladly give up ingress protection, if they instead put a Removable Battery.

            That way I can ensure my device lasts longer. I can slow charge a spare battery and the phone, extending the battery health. And when out and about, I can hot-swap in a fresh battery, to easily double the battery life. In fact, if I'm a gamer and I'm playing a demanding game (eg Basara 3) and I can only squeeze out 5 hours of gaming from the battery... I don't have to think twice. I can game at my leasure, then swap out batteries. That's so handy when on a long journey in a car, bus, train, plane, or camping.

            In fact, I'd also love to downgrade the screen... to a compact 16:9 unit, using a 120Hz IPS like the Razer Phone 2, that way the device lasts longer (like a console) since there won't be burn-in from the OLED. I'd like to see you reply to my comment and say all these changes won't make the device better for your use, with the screen being the one difference I can understand for OLED (deep blacks, lower battery drain under Dark Mode, Always on Display/Notification Light, Underscreen properties, etc).

            But then again I am an individual that likes actual practicality, value, and longevity from my tools/devices... so I'm not your mainstream sheep that falls for hype, jargon, feature-cutting, and price-pumping. If you are one, that's okay, we're just different people with different personalities.

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              • Anonymous
              • vx6
              • 12 Sep 2019

              robdevil XI, 11 Sep 2019I will ignore this phone. Asus sucks with updates for ROG s... moreJust to finish up the supported connectivity section, in no particular order we have: CDMA Less, VoLTE/VoWiFi,

              I believe you were not reading and just went directly to the comments section and wrote something.

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                • Anonymous
                • vx6
                • 12 Sep 2019

                chmod xxx, 11 Sep 2019Amazing all around phone. Between top of the line specs and... moreBut playing games somewhere which in a different environment such as a coffee shop or somewhere except your basement? That is why they have their own world, mobile gaming has its own world too. You have your own opinion, we have ours. So no one is forcing you even to purchase such phone.

                  This phone clearly targets hardcore e-sport gamer, it's not meant to be a daily driver smartphone (doesn't mean it couldn't). Great job Asus !

                  On a side note, i hope GSMARENA do more long, detailed reviews like this from now on.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • n5X
                    • 12 Sep 2019

                    Kangal, 12 Sep 2019Between the ASUS RoG Phone 2 and the Samsung S10+, I'd get ... moreI think Samsung are ready for a good performance boost when they work with amd

                      Kangal, 12 Sep 2019Between the ASUS RoG Phone 2 and the Samsung S10+, I'd get ... moreGeez shut up!

                      1TB is already big enough and you don't need MicroSD cards. You just have to connect your phone with a PC that has USB 3.0 and you're good to go. You're seriously overrating IP68 to the point that I don't want IP68. This phone isn't IP68 for thermal (Cooling Vents) and sound reasons (remember Sony Xperia? Their stereo speakers back then were muffled because of IP68) and sure Android One, okay but that would defeat the purpose of Google Pixel's existence. Only Google's flagships get Android One and no one else. The 2nd USB-C port is also important ESPECIALLY FOR PHONES WHO GOT RID OF THE HEADPHONE JACK! Samsung should see Asus as an example that Two USB-Cs are possible and DOABLE. I'm fine without a headphone jack as long as there's two USB-Cs for me to charge and listen at the same time.

                        Between the ASUS RoG Phone 2 and the Samsung S10+, I'd get the Samsung.
                        Why?
                        It's much more compact (hello pockets!), is waterproof (flagship feature), and offers a microSD (load up emulators). However, the ASUS blows it away in the speaker department. There's a noticeable improvement in the S10+ camera, but the difference isn't as large as last year's comparison. In terms of performance, battery life and screen, both are one of the best and are close enough.

                        So if ASUS can follow-up with an RoG Phone 3, that could be my next phone. Just make it compact enough for it to fit into my standard jean pockets (sorry, I won't carry a purse), then add in things like microSD, IP68 waterproofing, and maybe AndroidOne support. Or better yet, bring back the Removable Battery for us "gamers". If the cost for those improvements means losing the second USB-C port and Cooling vents, so be it.

                        Otherwise Samsung will beat them to the punch with their own 120Hz OLED display!

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                          • Anonymous
                          • KSu
                          • 11 Sep 2019

                          This is the Future

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • DkW
                            • 11 Sep 2019

                            RhaegR, 11 Sep 2019Who else jumped straight to Battery Life section? Guilty. 😅Me me me me meeeeeeeee!!!!

                            I always jump to battery life section first on any phone :)

                              Who else jumped straight to Battery Life section? Guilty. 😅

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                                • Dur
                                • TmM
                                • 11 Sep 2019

                                This phone makes me want to get rid of my S10+ and also jizz.
                                Great review

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                                  • AnonD-819322
                                  • 3aW
                                  • 11 Sep 2019

                                  notebookcheck.net is the best when it comes to temperature recordings, been doing it since 2012.

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                                    • Love the Community
                                    • Fv4
                                    • 11 Sep 2019

                                    robdevil XI, 11 Sep 2019I will ignore this phone. Asus sucks with updates for ROG s... moreBro, it's mentioned that IT HAS VoLTE and VoWiFi! Plus RogUI for RoG Phone 2 is based on Stock like ZenUI 6 so it'll guarantee to have updates for sure.

                                      • S
                                      • Shui8
                                      • KZK
                                      • 11 Sep 2019

                                      Well deserve-praise device. Good job guys for the review!

                                        Right now I have to give it up for the GSMARENA team, this is one of the best reviews I have ever read, it is well written and provides so much details.