Asus ROG Phone 8/8 Pro review

16 January 2024


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This has to be the worst thermal throttling i have seen on a flagship. Way worse than Exynos/Tensor.

The max display brightness is impressive indeed.

Last but not least
''Like last year's ROG Phone 7 models, the ROG 8 ones will enjoy at least two major OS updates''
Why is this not a Negative Gsmarena?

    In my really honest opinion, even the ROG 3 was better than this thing. At least for gaming... (based on the time each of them were released)

      Asus really has cut not just the corners, but the entire middle in order to appeal to everyone.

      I definitely appreciate the IP68 rating and the matrix display on the back, but it is not worth so many downgrades.

      Most noticeably, the sustained thermal performance, you know, the one thing ROG phones were supposed to be amazing at. And I'm talking about just the phone itself, without the AeroActive Cooler 8, because it doesn't come in the box unless you buy the ultimate edition, not to mention the average person isn't going to be carrying it around everywhere with them, especially in their pockets.

      Last year the Xiaomi 13 Ultra actually had much better sustained thermal performance than the ROG phone 7 Ultimate, and that isn't even a gaming phone. Not to mention that already has IP68 dust and water resistance, fast wireless charging, amazing cameras and everything else a true flagship has.

      This year Xiaomi introduced many phones with vapour chambers twice or even quadruple the size, so Asus really needs to step up.

      All this wouldn't matter if the phone was actually reasonably-priced. But no, it costs far more than other flagships and offers less, while not even doing the main thing it is made to do properly. No.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • j}r
        • 16 Jan 2024

        I still like it more than other flagships, but it feels like they made a few too many compromises to hit the smaller form-factor this time. Speakers, holepunch, notification LED, battery... It might've been better to just shorten the screen and keep the first three, albeit less sexy-looking to casuals. I fell in love with the original ROG phone and always hoped they would inch toward microSD and swappable batteries, but that never happened, and now they're paring back their niche features instead. (Thank god they kept the headphone jack, at least.) At this point the Xcover phones probably check more of my boxes, but 6GB RAM gets less futureproof by the year. Sony looks nice on paper too, except I hate their tall skinny aspect ratio, and they heat-throttle in reviews.

          • N
          • Nimbus
          • x{6
          • 16 Jan 2024

          For the price.. I would rather buy an IQOO 12 or Redmagic 9 pro.

            Give this AeroActive cooler to the Dimensity 9300 and see it perform better

              Only the shadow of what it once was.

                How is this a "gaming" phone, when it kinda sucks at the task of GAMING ?
                It's not much better than, say, the Samsung S10+ from years back. These are all Mobile Games and aren't much of a challenge to the hardware.

                Fair point to the iPhone 15 Max, which can play a couple AAA-Games.

                I mean, ASUS, you need to at the very least put in some controllers in the box!
                ....And yes that's the minimum. And yes we will judge you and your controller. So you better make sure it is top notch. And yes we will be vicious in our review, if the solution is not better than a generic one. Like slapping a GameSir G8 Controller on a phone like an affordable RedMagic 9 or a cheap Poco F5. At least differentiate from them at a fundamental level. Razer despite their failures was able to differentiate based on Pocketability with their RP2 and the JungleCat. All other controllers have NOT being small enough to fit into a pocket and require you to bring a Backpack (at which point a Gaming Phone becomes useless as you can just grab your iPad or SteamDeck or other devices).

                  I think Asus cut to many corners for this "Mass Appeal" phone they calling.

                  They should not have cut the Battery size and Speaker/Jack department as its one of major differentiator from sea of phones.

                  I dunno, its like something is missing on this ROG Phone now. Compared to 7 gen, this one seems somehow downgrade for me. Anyway I leave the verdict to ROG Phone holders / buyers.

                    Not sure how I feel about this one

                      Really don't understand how this phone got 4.6 even though it is not exceptionally good at a specific task.

                      Asus should also have a variant in their old form factor so that customers have a choice.

                        Buy any other 8g3 or d9300 flagship instead of this overpriced ugly broken brick. Get a redmagic 9 if you want a gaming phone.

                          I am just gonna say it. If you want a proper no holds barred gaming phone then go for the Redmagic 9 Pro. If however you want the gaming but also a daily driver then go for the ROG 8 Pro. That being said if the performance is not notably exceptional without the active cooler being used you might as well just buy any other 8gen3 mobile device and stick an external cooler on.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • fCE
                            • 16 Jan 2024

                            It looks nothing like a ROG phone

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • fCE
                              • 16 Jan 2024

                              Zenfone in ROG clothing, introducing the ZOG 8

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 0BG
                                • 16 Jan 2024

                                Anonymous, 16 Jan 2024Overall score is lower than rog7. Despite 500mAh, but it ... moreIf you browse through WiFi, it might be better, but not if you browse through mobile network. It's a shame battery tests are still being done on WiFi, but talk time is still a good indicator for mobile data endurance.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0p}
                                  • 16 Jan 2024

                                  Mills, 16 Jan 2024Dear Anonymous. Please shut up. 14 hours of active use is a... moreOverall score is lower than rog7.
                                  Despite 500mAh, but it now has ltpo and newer SoC.
                                  That is not good.

                                  Test is based if you give 25% of battery to each activity ( calling, gaming, browsing and video watching).
                                  Results here are gonna vary according to what you do. Test is flawed.

                                  If you browse too much, rog8 beats rog7.
                                  But if your main activity is video, R7 wins easily.

                                  Old test was better.

                                    • J
                                    • JoacC
                                    • nwr
                                    • 16 Jan 2024

                                    So they scrapped almost everything that made the ROG series special: front facing speakers, notification LED, uninterrupted display.

                                    It just looks like every other phone now.


                                      >lower battery than before, resulting in similar-worse battery life than before where other manufacturers are actually increasing their capacity.


                                      >mainstream speakers with worse quality and a worse frequency response than before leading to an inferior experience than people who had the ROG Phone 7

                                      >Insane thermal throttling leading to a subpar experience without the fan. The Nubia throttles too but it has an internal fan and is FAR cheaper than this monstrosity of a "phone", neither a gaming phone nor a flagship one but the price is still flagship.

                                      >Underwhelming cameras which are overprocessed. Oneplus and Realme are far better options for a better cameraphone than this mess.

                                      The only things I can praise Asus for are the fact that the beefy cooling fan which costs 100 dollars does it's job, I mean it better have! And the fact that the display is one of the best put on a phone. Bravo on that front, bright AF with HDR certifications and the ability to play FHD vids on Netflix. Additionally the well tuned display modes are amazing as well and other manufacturers should follow suit. The display being 165 hz is the cherry on top.

                                      This phone has an IP68 rating yeah but for nearly half the cost and a built in fan I don't think anyone would miss the ROG phone if they got the Red magic. That phone has a bigger battery that charges at the same rate so people can't complain about the battery not being "fast" to charge, it's just as fast as Asus's so either ZTE is fast af or Asus is getting slow now. Except for someone who's such a diehard "esports" gamer that plays games very competitively and can use the cooling fan anytime he wants, this phone is pretty much useless. I mean seriously, what sort of gamer wants to use a cooling fan 24/7 on this phone?

                                      This phone "tried" to be a camera centric phone with its gimbal but we all know how much that helps compared to absolutely solid processing. Samsung upped its stabilisation game, Apple had it strong from the start and Xiaomi's getting close as well (see notebookcheck's video comparison). This phone is neither here nor there. Not an accomplished gaming phone nor an awesome cameraphone. Right in the middle with no special features and costs more than other flagships somehow. I was tempted to buy the ROG Phone 7 due to its uninterrupted display, awesome battery and banger speakers, only stopping because its price was a bit too high in my country. Now I can safely remove Asus from my wishlist, bravo Asus, you messed up. I used to always look forward to their new and cool phone. The leaks made me anxious and this review proved it. Apart from the display, this phone is nothing special at all.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • Duh
                                        • 16 Jan 2024

                                        Love the Community, 16 Jan 2024It still has the venerable 3.5mm headphone jack. Cant wait ... moreSo jealous that you have the verum ones, they are excellent headphones but last time I checked they were having issues exporting them

                                          4 of 5