Any smartphone may be used to play games, but serious players need dedicated hardware. That is the concept behind the Asus ROG Phone series, which offers the best internals and most eye-catching lighting every year. All of these phones have a very distinct design that was intended to appeal to gamers who love RGB. But the far more tasteful and subtle-looking Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, which was never expected, has recently surfaced.
Much gaming hardware exudes a “neon stealth fighter” vibe, which was also present in previous Asus ROG Phones. Though some went so far as to include tiny LCDs, the majority of these phones used Asus Aura RGB lighting effects. In contrast, the leaked ROG Phone 8 Pro is more contemporary but yet pretty dull. It features a more refined dot matrix light panel on the rear, thin bezels, and a selfie camera that peeks through the screen.
Fans of Asus who enjoyed the ROG speakers that face front will be let off, unfortunately. There is no space for those due to the increased screen-to-body ratio. Like most other phones, the ROG phone looks to include an earpiece speaker and a bottom-firing speaker. Fortunately, the headphone jack is still functional.
Additionally, the ROG Phone 8 Pro keeps its extra side-mounted USB-C connector, which means that gaming peripherals like a controller and fan should work with the phone. But the previous ROG phone featured a tiny “trap door” on the rear, which allowed air to flow directly from the fan to the internal heatsink. The fan might not have the same cooling capacity without it. It’s okay if you don’t have a gamepad. The configurable shoulder buttons from earlier generations are retained in the ROG Phone 8 Pro.
A Samsung OLED at 165Hz and a 32MP front-facing camera were among the few specs that were leaked. A 50MP Sony IMX890 primary camera is anticipated, along with a 13MP ultrawide and a 32MP 3x telephoto camera. Aside from the lighting, the camera module is arguably the most daring element of the design.
This is a brand-new Asus gaming phone, albeit the internal specs are yet unknown. It seems inconceivable that it will come pre-installed with a processor other than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which will power the majority of top Android phones by 2024. We anticipate seeing this phone at CES the following week. Though it hasn’t been disclosed, prices should be high. At launch, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate cost $1,399.