Asus is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers that continues to have a series dedicated to flagship games. ROG Phone 3 is the latest addition to the family, and it has some major improvements over the last phone. Generation. The Asus ROG Phone 3 builds on last year's well-received ROG Phone 2 and retains the iconic design with big, bold accents, powerful hardware, and the accompanying bells and whistles, all while taking it all in. 'a notch. Do you want to know which phone is right for you? We've pitted the two devices against each other to give you the clearest possible picture.
ROG Phone 3 vs ROG Phone 2 pricing and availability
Variant price in India Global price 8 + 128Rs 49.999-8 + 256 (SD 865) - €79912 + 256Rs 57.999-12 + 512-€99916 + 512-€1099 In India, the Asus ROG Phone 3 starts at Rs 49,999 for the base variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and goes up to Rs 57,999 for the 12GB + 256GB variant. In other markets, the ROG Phone 3 starts at €999 for the 12GB + 512GB variant and goes up to €1,099 for the higher 16GB + 512GB variant. There's also a Strix Special Edition that starts at €799 for 8GB + 256GB, but opts for the Snapdragon 865.
ROG Phone 3 vs ROG Phone 2 design
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(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri) The ROG Phone 2 had a very bold design, featuring gray glass with lots of red accents and air vents. This time things have been toned down a bit by reducing the color. The red and copper accents have now been faded in favor of a muted gray design. Even the large vent is now replaced with clear glass that shows off the cooling rack below. The ROG RGB logo sits in the center, below the new three-camera array. However, things do not change much on the front. There's a large screen flanked by tall bezels that house the two stereo speakers in front. The headphone jack is gone, so you'll have to resort to the included dongle for your 3.5mm headphones. Fortunately, the whole package doesn't get any heavier and continues to tip the scales at 240 grams. Gamers will appreciate the larger shoulder buttons on ROG Phone 3. The ultrasonic capacitive air triggers can even be split in half to act as four shoulder buttons in total. In addition to taps, they also support sweeps and long presses for additional input options.
ROG 3 vs ROG Phone 2 screen
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(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri) Asus has pushed the display specs every year with the ROG Phone. Although the screen dimensions do not change, the refresh rate increases up to 144 Hz with a response time of 1 ms. In the ROG Phone 3, we're looking at a 6.59-inch AMOLED panel with a 2340 x 1080 resolution, HDR10+ certified, and an average Delta E <1. Touch latency has been reduced to 25ms for taps and 18ms for slides, or 49ms on the ROG Phone 2. There's also a built-in Goodix fingerprint scanner. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 6. These specifications make the ROG Phone 3 the first in many countries to achieve a 144Hz refresh rate.
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(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri) Last year, Asus switched to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus via the ROG Phone 2, which had a maximum clock speed of 2.96 GHz. With the ROG Phone 3, performance should take a step up more with the new Snapdragon 865 Plus. This is the first time the 3GHz threshold has been crossed on a smartphone and is said to improve raw processing and graphics by around 10% compared to its predecessor. It is supported by up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage to ensure that no component acts as a bottleneck for operations or gaming. To keep thermal throttling at bay, Asus added a "GameCool 3" system that involves a multi-layered cooling structure made up of a large graphite film, followed by a vapor chamber and copper heat sink. The Aero Active Cooler accessory is also getting a major facelift. It plugs into the secondary USB port on the side and acts as a circulator with 40% faster speed than the previous one. It also adds a headphone jack and kickstand.
ROG Phone 3 vs ROG Phone 2 camera
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(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri) Cameras haven't been the strong point of the ROG series. The ROG Phone 2 had a simple dual-camera setup with a 48MP primary shooter and a 13MP ultra-wide lens. ROG Phone 3 upgrades to a triple camera system with a 64MP f/1.8 main camera (Sony IMX686), followed by a 13MP ultra-wide shooter and 5MP macro lens. Selfies are handled by a 24MP camera, which also uses pixel binning. New shooting modes include video recording at 8K resolution at 30 fps, 4K at 60 fps, HDR, professional photo and video, HyperSteady, timelapse and directional audio recording.
ROG Phone 3 and ROG Phone 2 battery life
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(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri) The battery capacity of the Asus ROG Phone 3 is the same at 6000 mAh, but it brings a lot of improvements for battery health. First of all, the 30W HyperCharger will be included in the box this time. In addition, it will also support Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 via a second IC in the phone. In the Power Master app on the phone, the charging speed can be regulated to ensure battery life. The charge can also be programmed or limited to a certain capacity to ensure long-term well-being.
To go
The Asus ROG Phone 3 builds on the already excellent ROG Phone 2 with significant improvements in many aspects. Like most flagships in 2020, it moves higher up the price scale, but it's a good selling point for its target user. Asus isn't alone in vying for some of the growing smartphone gaming and eSports spaces. The same week we have the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel and Nubia Red Magic 5S announcements, but their availability outside of China is questionable. They all sport the new Snapdragon 865 Plus and 144Hz displays.