Asus has unleashed a revamped ROG gaming phone series, prioritizing gaming prowess while increasing everyday phone functions. Unveiled at CES 2024, the Asus ROG Phone 8 and Phone 8 Pro boast the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

Flaunting a 6.78-inch display boasting an impressive 165Hz refresh rate, the Pro variant shines with specs up to 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage. Making a debut in Asus' gaming phone line, both phones now support wireless charging and tout IP68 resistance against water and dust.

A notable change is the adoption of a punch-hole front-facing camera style, ditching the older top bezel. Although this slightly interrupts full-screen gaming, users can shrink the display area to sidestep the front-facing camera. Unlike RedMagic's approach of embedding the selfie camera beneath the display for an uninterrupted experience, Asus prioritizes image quality for photos.

Leveraging the AI prowess of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the ROG Phone 8 ramps up phone features. Semantic Search enables comprehensive device-wide searches, while AI noise cancellation improves voice and video calls, even during gaming chats. Moreover, AI can create unique wallpapers using selected objects and backgrounds.

The ASUS ROG Phone 8 introduces AniMe, an LED strip at the rear that lights up for notifications, music animations, and personalized aesthetics, replacing the ROG Vision window. It's a bit gimmicky but adds gamer flair if you fancy customization.

Its display stands out with deep, true blacks and ensures a smooth UI without frame drops, possibly benefiting from the extra frames and hertz.

The Android 14 interface retains a familiar pre-Android 12 layout for quick setting toggles, is appreciated for its usability, and offers well-thought-out software tweaks with exceptional haptic feedback customization.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 upgrade boasts improved core speeds and a claimed 50% boost in ray tracing performance, customizable through the Armoury Crate settings. Performance and camera tests will genuinely reveal how it competes against other Android flagships, but ASUS has previously been surprised with its camera quality on gaming phones.

Price and Specs That Packs A Punch

The Asus ROG Phone 8 packs a 6.78-inch dynamic AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and a bright 2,500 nit peak brightness. Despite a slightly smaller 5,500 mAh battery compared to its predecessor, it supports 65W wired and 15W wireless charging, a rarity to find a charger in the box.

Improving its camera game, it features a 50MP primary sensor, 13MP ultrawide, and a new 32MP telephoto lens with 3X optical zoom. Selfie lovers get a 32MP front camera.

Running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, it offers 24GB LPDDR5X RAM configurations and 1TB UFS 4.0 storage. The Pro models are available in Phantom Black and Rebel Grey and boast an additional OLED display.

The ROG Phone 8 in the US starts at $1,099 and is slated for Q1 sales. European pre-orders are open with prices starting at $1,099 for the base model, $1,199 for the Pro, and $1,499 for the Pro Edition with top-tier specs.