ASUS ROG has officially announced its latest entry into the flagship gaming smartphone space, the ROG Phone 3. As the brand’s ultimate expression of gaming smartphone prowess, the ROG Phone 3 ships with all the top-notch components such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ chip, a 144Hz display, up to 16GB of RAM, and long battery life.
The ROG Phone 3 has improved quite a bit compared to the brand’s previous entry in the ROG Phone series. While it retains the 6.59-inch AMOLED display with support for HDR10+ and Gorilla Glass 6, peak brightness has been increased to 1000nits and 650nits in High Brightness Mode. The display is faster as well reaching 144Hz refresh rate, 270Hz touch sampling rate, and 25ms touch latency.
The device needs quite a bit of horsepower in order to take advantage of the faster screen. As expected, the ROG Phone 3 ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ chip that reaches up to 3.1GHz with 16GB of RAM. Storage is quicker as well with the device having UFS 3.1 storage, which is the fastest storage option for mobile devices thus far.
In order to prevent any CPU or GPU thermal throttling, the ROG Phone 3 uses the 3rd generation GameCool system that comes with a larger heatsink, a redesigned 3D vapor chamber, and a larger graphite film. Not only is the surface area larger but heat is now distributed outside in order to keep temperatures down.
To keep you playing all day long, the ROG Phone 3 has a 6,000mAh battery. Charging is done via a 30W connection through its USB Type-C port. It seems that ASUS did not want to implement faster charging in order to keep a larger battery capacity while retaining the relatively thin profile of the smartphone.
A ton of changes have been made to the device in order to lengthen the battery’s lifespan. You can now set custom charging limits as well as charge the smartphone slowly, which lowers the battery’s temperature while charging.
In terms of audio, ASUS is ditching the familiar names in the industry in lieu of Dirac. Dirac is a Swedish Audio company, which designed the audio system on the ROG Phone 3. It now has 7 magnets for more power and less distortion. One of the speakers is now slightly larger in order to play deeper bass notes in to add immersion while playing.
AirTriggers 3 are now implemented on the device, which expands the capabilities of the smartphone. When used in landscape mode, these new AirTriggers acts as two normal shoulder buttons that can be mapped to specific commands. They also support Motion Control for an additional function for more customizability and tactility for your gameplay.
For its cameras, the ROG Phone 3 comes with a rather standard set of lenses to capture photos. At the back are three cameras: a 64MP f/1.8 main camera powered by a Sony IMX686 sensor, a 13MP f/2.4 ultrawide, and a 5MP f/2.0 macro. At the front is a 24MP f/2.0 selfie lens that’s situated in a rather traditional way at the top of the display
ASUS will also be introducing a more affordable variant, the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition. It comes with all the features found on the vanilla ROG Phone 3 but it now comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip, up to 12GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
| Model | ASUS ROG Phone 3 | ASUS ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, 3.1GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 2.84GHz |
| Screen | 6.59-inch AMOLED, 2340 x 1080, 144Hz, HDR10+, 270Hz Sampling, 650nits HBM, 1000nits Peak, 113% DCI-P3, Gorilla Glass 6, 10-point Multi-Touch | |
| RAM | 12GB, 16GB | 8GB, 12GB |
| OS | Android 10 with ROG UI | |
| Rear Camera | 64MP f/1.8 Sony IMX686 Main, 13MP f/2.4 Ultrawide, 5MP f/2.0 Macro | |
| Front Camera | 24MP f/2.0 | |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, UFS 3.1 | 128GB, 256GB, UFS 3.1 |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 5G | |
| Connectivity | Dual-band WiFi 802.11ax, 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, USB Type-C | |
| Battery | 6,000mAh, 30W Fast Charging, QuickCharge 4.0, USB PD 3.0 | |
| Others | Quad Microphones with ASUS Noise Reduction, Dual Front-Facing Speakers |
The ROG Phone 3 will also come with a new set of accessories to further improve your gaming experience. This will include the Kunai 3 GamePad, ROG Gaming Clip, ROG Lighting Armor Case 3, ROG TwinView Dock 3, Professional Dock, Mobile Desktop Dock, and AeroActive Cooler 3.
Fortunately, most accessories from the previous generation will be compatible with the ROG Phone 3 and the newer ones will also be usable with the ROG Phone 2.
The ASUS ROG Phone 3 will be available in varying models and prices:
- ASUS ROG Phone 3 16GB/256GB – EUR 999 (PhP 57,000)
- ASUS ROG Phone 3 16GB/512GB – EUR 1,099 (PhP 63,000)
- ASUS ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition 8GB/256GB – EUR 799 (PhP 46,000)
No word yet when the ASUS ROG Phone 3 and its Strix Edition will arrive in the Philippines. Given the brand’s track record here in the Philippines, we expect an announcement for its availability soon.