Exploring the ROG Phone 8's Gaming Beast

ROG Phone 8 Pro

Revolutionary Design:

The ROG Phone 8 doesn't just look like a gaming phone; it screams power and performance from the moment you lay eyes on it. The design is a perfect blend of aesthetics and functionality, featuring sharp angles, customizable RGB lighting, and a signature ROG logo that glows with the intensity of your gaming sessions. The phone feels solid in hand, and the strategically placed buttons and triggers are designed for a comfortable gaming grip.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro now includes an animating mini-LED display

There's something different about the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro. The Asus ROG gaming phone line always surprises me with its distinctive style traditionally appealing to gamers. Yet, this year's ROG Phone 8 series shocks me with how mainstream it looks. Gone are the spaceship-like white hues of the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 7 and in comes a restrained matte black look -- an understated appearance for a mature gaming phone. 

While standing tall with its 6.78-inch display, gone is the upper bezel that hid the last ROG Phone 7's front-facing camera -- otherwise last seen in 2019 on phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Google Pixel 4. The ROG Phone 8 Pro has a punch-hole front-facing camera just as we see on most Android phones. The full-color secondary display on the back of the phone says goodbye in favor of a still eye-grabbing mini-LED display, which is even more arresting on the Pro model. 

To the right of the phone's camera is an "Est. 2006" printing.

Immersive Display:

While at first, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro looks like any other large black phone, the company includes many stylish flourishes including a new animated mini-LED screen on its back. Asus prints its Republic of Gamers logo, its "Dare to Win" mantra, and an "Est. 2006" message like it's a pair of Levi's jeans. A fairly large camera hump houses a trio of cameras.

The AniMe mini-LED display shows contextual information, like text or a camera icon when taking a photo.

But the phone's star is its animating AniMe vision mini-LED display on the back. While I'm sad to see the full-color secondary display retire, the new display includes plenty of details that I'd love to see on more phones. For instance, by default, the screen rotates between showing the time, your battery level, and the ROG logo. The mini-LED screen can display a camera icon when you are taking a photo, a music visualizer when listening to music, or custom animations that you can set up in settings. It reminds me of the LEDs on the back of the Nothing Phone 2, except this small screen allows for text and numbers that are easier to delineate than Nothing's abstract light patterns. This screen can also be turned off if you don't want all this blinking.

 
The front 6.78-inch display has an optical in-screen fingerprint sensor that can unlock the phone. By default, the screen runs at an adaptive refresh rate between 1 and 120Hz, but you can have the screen run at 165Hz at all times. The screen has a 720Hz touch sampling rate -- the same as last year's Phone 7 -- for responsiveness. 
Both features helped when I played Dead Cells since the game supports a higher refresh rate, and battling through dungeons was easier with that responsiveness rate. The Phone 8 Pro also includes its AirTriggers sensors, which I can program like shoulder buttons when holding the phone horizontally. My preference is still to hook the phone up with a game controller when time and space allow, but for subway commuting the responsiveness of the touchscreen has been sufficient for the fast-paced game.

The 6.78-inch display has a 165Hz refresh rate and a 720Hz touch sampling rate

Like other gaming phones, the Phone 8 Pro gets warm when playing games at the higher graphics and frame rates that the phone is capable of. While Asus says that the phone now makes use of conductive cooling to draw heat to the back of the phone, I did find that it makes the back of the phone noticeably hot to touch. A case should help alleviate that, as should the AeroActive mentioned above X cooler attachment. 

The AeroActive Cooler X attaches to the back of the phone to assist with cooling.

Unmatched Performance:

Under the hood, the ROG Phone 8 houses the latest and greatest hardware. Powered by the most advanced mobile processors and a generous amount of RAM, this phone effortlessly handles even the most demanding games. The cutting-edge GPU ensures that graphics are rendered with unparalleled speed and precision, giving you a competitive edge in the gaming arena.

Asus ROG Phone 8 is powered by an octa-core Sanpdragon 8 Gen 3

Advanced Cooling System:

Intense gaming sessions can generate a lot of heat, and the ROG Phone 8 is equipped to handle it. Featuring an advanced cooling system, this phone prevents overheating, ensuring sustained peak performance during extended gaming marathons. The innovative cooling solutions include a vapor chamber and a dedicated cooling fan, providing efficient heat dissipation for optimal gameplay.

Game-centric Features:

ASUS understands the unique needs of gamers, and the ROG Phone 8 is packed with features tailored to enhance the gaming experience. Ultrasonic AirTriggers give you additional control options, allowing for a more console-like feel. The phone also supports a range of gaming accessories, such as clip-on controllers and docks, transforming it into a true gaming console on the go.

Impressive Battery Life:

This is the first ROG phone to include wireless charging.

Worrying about running out of battery during an epic gaming session is a thing of the past with the ROG Phone 8. The sizable battery capacity, combined with intelligent power management, ensures that you can game for hours without interruption. Quick charging capabilities mean you can get back into the action faster than ever.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro cameras

The ROG Phone 8 Pro's cameras.

Astor Place photo taken on Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro takes good photos for a gaming phone. It has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide and 32-megapixel telephoto. In my testing, the cameras were able to pick up a lot of color and detail -- and I wager the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.