ROG Phone II

ROG Phone II was released in September 2019. This phone is quite a leap from what its predecessor, the ROG Phone, can do. It has a larger battery, 6000mAh compared to 4000mAh. The screen is larger, standing at 6.59 inches in comparison with 6 inches. There is no difference with RAM, which is 8GB on both handsets. The 120Hz refresh rate is the wow factor on ROG Phone II, compared to the maximum of 90Hz on ROG Phone.

Display

ROG Phone II’s 6.59-inch display is under the protection of Gorilla Glass 6. On the top right there is a 24MP selfie camera. The large screen size and the aspect ratio of 19.5:9 will definitely make an impression when you stuff it inside your pocket. As a phone for gaming, it comes as no surprise that the ROG Phone II features 1ms response time, 120Hz refresh rate, and an AMOLED display. With Samsung-made panel, the screen on this phone is brighter than 600 nits. While this might seem like nothing compared to the 1,000 nits of OnePlus 7T, the screen is bright enough even when you are outdoor. The 120Hz refresh rate, when paired with compatible games, can make users feel like everything runs faster and more responsive. As a gaming phone, the screen has a slew of specially designed settings geared toward this one single use. Users have extensive screen color mode options, the choice to turn always-on function on or off, and a dark mode. The 1080 x 2340 resolution means ROG Phone II’s pixel density is 391 pixels-per-inch, which makes the phone less sharp than many Android flagships but at least it is sharper than iPhone 11. Most users do not need more sharpness than what the ROG Phone II can offer but if you prefer this feature, other choices are Sony Xperia 1 or OnePlus 7 Pro. Overall, ROG Phone II features lots of customizations, a wonderful display, and a smooth AMOLED panel available on the market.

RAM

ROG Phone II comes with 8GB and 12GB of RAM, enough for most gaming needs. If you want, you can opt for the 12GB variant but its base model is more than sufficient already.

Chipset

A combination of Snapdragon 855 Plus and 12GB of RAM makes this phone the champion when it comes to performance. Want to see for yourself? Close and app and open it again a few hours later. ROG Phone II follows the path of the Note 10 Plus, which keep apps tickling over in the background rather than force-closing them like OnePlus 7T or Huawei mate 30 Pro. The phone’s multi-core score is 2,718 while on Antutu, it scores 395,090, putting it at the top spot along with OnePlus 7T. The 12GB of RAM is paired with 512GB of onboard storage, more than enough for you to store anything. There is no card slot for a MicroSD but that is not a deal breaker as the phone has already had enough storage already. If you are in the mood to splurge, a black version with 1TB is available.

Battery 

With a mammoth battery of 6,000mAh, ROG Phone II can last a whole day with ease even when it has to power the 120Hz screen. And if you turn off the RGB lighting and X Mode, the phone can even last for two days. The PowerMaster feature gives you access to a wide range of battery modes, like Battery Care, Power Saver, and Super Saver. Out of the box, the ROG Phone II comes with 30W Quick Charge 4 HyperCharger, which top up 40% of the phone in half an hour. This speed is impressive, given how big the battery is. However, the letdown here is the lack of wireless charging. In a test when the phone plays an HD video for 90 minutes, 120Hz, at full brightness, the power cell lost only 8% of its juice. And when the refresh rate is dropped, ROG Phone II tops the chart with the longest battery life on the market.

Camera

As a gaming-centric phone, it is natural that Asus does not put much effort in the camera department of ROG Phone II. Nowadays, when even a mid-range phone features three cameras, this one has only two on its rear, consisting of a 48MP Sony IMX586, which can be found on OnePlus 7 Pro and Honor 20 pro, and a 13MP ultra-wide, which is also a sensor made by Sony. While on papers, there is not much to say about the cameras of this phone but they can produce decent photos in good light although it lacks OIS (optical image stabilization). With HDR+, you can be sure that there will be no dark areas and blown-out highlights. The Pro mode allows you to keep the shutter stay open for 32 seconds but the automated mode is pretty disappointing. However, there are many manual modes available. The point of getting a phone like this one is to have the best gaming experience possible so if it does not excel in taking pictures, it is not a reason not to get it if you are an enthusiastic gamer. Despite the lack of OIS, users can still record video at 60FPS and 4K. The electronic image stabilization is applicable in all frame rates, unlike the same feature on other smartphones like Xiaomi Mi 9 SE, which cannot lick in when you hit anything higher than 30FPS and 4K resolution. In good lighting conditions, video quality is impressive. However, when there isn’t enough light, you will notice noise in the videos you shoot. The same cannot be said about the wide angle camera but you have slow-motion at 720p, 480FPS or Full HD, 240FPS. On the other side, the selfie 24MP camera is able to produce 60FPS, Full HD videos. Auto focus is non-existent here but you still have solid image stabilization. The letdown here is the narrow field of view in comparison with many other front cameras on the market, which is probably for in-game live streaming.