Republic of Gamers Announces ROG phones

KEY POINTS

• Epic performance: World’s fastest speed-binned 2.96GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm Adreno 630 and GameCool vapor-chamber cooling
• Unbeatable visuals: AMOLED HDR display with ultrafast 90Hz refresh, 1ms response for smooth, blur-free gaming and 108% DCI-P3 gamut for vivid realism
• Total control: Designed for comfortable gaming with unique side-mounted port, programmable ultrasonic AirTrigger sensors and powerful force-feedback system
• Endless possibilities: Enhanced gaming experiences with optional TwinView Dock, mobiles Desktop Dock, and Gamevice controller with WiGig Dock

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced ROG phones, a game-changing 6-inch smartphones designed specifically for high-performance mobiles gaming.

With pure ROG gaming DNA at its core, and powered by the world's fastest speed-binned 2.96GHz octa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 mobiles Platform with gaming-optimized Qualcomm® Adreno™ 630 GPU, ROG phones breaks every rule to go where rivals fear to tread.

ROG phones is built to win: its unique GameCool vapor-chamber cooling system — with detachable AeroActive Cooler for an extra cooling boost — sustains blur-free high frame rates in the heat of battle, while its no-compromise AMOLED display blends a blazing 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time with gorgeous HDR visuals.

The ultra-comfortable design of ROG phones includes unique side-mounted ports, and the enhanced, ultra-responsive game controls — including two programmable ultrasonic AirTriggers and advanced force-feedback haptics — let gamers focus all their skills on the game, giving them the edge they need for total domination.

A unique range of powerful expansion accessories further enhances the ROG phones gaming experience: the optional TwinView Dock for dual-screen handheld mode; the mobiles Desktop Dock for desktop-style gaming; and the Gamevice controller with WiGig Dock using 60GHz Wi-Fi for big-screen gaming. Other ROG phones innovations include ASUS Aura RGB lighting and Aura Sync support, plus ASUS HyperCharge direct-charge technology for faster, safer and cooler battery charging.

“Qualcomm Technologies and ASUS have enjoyed great successes over many years and we are thrilled to be at the core of their newest cutting-edge device, the ROG phones," said Don McGuire, vice president of global product marketing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Our entirely re-architected Snapdragon 845 mobiles Platform with the gaming-optimized Adreno 630 GPU is designed for speed, minimizing thermal throttling and maximizing battery efficiency so users can play longer. Snapdragon 845 is engineered to deliver users an unparalleled gaming experience; supporting exceptional performance, fast and smooth graphics, and Gigabit speeds whether on LTE or 802.11ad Wi-Fi.”

Epic performance

Designed and built to uncompromising ROG standards, ROG phones takes mobiles gaming performance to the next level, with each and every component optimized for a lag-free, responsive experience. Each specially selected octa-core Snapdragon 845 mobiles Platform is speed-binned for maximum performance — delivering the world's fastest sustained clock speeds of up to an incredible 2.96GHz — and the gaming-optimized Adreno 630 GPU is a graphics powerhouse, with performance outstripping the previous generation by up to 30%. This awesome power is complemented by up to 8GB of RAM and a massive up to 512GB of onboard ROM storage.

A high-end phones running graphics-intense, fast-paced AAA action games can generate a killer amount of heat. As well as being uncomfortable to hold, a hot phones is a slow phones: thermal throttling can bring even the fastest CPU to its knees. ROG phones is built from the ground up to run smoothly even when the action gets frenetic: its exclusive GameCool system features highly efficient 3D vapor-chamber cooling inside that provides a 16X-larger surface area[i] for heat dissipation than a standard heat-pipe cooling system. This cooling system is enhanced with a copper heat spreader and carbon cooling pads on the circuit board for maximum cooling performance.

The end result is a superb cooling system that enables sustained clock speeds up to 50% faster[ii] than a standard smartphones CPU, and which can achieve peak clock speeds for 5X longer than a conventional cooling system. There's also a detachable external AeroActive Cooler for an extra cooling boost when the going gets really tough. With GameCool, hot hands and spoiled games are a thing of the past.

ROG phones delivers consistent, smooth and stable frame rates with no lag, even during the toughest marathons. And since performance means nothing if the internet connection is slow, ROG phones also packs ultrafast wireless connectivity in its inventory, including Cat 16 LTE and the latest gigabit-class 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi.

It's easy for users to get optimum gaming performance on ROG phones with the special X Mode. Just a single tap frees up all background RAM and dedicates it to games, optimizes game-data processing performance, and maximizes the efficiency of the AeroActive Cooler. X Mode also prevents RAM-eating and battery-sapping app activity, based on a customizable list of apps.

Unbeatable visuals

The ultimate gaming phones deserves the ultimate display — something that the ROG gaming heritage is uniquely qualified to deliver. ROG phones uses an ultrafast AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a jaw-dropping 1ms pixel response time for blur-free visuals that are as smooth as silk. With a wide 108.6% DCI-P3 color gamut, colors are incredibly vivid too, so game worlds look as glorious as they were intended, and high-dynamic-range (HDR) visuals with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio help reveal every hidden detail in the shadows.

Total contro

In any game, precise control is the key to victory, but the lack of physical buttons on phoness all too often compromises gameplay. ROG phones is designed to give gamers total control and a more console-like experience, with three unique ultrasonic AirTrigger touch sensors.

Two of these ultra-responsive sensors are optimized as left/right triggers at the top of the display for landscape-mode gaming (the third is designed for use in portrait mode), and they're fully programmable to activate any available on-screen action: aiming, firing, inventory selection — in fact, anything that normally requires a screen tap. With ROG phones, gamers free up two extra fingers to control gameplay, giving them the edge over their thumb-bound rivals. AirTriggers use ultrasonic technology, so they only need a feather-light touch — just 20g compared to rival touch-sensitive controls that need up to 4X the force. An advanced haptic actuator provides a powerful force-feedback system for totally immersive gameplay.

Charging a phones while playing can make gaming impossibly awkward. ROG phones throws away the design book away and starts from scratch, optimizing the entire layout for landscape-mode gaming. There's an additional side-mounted custom USB-C™ connector that supports direct charging, HDMI output, gigabit LAN and headphoness. And when the AeroActive Cooler is deployed, it provides a side-mounted USB-C port and 3.5mm headphones jack for unhindered gameplay. The side connector's also used for the exclusive expansion modules, including the mobiles Desktop Dock and TwinView Dock.

Engineered for battle

Using a combination of tough, precision-crafted 2.5D- and 3D-curved Corning® Gorilla® glass, diamond-cut highlights and copper detailing, the metal-framed, water-resistant ROG phones combines battle-hardened construction with a supremely comfortable gaming grip for an unrivaled gaming experience. ROG phones feels instantly good in the hand, ready and waiting for the call of duty.

ROG phones is the world's first phones with ASUS Aura RGB lighting, featuring an illuminated rear ROG logo that can display a whole rainbow of lighting schemes: static, breathing, strobing or color cycling. Lighting effects can be triggered with phones events such as incoming calls, notifications and more, to give ROG phones a unique personality.

The ultra-powerful front-facing stereo speakers on ROG phones are driven by smart amplifiers to maximize volume and minimize distortion, with an audio engine that supports 24-bit/192Khz Hi-Res Audio playback. DTS Headphones:X™ provides theater-quality virtual surround-sound over headphoness, and there's support for high-definition audio via Bluetooth®.

ROG phones is built to cope with the power-intensive demands of gaming, with a high-capacity 4000mAh battery. The bundled ROG phones power adapter supports ASUS HyperCharge, a direct-charge technology that delivers more power (up to 20W) for shorter, safer charge times, and also means ROG phones stays cooler when it's charging.

Endless possibilities

ROG phones features a unique range of optional expansion peripherals designed to take the mobiles gaming experience to new heights.

The amazing TwinView Dock turns ROG phones into a powerful dual-screen console for the ultimate gaming and live-streaming experience. As well as a 6-inch AMOLED (2160 x 1080) auxiliary screen that's great for split-screen live-streaming, extended game display or group communication, it packs a front-facing quad-speaker system, two extra physical trigger buttons, dual-haptic force-feedback engine, an enhanced cooling system and a high-capacity 6000mAh extended battery pack.

The mobiles Desktop Dock allows gamers to connect ROG phones to an external 4K UHD monitor, mouse and keyboard. ROG phones can be used as an auxiliary display, hooked up to a wired gigabit LAN and drive a 5.1-channel surround-sound system via the SP/DIF output.

With the Gamevice controller and the WiGig Dock — using 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi — ROG phones morphs into a portable console with a full inventory of physical gaming controls and ultra-low-latency wireless display connectivity for a seamless big-screen gaming experience that's perfect for group viewing. It packs dual analog joysticks, left and right fire triggers and bumpers, a D-pad, along with A,B,X,Y and L3, R3 buttons.

[i]6240mm2 vs 400mm2 in a typical heat-pipe smartphones cooling solution.
[ii] ROG phones with sustained 1.76GHz clock speed compared to conventional 1.2GHz phones CPU.