Asus ROG Phone 3 review - A gaming powerhouse for everyone - Android - Canadian apps and news

Asus ROG Phone 3 review - A gaming powerhouse for everyone - Android

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The Asus ROG Phone 3 is a powerhouse of a gaming phone, but it's also an incredible everday smartphone.

Asus is an enormous computer company. It makes nearly every PC component you could think of, from motherboards to RAM to monitors.

However, more recently Asus has become known for gaming. It makes gaming-branded laptops, monitors, mice, and even motherboards, all titled under the ROG (Republic of Gamers) masthead.

It felt only natural when Asus decided to make the ROG Phone in 2018. It was a popular time for gaming phones, with devices such as the Razer Phone and Xiaomi Blackshark offering ramped up specs and unique features that gave mobile gamers a competitive edge. Asus wanted to go even further. It contracted Qualcomm to overclock the chip-maker’s flagship Snapdragon 845 processor in order to produce the fastest phone on the market.

Now, Asus has released a third generation gaming phone, the fittingly named ROG Phone 3, once again bringing some of the best components available on the market. But do monster specs translate to a good experience?

Find out in the Android Authority Asus ROG Phone 3 review.

Asus ROG Phone 3 review notes: I used the Asus ROG Phone 3 over a period of 10 days. The phone was running Android 10 on the June 2020 security patch.

Design and display: Simple and quick

Credit: David Imel/ Android Authority

171 x 78 x 9.85mm, 240g
Notification LED
Aerodynamic system cooling fan
Side-mounted air triggers
Dual USB-C port (side)

6.59-inch AMOLED (2,340 x 1,080)
19.5:9 aspect ratio
Small bezels (no notch)
144Hz refresh rate
Stereo front-facing speakers

Even though the design of the ROG Phone series hasn’t changed drastically over the last two years, its in-your-face styling has become more subtle with time. The first generation had some bright orange accents with visible air vents, which became a single vent in the second generation. WIth the ROG Phone 3, Asus opted for a transparent cooling chamber with fewer sharp lines.

The RGB-illuminated ROG logo is still present on the back of the phone. That’s a staple for the series, and I’m a sucker for RGB accents on any device.

Overall, the rear is quite clean, though that’s looking through the lens of other gaming devices. It’s still clearly a design targeted at gamers.

Credit: David Imel/ Android Authority

The body of the phone is housed in Gorilla Glass 6 with aluminum rails along the sides. Due to the vent on the back, the phone is not IP certified. While it will probably still be okay in sprinkling rain or mist, you should be careful with the device in wet circumstances.

The squared-off camera module is in the upper-left corner. Next to the camera module you’ll find an LED for the flashlight and flash photography. Underneath the camera you’ll find another RGB LED made to illuminate a special case that Asus sells for the phone.

On the bottom of the phone, you’ll find a USB-C port shifted left of center. This is a bit of an odd design choice, but Asus told me it was needed due to the very specific motherboard design. There is no headphone jack on the bottom of the ROG Phone 3, unlike the first two ROG phones. This is apparently due to the extra space required by the X55 modem accompanying the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus.

On the left, you’ll find a special dual-socket USB-C port alongside a SIM card tray. You can plug the charger into the side of the phone for optimal positioning in landscape mode, something that I love. However, the port was really made to support the AeroActive 3 cooling fan accessory, which will ship with the device in multiple regions.