ASUS reveals why you should wait for the official ROG Phone II for Malaysia

The ROG Phone II is expected to come to Malaysia very soon but if you can’t wait, you can consider getting the Chinese version that’s released in partnership with Tencent. Although it is more affordable in price, there are several differences that Asus Malaysia wants you to know.

The ROG Phone II for China features the same 120Hz 6.59″ Full HD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855+ processor and a huge 6,000mAh battery. However, it is currently offered only with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. For our market, the official unit will be offered with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

On top of that, the exterior build is slightly different as the Chinese variant uses a combination of glass and metal for the rear, while the Malaysian set is listed with a glass back cover. The supported 4G bands are different as well and the Malaysian set can support 4G LTE Cat 18 with download speeds up to 1.2Gbps with carrier aggregation and 4×4 MIMO. Meanwhile, the Chinese model maxes out at 1.0Gbps with 2×2 MIMO.

In terms of packaging, the Malaysian unit will feature a six prism box design which looks different from your typical smartphone. It will also contain a 30W fast charger, an AeroActive Cooler and Aero Case. For the Chinese ROG Phone II, it comes with a standard box that contains a slower 18W fast charger and a transparent bumper case.

Asus Malaysia has not revealed the official pricing just yet but retailer DirectD has revealed that the base model with 12GB RAM + 512GB storage is going for less than RM4,000, while the 1TB version will be priced under RM5,000.

The Taiwanese smartphone maker has indicated that the ROG Phone II will be available in our market in Q4 2019 but we are told by DirectD that it’s coming sometime at the end of September. For those who can’t wait, the ROG Phone II import set from China is now going for RM2,998.

You can learn more about the device here or watch our first impressions video below:

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