Asus ROG Phone 3: Everything you need to know

From one of the most well-known gaming brands in the world, comes a brand new gaming smartphone. This is the Asus ROG Phone 3 and while it’s the most grown-up phone of the series, it’s still a pretty insane gaming smartphone. Here’s everything you need to know.

Pricing and availability

The Asus ROG Phone 3 will be available for purchase in Malaysia around the middle of September. There will be three variants available:

ROG Phone 3 Strix (5G)
SD865, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – EUR 799 (~RM3,943)
ROG Phone 3 (5G)
SD865+, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage – EUR 999 (~RM4,919)
SD865+, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage – EUR 1,099 (~RM5,412)

However, Asus Malaysia informs us that the pricing for the ROG Phone 3 has not been confirmed yet and will be revealed closer to the local launch date later in September. That said, the company informs us that the ROG Phone 3’s pricing will be very similar to the ROG Phone 2’s pricing in Malaysia.

ROG Phone 3 specs

This is an all-out gaming smartphone so it features some of the best specs that money can buy. At its core, the smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 865+ processor with either 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS3.1 internal storage. There is also a variant with 1TB of internal storage, but for now that smartphone won’t be available in Malaysia.

For those who don’t need so much power, they can opt for the ROG Phone 3 Strix edition that still packs a capable Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

Up front, you’ll find a 6.59″ Full HD+ AMOLED display that has a staggering refresh rate of 144Hz. It is also HDR10+ certified, with a touch latency of 25ms and a 270Hz touch sampling rate.

Flanking the display is a pair of front-facing stereo speakers that Asus says has been upgraded. They now feature seven magnets for more power and less distortion, and one of the speakers is actually a little larger to help with the deeper bass notes. Asus has also partnered with Swedish company Dirac to help the ROG Phone 3 achieve a “wider, clearer and deeper sound that is truly remarkable”.

Keeping the lights on is a 6,000 mAh battery with support for up to 30W Quick Charge 4.0 fast-charging via a USB C port. Well, there are actually two USB-C ports as per ROG Phone tradition, with one on the bottom and the other on the side. Unfortunately, however, this phone does not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

As the company that pioneered the AirTriggers smartphone “shoulder button” design, Asus also debuts an updated AirTrigger 3 system on the ROG Phone 3. These ultrasonic buttons on the frame of the device supports both sliding, swiping as well as the ability to split each button in two partitions for tapping. What’s more, there’s also a single shake to control on-screen input giving you a total of 5 additional actions you can use to interact with your game.

Naturally, the ROG Phone 3 also comes with X-Mode and the Armoury Crate. These allow you to control stuff like how the smartphone performs, display refresh rate, touch sensitivity settings as well as that awesome RGB ROG logo at the back of the handset.

As it’s a gaming smartphone, cooling is very important and the ROG Phone 3 features the company’s latest GameCool 3 cooling system. Asus says that this has a 6x larger heatsink and a redesigned 3D vapour chamber and a larger graphite film. This should help the phone spread its heat over a bigger surface and also move it outside for more stable temperatures during long gaming sessions.

If you need more cooling, the ROG Phone 3 also comes with the AeroActive Cooler 3 that plugs into the aforementioned side mounts, and provides a pass-through USB-C port as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. Its position makes it ideal for getting cables out of your way when you game. What’s more, this cooler also features a kickstand!

The AeroActive Cooler 3 is only one of the multiple gaming accessories Asus has built for the phone, and is the only one that comes bundled with the device. There is also the ROG Kunai 3 gamepad, a brand new TwinView Dock 3, a Mobile Desktop Dock 2, the Professional Dock, an ROG Clip to help attach your phone to a PS4, Xbox or Stadia controller, as well as a Lightning Armor Case.

Since this is a phone, the ROG Phone 3 also comes with a 24MP selfie camera in the front as well as a triple camera setup at the back. The rear camera features a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor that utilises the Quad Bayer technology for better low-light performance and an f/1.8 aperture lens. There’s also a 13MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.4 aperture lens and a 5MP macro shooter to boot.