RACONTEURPH

ASUS ROG Phone introduces a new gaming ecosystem

The recently concluded Computex, one of the region's largest annual technology pilgrimage, saw a number of revelations, but one of the biggest unveilings this year came from ASUS: the ROG Phone.

Marketed under ASUS's Republic of Gamers (ROG) line of products, the ROG Phone is obviously a gaming-centric proposition. Backing its prowess, the smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, beating with eight cores at 2.96GHz clock. It sports a 6-inch touchscreen AMOLED display featuring 1ms response time and 90Hz refresh rate, producing HDR visuals pushed with the help of an Adreno 630 GPU.

Clad in a shiny black shell, the ROG Phone comes with unique side-mounted ports and enhanced, ultra-responsive onscreen game controls, including two programmable ultrasonic AirTriggers and advanced force-feedback haptics. As innards are game-optimized, they are expected to generate more heat, hence, the ROG Phone's chassis integrates the GameCool vapor-chamber cooling chamber with detachable AeroActive Cooler for extra cooling. Cooling and other settings can be adjusted with through Game Center, ASUS's game application which we first saw on ROG desktops and laptops.

While the ROG Phone was the main star of the show, ASUS also introduced along with it accessories that will allow users to maximize the mobile gaming experience with the phone. The first of which is the Gamevice, a mobile controller equipped with a full set of physical controls, including joysticks, triggers, and buttons. The Gamevice connects straight to the ROG Phone without the need for pairing. The Gamevice supports up to 200 titles on Google Play.

Another ROG Phone accessory, the Mobile Desktop Dock connects to an external 4K UHD monitor, mouse, and keyboard, effectively transforming the handset into a gaming rig. The dock is equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet port to support wired network connections and an S/PDIF output that supports 5.1-channel surround sound system.

Offering the same functionalities which the Mobile Desktop Dock has, the Professional Dock has a simpler and more compact setup, allowing users to connect the ROG Phone to a monitor through a 60m HDMI cable. The Professional Dock also comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port, USB Type A 3.1 ports for keyboard and mouse, and a USB Type C 3.1 port for data transfer and fast charging.

The last but not the least, there's the TwinView Dock. Docked with two ROG Phones, the peripheral instantly gives you a dual-screen handheld device, partly reminding us of the Toshiba Libretto W100 in 2010. The TwinView Dock features a 6000mAh battery, four front-facing speaker system, dual-haptic feedback engine, dual physical triggers, and an enhanced cooling system.

Supporting the mobile gaming ecosystem ASUS is trying to introduce through the ROG Phone, the Taiwanese technology giant partnered with Garena, developer of one of the world's best-ranking survival shooter games Free Fire, to explore future possibilities.