ASUS has a number of announcements at CES 2024, but there’s a twist this time around. Beyond the usual laptop announcements, ASUS decided to unveil the ROG Phone 8 series earlier than usual, and the new gaming phone marks the first time that the design has changed since the ROG Phone 5.
(READ MORE: ASUS ROG Phone 5 Review: Ultimate Overkill)
The major design change on the ROG Phone 8 series goes beyond looks. Aside from getting an IP68 rating to make the whole gaming phone water resistant, ASUS has also decided to focus on the ROG Phone 8’s cameras.
Make no mistake: while the previous two ROG Phones did use an excellent IMX766 sensor for the main camera, the focus was never with camera performance. That’s set to change with the ROG Phone 8 series with a full overhaul: 50-megapixel IMX890 main camera with ASUS’ 6-axis gimbal stabilizer, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a free-form lens, and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and OIS.Â
On paper, that makes the ROG Phone 8 more versatile, though it remains to be seen if those upgraded snappers can match those you would find on flagship camera phones.
The new design of the ROG Phone 8 series makes the overall device slimmer, which leadsa to making the battery smaller at 5500mAh. ASUS is confident that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3–along with several optimizations under the hood–should make overall battery life at par with the previous ROG Phone.
(READ MORE: ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Quick Review Philippines: Still a Gaming Beast)
The ROG Phone 8 starts at $1100(~Php 62k) for the 12GB/256GB model, while the Pro version is priced at $1200(~Php 67k) for the 16GB/512GB model. The range-topping Pro Edition model, which maxes out RAM and storage at 24GB and 1TB respectively, is priced at $1500(~Php 84k).
