The Asus Zenfone 8 Is an Affordable, Compelling Option If You Love Small Phones
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Photo: Sam Rutherford
Compact phones have fallen out of fashion in favour of bigger and bigger screens, but the new Asus Zenfone 8 has arrived with outsized performance in a small package.
The Zenfone 8’s 5.9-inch display is about the same size as the Pixel 5, but instead of a mid-range Snapdragon 765G processor, Asus crammed in Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chip, a feat that becomes even more impressive considering the Zenfone 8 starts at just $US600 ($776) $100 less than the Pixel 5.
On top of that, the Zenfone 8 also features a Samsung-made FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage depending on the config. You even get a real 3.5mm headphone jack (in addition to some pretty punchy stereo speakers) and an in-screen fingerprint reader, two features you don’t get on the Pixel 5. So even though Asus didn’t include support for a
Bulky Gaming All right, let’s get the obvious out of the way first. This is a phone designed for gaming. Any device with the ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand will obviously prioritise gaming performance. And the ROG Phone 5 is one of the best gaming phones on the market. Every part of this phone has been designed with gaming in mind. We were given the 16GB RAM version of the standard model, and it flies. Games load quickly, and swapping between apps is a breeze. The powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor inside the phone, paired with the sleek Zen UI overlay and Android 11, makes the ROG Phone 5 feel fast. It’s simple and easy to navigate, and it works well.
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This phone is a speed monster making it the fastest Android at the moment. Can you handle it?
For those of us who only see ‘regular’ phones day in and day out, a smartphone like the Asus ROG is a revelation. I’ve never been much of a gamer, choosing simple addictive repetitive mind-numbers over the rich power-guzzling complex productions that can swallow you whole. But this year I’m taking a cursory look at the ROG 5 just to see what it could be like for a non-gamer to use. It turns out I’m bowled over.
The Asus ROG 5 (Republic of Gamers) is very obviously masculine. That’s not to say the fairer sex can’t use it, but it’s just that it’ll take big hands to handle the inevitable fatigue that will come from holding this device for long playing sessions. This is a solid muscular phone that weighs a good deal more than the average everyday phone at 238gms. In my other hand I’m holding a phone that’s 190gms, so that tells you something. It’s very well-built a
ASUS ROG Phone 5 Review
The ASUS ROG Phone 5 is one of the most common gaming smartphones available. It comes with design and software features that improve the play experience. Few new developments on its predecessor phone make it an outstanding choice for non-gamers. It’s still an expensive smartphone with noticeable camera deficiencies. Gamers can play longer with the ROG Phone 5 thanks to the monster 6000 mAh battery, and the phones come with a 30-watt HyperCharge adapter that tops up the battery in the shortest possible time.
ASUS ROG Phone 5 Specifications
Screen size: 78 inches AMOLED
Resolution: 1080 x 2448 pixels
Pixel Density: 388 PPI