ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro review: gaming flagship with a wow effect

ASUS is known not only for its gaming laptops and peripherals. They also produce smartphones for gamers. This year is no exception, so we have a fresh gaming flagship ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro. There are not many solutions like this even now, but this model makes a powerful impression on a mobile gamer. Is everything so good, or are there nuances and drawbacks? Find out in our review below.

Technical specifications of ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro

Displays	6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED, 2400×1080 pixels, 20:9, 165 Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, 2500 nits
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm), 8-core
Graphics processor	Adreno 750
RAM	16 GB/24 GB LPDDR5x
Built-in memory	512 GB / 1 TB UFS 4.0
Wireless modules	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
Main camera	Wide-angle sensor 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 24 mm, ultra-wide 13 MP, ƒ/2.2, 120 degrees, telephoto 32 MP, ƒ/2.4
Front camera	32 MP, ƒ/2.5
Battery	5,500 mAh
Operating system	Android 14+ROG UI OS
Features	IP68 protection, aluminum frame, backlight on the case
Dimensions	163.8 × 76.8 × 8.9 mm
Weight	225 grams

Packaging and equipment

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro comes in an unusual large box in the shape of a double trapezoid. The box is used not only for storing the package, but also for a vivid first presentation of the smartphone in the form of a mini-game that awaits users upon first activation. I’m not going to give away the cards, but ASUS made a cool performance and used improvised tools, and all this adds to the gadget’s wow effect.

Inside we see the phone itself without a film on the screen, a power supply, a USB-C to USB-C cable in nylon braiding, a lot of documentation, and a case.

Separately, you can buy a removable AeroActive Cooler X, which connects to your smartphone via USB-C and has the ROG logo.

Design and ergonomics

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is undoubtedly a gaming smartphone, which is evident in many details on the body. At the same time, its design has become less aggressive and gaming-like and now looks more like classic flagships.

The gaming smartphone has a metal frame, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and matte velvet glass on the back. Its edges are flat and the corners are rounded, and the back cover has small roundings at the edges. The dimensions of the model are 163.8×76.8×8.9 mm, and it weighs 225 grams. The declared protection of the case against water and dust is IP68.

On the front panel of ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro, we see relatively thin bezels and a circle of the front camera in the screen.

The rear panel features a protruding platform with the main cameras, various inscriptions, and a 341-element Anime Vision Mini LED screen.

The smartphone is large, and its glass-metal body does not collect fingerprints and other traces of use at all. However, dust is immediately visible, and the case is also very slippery. It constantly seems that the device is about to slip out of your hands, so I advise you to immediately put on the bundled case. I also note that there is no protective film on the screen, so don’t forget about it either.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro display

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro has a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels. There is support for HDR10+, the refresh rate is 165 Hz, and the touch layer has a polling rate of 720 Hz. The peak brightness can be 2500 nits. Users also have access to the Always-On Display function. The latter is configured separately, can be enabled permanently or only for the first ten seconds after the screen is locked.

The display is bright and has good viewing angles, so even in the spring sun, everything is readable without any problems. I like the black color and contrast, and if anything, the settings allow you to change color modes and even manually control them, so you can adjust the details to your liking.

Depending on the selected mode, the screen refresh rate can be automatic (from 1 to 165 Hz), 60 Hz, 120 Hz, or 165 Hz. Of course, to optimize battery life, it’s better to set it to automatic, but you’re looking at your main use case. We didn’t forget about flicker reduction at low brightness, smart active screen, dark theme, eye protection, etc. I would also like to note the Screen light function, which replaced the physical notification indicator. In fact, it’s a tiny icon in the corner that notifies you of charging, a missed call or message.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro has a built-in fingerprint scanner. It works quickly and without complaints, but sometimes it does not recognize wet fingers, which is also normal. It has an unusual location — significantly higher than the scanners in other models. I quickly got used to it, and it was convenient for me. It will also be convenient for all those who complain that the sensors are placed too close to the bottom panel. But there will be those who find it too high. As always, the placement of the scanner in the screen is purely a matter of taste.

Mini LED screen Anime Vision

On the back of ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is a Mini LED dot screen called Anime Vision. You can turn it off or on, as well as customize it in detail through the proprietary Armory Crate app.

In the standard mode, it shows the animated ROG logo, time, battery level, notification status, and more. It also displays the equalizer when the user is listening to music or the handset, when talking on the phone, when filming, the camera icon, and various inscriptions during games. You can upload a picture of yourself and display it on the back, or take or draw it yourself.

Sound and vibration response

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro has two speakers, which means it has full stereo sound. The volume of the novelty is very high. I can’t remember all the models I’ve reviewed, but it seems to me that this is the loudest smartphone. At least this year. The sound is powerful and rich. There is even something like bass, as far as possible with small speakers.

The smartphone supports the popular Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless technologies, as well as Dirac Virtuo. The latter is a spatial sound amplifier when headphones are connected. This is especially important because the smartphone has a 3.5 mm audio jack, so you can connect serious audiophile models. For wireless, support for LDAC and AAC codecs, aptX Adaptive, aptX Low Latency, and aptX Lossless Audio has been added.

Detailed sound settings are best done through the AudioWizard service, which is located in the «Sound and Vibration» item in the smartphone settings. This is a full-fledged equalizer with manual control, as well as four sound modes to choose from (Dynamic, Music, Movie, Game). I like the way the «Game» preset sounds in mobile games, and both the «Movie» and «Dynamic» presets are suitable for video and movies. I also used the latter for listening to music because the «Music» preset cuts frequencies surprisingly well.

In the same section «Sound and vibration» there are detailed settings for the vibration response. And it is powerful and truly flagship. Probably, the vibration force is needed for additional sensations during mobile games, but it has a positive effect on all other moments where vibration is used.

In the settings, you can change the strength and scenarios for using the vibration. And although there are not many sliders, you can really feel the change of each mark, strengthening or weakening the vibration response.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro cameras

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is equipped with a triple main camera. The main module here is a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 with hybrid Gimble Stabilizer 3.0. The second sensor is a 32-megapixel Samsung JD1SM15 with optical stabilization, and the third is a 13-megapixel wide-angle module (OmniVision OV13B).

Photos taken with the main camera are detailed and rich. They have excellent dynamic range and adequate color reproduction. But you need good lighting, that is, preferably a sunny day. I didn’t like the night mode as much, there’s a lot of noise and strange light processing. The other two modules take simpler photos than the main one, but overall, I also liked them.

The gaming flagship has a 32-megapixel front-facing telephoto module. It can be used not only in standard mode, but also remotely. There is also a bokeh mode. In the latter case, the photos become darker for some reason, and there are also artifacts around the object in the photo, but the standard mode with viewing angles of 73 and 90 degrees turned out to be successful.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro can shoot 8K video at 24fps. It is also possible to shoot at 60 frames per second, but only in 4K, 1080p and 720p formats. HDR mode is also available, but not in 8K or 4K/60fps. There is also additional video stabilization, which is also not available in some shooting modes.

Overall, I expected a worse camera from a gaming flagship. It’s clear that this is not the most important thing that should be in a smartphone for mobile gamers. However, it’s cool that the manufacturer still bothered to make the cameras more than adequate. Yes, they can’t compare to other non-gaming flagships, but the quality of the photos is still good. And it’s definitely better than I’ve ever seen from a gaming smartphone.

Productivity, software, and games

At the heart of ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, made using the 4 nm process technology. It has 8 cores: one 3.3 GHz Cortex-X4, three 3.2 GHz Cortex-A720, a pair of 3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 and two more 2.3 GHz Cortex-A520. The graphics here are Adreno 750. The RAM can be 16 or 24 GB of LPDDR5x, and the built-in storage is 512 GB or 1 TB of fast UFS 4.0. There’s also support for 5G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and various satellite systems such as GPS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, GLONASS, and NavIC.

It’s clear that ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is a powerful flagship with serious hardware. It also works in three performance modes, which we will discuss below. We tested the smartphone in the standard dynamic mode, in which it automatically determines its capabilities and distributes them to tasks. But there’s also X-mode — maximum performance, so keep in mind that the tests below with it can be even higher.

Of course, the smartphone heats up, and its processor is throttling. This is normal and common, especially for such flagship solutions. However, the main thing is how it affects the gameplay and experience. In fact, it is minimal. Of course, after an hour of gaming, the performance of the chip will drop, but, firstly, it is so great that you will not feel this drop. And secondly, if you really need it to not drop, there is a branded cooler that you can buy.

Even without it, the phone is just warm in games. Not even hot. It was hot after a few stress tests, which is also normal, but when you hold it in your hands and play games, it never got so hot that it was uncomfortable.

In all popular games, ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro delivers high-maximum graphics settings with a high fps of 60+. Genshin Impact, Diablo Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and other heavy popular projects will fly on the smartphone. Even Fortnite feels good, but of all the graphically complex projects, this one produced the worst picture. I mean, it was good for a smartphone, but worse than the others. I should note that this is no longer about the gadget, but about the capabilities of the game itself.

AirTriggers — touch triggers are cool, but not in all games. You can customize them, reassign actions, and disable them. In some games, it works for me (racing and MOBA), and in others (shooters), but it’s all a matter of taste, or rather habit. The main thing is that this feature is here and you can use it.

We also have a powerful game assistant called Game Genie. It is activated automatically during the game and opens with a swipe from the corner of the screen. There are many useful settings for mobile gamers and their games: selecting the operating mode, setting up virtual keys and gesture control, monitoring the temperature and chip load, system optimization, and even macros for popular games.

We didn’t forget about the Armory Crate app, which is known to all ASUS users. It has a spacey look and really useful features. Through the program, you can switch between three main modes of operation (energy saving, standard dynamic mode, and the most productive X-Mode), set up scenarios for their use, monitor smartphone parameters, configure accessories and the aforementioned Anime Vision Mini LED screen.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro runs on Android 14 and the proprietary ASUS ROG UI shell installed on top. There are a lot of appearance settings, changeable wallpapers (plus creating AI wallpapers with your own hands) and a variety of themes (paid and free), fonts, and other detailed user changes. There are a lot of different themes, and a lot of them are about games, for games, and for gamers. The latter will definitely like it all.

The system flies and works smoothly. It would be strange to see anything else on such hardware. Pros of the shell — a lot of customization for literally everything. Cons — you can get confused at first because of the extremely wide customization options.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro battery life

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is equipped with a 5500 mAh battery. The power supply is 65 W, and there is support for fast charging using ASUS HyperCharge, Power Delivery 3.0 and Quick Charge 3.0/5.0 technologies. There is also 15W wireless charging.

Charging from 0 to 45% takes 15 minutes. From 0 to 100%, the smartphone charges in 40 minutes. Half an hour provides 80% charge. The smartphone has smart charging and three modes that are worth paying attention to in different cases. For example, if you are not playing games, it is logical to use the standard charging mode. And if you’re going for a long gaming session, activate smart end-to-end charging, which independently decides when to power up all the other components of the phone and when to charge the battery. This is the most efficient way to keep your battery in good condition.

With standard use plus a few hours of gaming in the powerful X-Mode and with automatic screen refresh, the smartphone lasts a full day without any problems and will have some left over in the morning. In PC Mark tests in standard dynamic mode, it showed a result of 14 hours and 40 minutes. For such a powerful hardware, in my opinion, this is a decent result.

If we take purely mobile games, then depending on the project, the smartphone will run out of juice in 5-7 hours of gaming. These results are also more than satisfactory.

User experience

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is a smartphone that impresses. And it does it perfectly. From the box to the presentation, from the design to the features of the hardware and shell, everything works for a wow effect. That’s why I liked the new product. It is stylish, has a playful look, but still not as aggressive as its predecessors or competitors’ models.

It fits comfortably in the palm of my hand, but the body is very slippery, so I put it in a case right away. It’s not cool that they didn’t even stick a film on it, although they made such a cool box, and the cable is expensive in nylon weaving. So the film is really a small thing, but important.

I like the sound, it’s really loud. At the same time, it almost does not affect the sound quality, nothing dings or buzzes when it plows, so it makes an impression. For some people, the existing 3.5 mm audio jack will definitely work, and for everyone else, there is support for many popular codecs, so the sound should be good if you have the right headphones.

We have a bright, detailed screen. Yes, it would probably be ideal to increase the available Full HD+ resolution because this is a flagship, but the picture is great as it is. I understand that they didn’t do it because of the significantly higher battery usage. In my opinion, this is the right decision, because the battery life is also a pleasant surprise.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is mighty, so it’s the perfect smartphone for mobile gamers, for whom it was made. Whatever you want to play, you will play it with a good picture and high frame rate. Of course, if it’s some multiplatform project like Fortnite, the graphics will still be worse than on consoles, but it’s not because of the smartphone.

I was surprised that with serious and logical trotting during stress tests in games, the device barely heats up. Of course, the performance sags, but with such a powerful chip, it’s almost not noticeable, and most importantly, it’s comfortable to hold.

I also liked the several USB-C ports for convenience, I liked the cameras for a gaming flagship, but the touch triggers did not work for me everywhere, although perhaps they do not need to be used in every game.

Price and competitors

ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is sold at a price of 36,800 hryvnias. But these are definitely not the official prices, and probably a gross underestimate. Because in large networks like «Hello» or MOYO the price for the 16/512 GB version is 59,999 UAH. Is it expensive? Yes, of course it is. Is the smartphone worth the money? For avid mobile gamers, yes, because this flagship was created for them. For everyone else, no, because there are other models for them, and that’s okay.

We will compare it not with new flagships, but with popular gaming smartphones. Because although ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro has become much closer to the mass audience, it is still primarily a smartphone for gamers, which has its own features and chips that affected its price. But also gave the aforementioned wow effect that is necessary for some and completely superfluous for others. People who look at ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro will not consider buying Samsung Galaxy S24 or Xiaomi 14. And vice versa.

Among the competitors, there is just a little bit simpler ASUS ROG Phone 8. There are also Nubia Red Magic 8S Pro, and a fresh one Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro.