Can A Gaming Phone Go Mainstream?
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Promos
The flagship gaming phone has made some key changes this year for a high price... MKBHD Merch: shop.mkbhd.com Tech I'm using right now: amazon.com Intro Track: Jordyn Edmonds Playlist of MKBHD Intro music: goo.gl Phone provided by Asus for review. ~ twitter.com @MKBHD @MKBHD
The video discusses how ASUS is attempting to take its ROG gaming phones beyond a niche audience and into mainstream daily use. The host outlines the key design and feature shifts that signal this pivot, including smaller bezels, a hole punch camera, thinner frame, and a more balanced, less aggressively gaming aesthetic. Despite these changes, the phone remains a high-performance gaming device with top-tier components like a 6.78-inch 165 Hz AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, up to 24 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of storage, ensuring superb speed for games and everyday multitasking. The host also highlights nuanced trade-offs such as a slightly smaller battery and a camera system that still lags behind some non-gaming flagships, which tempers the mainstream appeal. The device keeps beloved gaming-oriented features like a second USB-C port for charging in landscape, remappable shoulder triggers, a headphone jack, and the distinctive back panel display, now accompanied by 65-watt wired charging and IP68 dust and water resistance. In the verdict, the ROG Phone 8 Pro is praised for being a flagship with a more restrained, mass-appeal design, though the camera performance remains a sticking point for broad consumer acceptance. The overall conclusion is that ASUS has smartly broadened the appeal while preserving the essentials that make a gaming phone special, but it still faces the hurdle of delivering camera performance on par with mainstream smartphones at a premium price.
Topics · technology · smartphones · gaming · hardware · reviews
Questions answered
- What marks a shift toward mainstream appeal for the ROG Phone 8 Pro?
- The shift is shown by design changes like smaller bezels, a hole punch camera, a slimmer frame, and a more neutral look while keeping gaming features such as a second USB-C port, remappable shoulder triggers, and a back display.
- What are the camera specifications and how do they compare to earlier models?
- The camera system includes a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 3x telephoto, and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide. The sensor is the IMX890, the same family as used in other mid-to-high range phones, offering better stabilization but still not surpassing some dedicated mainstream flagships in HDR handling and motion processing.
- What is the price range for the ROG Phone 8 Pro and what AI features are highlighted?
- The base ROG Phone starts at 1100, and the Pro with higher RAM and storage is 1500. AI features built into the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 include game scene recognition, in-game walkthrough prompts, and smarter system settings search, plus semantic understanding for multitasking features like Twin Apps.