The ROG Phone is Asus' flagship smartphone range. It is aimed squarely at gamers.
Asus also sells the Zenfone range - a more traditional Android offering.
Prices range from under $500 up to $1699.
What to consider when choosing an Asus phone
Asus isn't just a PC manufacturer - it also makes a range of high-end phones with an emphasis on mobile gaming. If you're serious about mobile games, the Asus ROG Phone range is an excellent choice. With a 120Hz AMOLED display, an oversized 240g body and a bundled gamepad attachment, it is tailor-made for popular 3D games like Fortnite. It's also very attention grabbing thanks to its RGB lighting, modular cooling fan and sheer size.
Click on the subheadings below to learn more about Asus phone key features.
Most Asus phones come in a range of capacities. The ROG Phone II, for example, offers a choice of 128GB, 512GB and 1TB. Unusually for a game-centric phone, storage expansion via MicroSD is not supported. Instead, you're stuck with the internal storage.
Asus' phone screens tend to be on the larger size - its flagships all hover around 6.6 inches. This makes them a great choice for gaming and watching movies, but could prove cumbersome for people with smaller hands. If you require a small, compact phone we advise looking elsewhere.
On its Australian website, Asus currently only offers the ROG Phone range, which starts at a hefty $1699. In overseas markets, it also sells a range of cheaper Android handsets dubbed 'ZenFones'. While not officially sold in Australia, you can pick these models up from third-party sellers like Amazon and eBay. Prices start at around $450.
The Asus ROG Phone II is one of the few flasgship phones on the market to offer a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sadly, the Asus ROG Phone 3 has dispensed with this port. A USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor is included in the box instead.
Asus phones come with all the usual Android security features including 2-factor authentication, Google Play Protect, Find My Device, Smart Lock and more. The ROG range also feature fingerprint readers built directly into the displays.
Photography is a weak point on most Asus phones. Even expensive flagships like the ROG Phone 2 have pretty underwhelming cameras. It gets the job done, but the results are rarely exciting. If stunning photos are essential to you, consider a high-end model from Google, Huawei or Samsung instead. With that said, the ROG's camera remains perfectly serviceable for social media and it comes with plenty of useful features including portrait modes, slow motion, timelapse and full pro controls.
The ROG Phone II's front camera is capable of producing acceptable photos in decent light. Like most selfie phone cameras, it is chiefly designed for social media uploads rather than high-quality prints.
The modem hardware inside a phone dictates how fast it can send and receive data. Asus' ROG range uses powerful networking technology to assist in online gaming. For example, the ROG Phone 3 uses Cat20 (up to 2.0 Gbps) and UL Cat13 (up to 150 Mbps).
Naturally, network speeds are also impacted by your location and the reliability of your telco provider - but it helps to have a powerful modem all the same. If you'd like to know more about how modem hardware can impact network speeds, check out our Network Category speeds guide.
Fast charging is one of the most convenient features of modern smartphones. It can grant you hours of battery life after charging for just a few minutes. All Asus ROG phones support Quick Charge 4.0 when connected to a compatible charger. The cheaper Zenfone range also supports fast charging, although some older models lack this feature. We advice checking the specifications prior to purchasing if fast charging is important to you.
Unfortunately, wireless charging is currently absent from all ROG Phones. Instead, a USB-C cable is required.
Asus' ROG range comes with the largest batteries on the market due to the demands of GPU-intensive gaming. For example, the ROG Phone 2 and ROG Phone 3 use high-capacity 6,000mAh batteries. (By contrast, most smartphone batteries are under 5,000mAh.)
In our testing we found that the Asus ROG Phone II burnt through its battery bars quicker than expected. Nevertheless, it still has enough juice to get you through a full day of usage.
The Asus ROG Phone 3 is IPX4 splash resistant. This means it can withstand small quantities of water splashing against the enclosure from any direction. However, the device is not certified to be waterproof and should not be sprayed with or immersed in any liquid.
Earlier ROG phones aren't even splash-proof, lacking any kind of IP-rated water resistance. For more information on handsets that are water-resistant, check out our guide to waterproof phones.
The Asus ROG range is designed with high-end mobile gaming in mind. They are subsequently some of the most powerful phones on the market. Each model is equipped with high-quality Snapdragon CPUs and Qualcomm graphics plus up to 12GB of RAM. They also come with an 'X Mode' tool which maxes out the processor's clock rate. In gaming benchmarks, the Asus ROG Phone II trounced every other phone on the market with a 3DMark Slingshot Extreme score of 6232.
Asus' non-ROG phones are decidedly less impressive - which is understandable, given the much lower price point. They are comparable to other budget and mid-range Android phones on the market.
Asus phones are not currently offered on any plans from Australia's major telcos. This means you will need to buy the phone outright and connect it to a SIM-only plan. On the plus side, not being locked into a 24-month contract means you're free to change providers whenever a better deal comes along.
Here's what $50-$60 per month can get you on a postpaid SIM-only plan when paired with an Asus Phone:
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Chris Jager is the lead shopping editor at Finder, specialising in consumer technology and hunting down the best deals. With over 15 years of experience as a full-time journalist, Chris has provided expertise to many leading technology publications, including PC World, Australian Gamepro, Good Gear Guide, ARN, IT News, PC Authority, CRN, GameSpy, Gizmodo, Business Insider, MSN, Kotaku, Lifehacker Australia, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Before joining Finder, Chris was the editor of Lifehacker Australia for five years. He has a Bachelor of Communications in Journalism from the University of Western Sydney. Outside of Finder, you'll find him playing with retro 80s computers while juggling 3 TikTok-obsessed daughters. See full bio
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