Asus’ gaming phones are usually gaudy devices that scream “I’m a GAMER.” But the new ROG Phone 8 looks pretty … normal. I’ve been using the ROG Phone 8 Pro variant for about a week and while I can’t comment on the experience yet, it decidedly doesn’t feel like the ROG handsets of old. This Android phone is subtler and slimmer, yet it still packs all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a 2024 handset, including the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, a 6.78-inch 165 Hz AMOLED screen that can get super bright (2,400 nits!), wireless charging, and the classic shoulder haptic triggers on the corners of the phone that work as button inputs in video games. The side-mounted second USB-C charging port is still present.
As is always the case on these ROG phones, there’s a new AeroActive Cooler X fan accessory you can attach to the back of the device to keep it running cool during intense gaming sessions, though it’s sold separately. There’s more of an emphasis on the camera system now, as this is the first ROG smartphone to include a 3X telephoto camera alongside the 13-megapixel ultrawide and 50-megapixel primary sensor.
It wouldn’t be CES if AI wasn’t thrown in, and Asus says this new handset has some AI-powered gaming features. There’s X Sense 2.0, which works in select games like Genshin Impact and can essentially perform some game tasks for you—if there are items near your character to pick up, the software will detect it and will control the character to grab ‘em. (Isn’t that cheating?) If your character gets hit by a freezing spell, you won’t have to repeatedly tap the screen to break it as X Sense will do the hard work for you, removing the grind from the game. There’s also AI Grabber, which scans text on the game screen and lets you quickly paste it into a web browser, in case you need to find a walkthrough for a tough mission.
The standard ROG Phone 8 costs $1,100 while the Pro variant costs $1,200 and comes with double the storage. The Pro model also has a cool Mini-LED display integrated into the back of the device that shows off fun logos and effects, and can even light up to notifications. (The standard model sticks with an RGB version of this.) Preorders launch in February, with availability coming in the first quarter of the year.
