ASUS Reveals ROG Phone 8 With Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Firepower And Refined Style For Gamers

ASUS has been making Android phones since the early days of the platform, long before we settled on the standard flat glass slab form factor. ASUS tried its hand at convertible Android laptops and phones that turned into tablets, but even after giving up on all of that, it kept experimenting with its gaming-focused ROG Phone series. These devices have featured glowing lights, snap-on accessories, and extremely bold design elements, but with the ROG Phone 8 series, it’s time for ASUS gaming phones to grow up. 

The recent spate of leaks was spot-on—the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro represent a significant departure from ROG Phone 7 and earlier. At a glance, you’d never think this was the newest ASUS gaming phone. The devices come in either black or gray (base model only), and most of the “gamer aesthetics” are gone, along with the front-facing speakers and active cooling hatch. But don’t count the ROG Phone 8 out just yet. These are still some of the most powerful smartphones for gaming or anything else, with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and more RAM than some gaming PCs. Here’s the full spec sheet. 

The base model ROG Phone 8 still has an RGB-illuminated logo on the back, but the Pro phone sports different design elements. It has a 341-element LED dot matrix that ASUS calls AniMe Vision. It can show the time, notifications, battery level, and more. It you’re not into the light show, these lights are invisible on the ROG Phone 8 Pro when disabled. The two models have the same measurements, and they’re noticeably slimmer and more compact than last year’s phones. Part of the credit goes the the 6.78-inch display, which is now edge-to-edge—thus, no front-facing speakers.

The ROG Phone 8 still has the core features that have made the series a favorite of mobile gamers. There are programmable shoulder buttons, a secondary side-mounted USB-C port, and the optional AeroActive cooling fan, which has been redesigned once again. This is the first ROG Phone with an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, but that necessitated the removal of the cooling door from last year’s phone. ASUS says it has redesigned the cooling solution with that in mind. We’ll let you know how the fan works in our full review. 

ASUS is also taking the photography experience more seriously this year. The ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro now have three rear sensors, including a 50MP primary, a 13MP ultrawide, and a 32MP 3x telephoto lens. The camera supports night mode, and there’s a gimbal-based stabilization system for the primary shooter. The telephoto lens also has standard OIS. The 32MP selfie camera supports a wider 90-degree FOV for better group shots. 

The ROG Phone series has never been known for competitive pricing, and the 2024 release will be no different. The base model ROG Phone 8 will run you $1,099. Meanwhile, the ROG Phone Pro will cost $100 more. That version has the AniMe lighting and 512GB of storage instead of 256GB. The top-of-the-line ROG Phone 8 Pro has 1TB of storage and 24GB of RAM for $1,499, but this one comes with the $100 AeroActive cooling fan. 

ASUS has not settled on a specific launch date, but it says the ROG Phone 8 will be available in the first quarter of the year. There will also be some early bird discounts a couple of weeks before the launch. You’ll be able to get the cooling fan free with the $1,199 Pro phone, and the non-Pro model will be $100 off.