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ASUS launches ROG Phone II in Australia
Tue, 3rd Dec 2019
FYI, this story is more than a year old

 ASUS Republic of Gamers (ASUS ROG) is reinforcing its dedication to keen mobile gamers, with a new iteration of its smartphone product, the ROG Phone.

Launched in Australia this week, the ROG Phone II is the successor to the original ROG Phone and as you'd expect, it's optimised for gaming performance. It runs Android Pie with the ROG UI over top.

“Dominating performance”

ASUS ROG says this is the world's first gaming phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus clocked at 2.96GHz with Qualcomm Adreno 640 GPU.  According to ROG, the Adreno 640 GPU is 15% faster than the current Snapdragon 855. This means there's a faster display and more power efficiency.

There's 12GB RAM for more gaming power, and integrated with Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming, which provides gamers with a full arsenal of competitive features that are optimised for gaming.

There is also an uprated GameCool II 3D vapor-chamber cooling system that sustains full-speed performance for longer and stops the phone from getting super hot.

Finally, there's also a new AeroActive Cooler II featuring redesigned fan blades that deliver even more airflow into the ROG Aerodynamic System. The AeroActive Cooler II is now whisper-quiet, with a 24dBA noise level — apparently four times quieter than the original design.

“Supercharged visuals”

World's first 120Hz/1ms AMOLED 10-bit HDR 6.59" display with Delta-E <1 colour accuracy and 49ms touch latency. It's also fitted with super tough Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

“Non-stop stamina”

The ROG Phone II has a 6000mAh long-life battery with 30W ROG HyperCharge for non-stop gaming power and lightning-quick charging.

There's also what's called ROG HyperCharge direct-charging technology — which takes the charging circuitry out of the phone and puts it in the special 30W charger — gives ROG Phone II shorter, safer charge times (up to 66% charged in just 58 minutes).

The ROG Phone II's support for PD charging means gamers can easily charge their phone with any USB-C charger.

“Fully immersive gaming”

The ROG Phone II can be expanded with a unique range of accessories.

There's a new modular ROG Kunai Gamepad, which is supplied with the phone and provides physical console-like gamepad controls.

A full set bundle is also available, which includes; ROG Phone II, ROG Kunai Gamepad, AeroActive Cooler II and Aero Case. The ROG Kunai Gamepad consists of three components — the ROG Kunai Bumper, ROG Kunai Controllers and ROG Kunai Holder.

The two-part Kunai Controllers can be attached to the Kunai Holder to create a standalone gamepad, or combined with the Kunai Bumper to add physical gamepad controls to ROG Phone II itself.

Pricing and availability

The ASUS ROG Phone II is available now in Australia from JB Hi-Fi. The ROG Phone II + ROG Kunai Gamepad + AeroActive Cooler II + Aero Case retails at $AU1,699 RRP.

We've asked if there are any plans to bring this phone to New Zealand and we'll update the article with the new info (if there is any).