SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Asus

Asus ROG Phone (1st gen) review: 2018 first ROG gaming phone.

SpecEagle Editorial·Oct 2018·$900
Overall
84/100
Class rank
#3 of 138
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
At the right price
The verdict, up front

Asus ROG Phone (1st gen).

Asus' 2018 first ROG Phone launched the gaming sub-brand — AirTriggers + AeroActive Cooler + 90 Hz AMOLED.

01Display

88/100

At 88/100 this is one of the strongest display showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 8 points above the cohort average.

TypeAMOLED 90 Hz
Size6.0"
Resolution1080 x 2160 FHD+

02Performance

90/100

At 90/100 this is one of the strongest performance showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 14 points above the cohort average.

ChipsetSnapdragon 845 binned 2.96 GHz
RAM8 GB

03Camera

78/100

78/100 puts it above the 75-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

Main12 MP Sony IMX363 + 8 MP UW
Front8 MP

04Battery

84/100

At 84/100 this is one of the strongest battery showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 12 points above the cohort average.

Capacity4,000 mAh
Charging30 W HyperCharge

05Software

80/100

80/100 puts it above the 75-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

What works
  • First ROG gaming phone.
  • 90 Hz AMOLED for gaming.
  • AirTriggers capacitive shoulder buttons.
  • AeroActive Cooler fan accessory + side USB-C.
What doesn't
  • $900 expensive.
  • 200 g heavy.
  • ROG UI gamer aesthetic polarising.
  • Binned 2.96 GHz still SD845.
Cross-shop it against
Galaxy Note 10+
$1099 · score 90/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 138-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .