Asus ROG II Smartphone Has Some Insanely High-End Specs

Asus's newest smartphone, the ROG II, has almost every high-end spec you can imagine, from a 120Hz AMOLED screen and Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 855 Plus processor to 12GB of RAM and two USB-C ports.

You might call Asus's latest attempt to produce a gaming-focused smartphone overkill, but the device is designed to appeal to hardcore gamers looking for the best performance. "The ROG Phone II incorporates everything we've learned from our first foray into high-end gaming phones and then some to create another pocketable gaming powerhouse," the company said in today's announcement.

That first foray was pretty impressive, but the second-gen model takes the specs up a notch. The result is an even bigger device, which boasts a 6.59-inch screen and weighs in at over half a pound.

The new model also addresses two gripes we had with the first ROG phone: poor battery life and the odd, off-center placement of the rear fingerprint sensor. You're now getting a 6000mAh battery over last year's 4,000mAh capacity, and a fingerprint sensor conveniently embedded under the phone's screen.

Asus also thought having one USB-C port wasn't enough, so it added second one, which supports DisplayPort 1.4 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 connections. There's also a third Asus proprietary port, which can connect to the company's accessories, including its gaming pad, desktop docking station, and a fan cooler.

Other specs include the 12GB LPDDR4X RAM, either 128GB of storage or 512GB UFS 3.0 flash storage, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. In the back of the phone is a dual-lens 48MP and 13MP camera system.

However, the ROG II doesn't have every cutting-edge smartphone feature. For instance, you won't find an edge-to-edge screen here. Instead, the product sports bezels on the top and bottom of the screen to house the twin speakers and a front-facing camera. The bezels also prevent your grip from accidentally interfering with the screen when you game two-handed.

There's no word on price or if the phone will support 5G connections. But you can expect it to be expensive when it arrives in September. The last-generation ROG phone cost $899 unlocked.

Asus Republic of Gamers G20 - One Cool Thing