Launch date, rumors, specs, worth, characteristic wishlist

Replace, September 26, 2023 (3:06 PM ET): We have now up to date our ROG Telephone 8 rumor hub with new data on the processor.

As Home windows- and Linux-based gaming handhelds decide up steam, Android-based gaming telephones seem like going the opposite method, fading into obscurity and with more and more fewer choices to contemplate. Nonetheless, of all the businesses nonetheless making gaming telephones, none can examine to the mighty ASUS. The ROG Telephone collection represents not solely the perfect gaming telephones you will get however a few of the perfect telephones you will get, usually. With the 2023 ROG Telephone 7 collection behind us, what can we count on from the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 collection in 2024?

Beneath, you’ll discover all of the credible rumors we’ve seen up to now in regards to the 2024 ROG Telephones. On the finish, we’ve additionally included a wishlist of options — issues we hope to see however don’t have proof for but.

Will there be an ASUS ROG Telephone 8?

ASUS has launched a brand new ROG Telephone yearly because the first mannequin landed in 2018. As such, there’s each cause to imagine ASUS will proceed with the custom with a ROG Telephone 8 collection.

In fact, the gaming telephone panorama has modified considerably since 2018, with most fashionable flagships outfitted with recreation modes and highly effective chipsets. That’s with out even mentioning the glut of devoted handhelds just like the Steam Deck and ASUS’ personal ROG Ally which have joined the Nintendo Change to meet avid gamers’ wants on the go.

Regardless, we see no cause why ASUS would abandon the market but. The corporate is the gaming telephone chief from the place we stand, so it has each cause to maintain at it. In different phrases, till we hear in any other case, we absolutely count on the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 collection to land in 2024.

• ASUS ROG Telephone 3: July 22, 2020
• ASUS ROG Telephone 5: March 10, 2021
• ASUS ROG Telephone 6: July 5, 2022
• ASUS ROG Telephone 7: April 13, 2023

The record above provides you an thought of how inconsistent ASUS is in terms of launching a brand new ROG Telephone. The overall timeframe is fairly predictable — the top of Q1 or someplace in Q2 — however there’s no option to pin down a particular month as being “ROG Telephone month.” As such, it’s at the moment anybody’s guess when ASUS might launch the ROG Telephone 8 in 2024.

Additionally, word that there’s no typo on that record: there was by no means an ASUS ROG Telephone 4. Being a Chinese language firm, ASUS omitted the quantity 4 because of the widespread East Asian superstition of tetraphobia.

No matter when ASUS launches the ROG Telephone 8, there will likely be a big delay earlier than US residents should purchase one. ASUS habitually pronounces merchandise one month after which makes them obtainable in North America months after that. Working example: the ROG Telephone 7 launched on April 13 however didn’t hit the US till June 15, or roughly two months later.

It’s fairly early within the launch cycle to have too many dependable rumors for the ASUS ROG Telephone 8 collection. Nonetheless, we are able to make loads of assumptions based mostly on earlier launches.

Design

Barring some minor particulars, the design and total look of ROG Telephones has stayed constant. The telephones are all the time large with uninterrupted shows (i.e., no notch or digital camera cutout). The ROG (Republic of Players) branding is all around the again of the gadget, and a secondary adapter is out there for connecting peripherals, such because the AeroActive Cooler. We’re sure the ROG Telephone 8 may have all or a minimum of most of those design components in 2024 for the usual, Professional, and Final fashions.

Over the previous few years, on some fashions, ASUS has additionally included a tiny rear show that primarily exists for aesthetics, and a mechanized cooling port (pictured above) for superior temperature administration with the AeroActive fan hooked up. This pattern will doubtless proceed subsequent 12 months, too.

Specs and cameras

So far as specs go, it’s nearly assured the telephone will include the 2024 top-of-the-line Qualcomm cellular processor, as of now imagined to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Each ROG Telephone in the primary collection has had a recent Qualcomm chip, so there’s no cause to suppose the ROG Telephone 8 will stray from that path. We may additionally see a second mannequin with a MediaTek processor, although these usually don’t launch within the US.

The ROG Telephone 8 Final appeared on a Geekbench itemizing in September, revealing it has an octa-core processor that has a 1+5+2 CPU structure. This would appear to verify a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. The itemizing additionally revealed that the mannequin quantity is ASUS_AI2401_A, it’ll a minimum of include a 16GB RAM variant, and have Android 14 out of the field.

Elsewhere, ROG Telephones all the time have a ridiculous quantity of RAM, with the entry-level 2023 telephone beginning with 12GB and going as much as 16GB. Being that the telephones are primarily geared in direction of cellular avid gamers who respect that a lot RAM, the ROG Telephone 8 will most likely have the identical decisions. Granted, the OnePlus Ace 2 Professional is rumored to come back with 24GB of RAM — an trade first — so ASUS would possibly must up the ante in response. We’ll see how that pans out.

The cameras ASUS contains with ROG Telephones are all the time good — however not nice. You may count on a higher-end main shooter, a mid-range ultrawide, and a low-end tertiary lens of some type, reminiscent of a macro sensor. In our ASUS ROG Telephone 7 Final evaluation, we stated the included digital camera system can produce normal photographs that look “fairly OK in good lighting.” In different phrases, you’ll be able to count on a good-enough digital camera system on the ROG Telephone 8, but it surely doubtless gained’t be one among the perfect digital camera telephones you will get.

Notably, the ROG Telephone 8 will most likely have an included 3.5mm headphone jack. ASUS eliminated this characteristic on the ROG Telephone 3 collection however instantly introduced it again with the ROG Telephone 5 and all subsequent fashions after extreme backlash from followers. It’s unlikely ASUS will make that mistake once more.

Different anticipated specs embrace a 6,000mAh battery, a minimum of 256GB of inside storage, a big show with a refresh charge of 144Hz or extra, and quick wired charging with a charger within the field. These are issues each latest ROG Telephone has had, so we’re comfy in considering they’ll carry over to the 2024 launch.

Lastly, it’s unlikely the ROG Telephone 8 may have wi-fi charging or a microSD card slot. Neither characteristic has ever landed with a ROG Telephone earlier than.

• ASUS ROG Telephone 3: $999 (beginning worth)
• ASUS ROG Telephone 5: $999 (beginning worth)
• ASUS ROG Telephone 6: $999 (beginning worth)
• ASUS ROG Telephone 7: $999 (beginning worth)

The record above provides you a wonderful thought of what you’ll most likely spend on an entry-tier ASUS ROG Telephone 8. So long as you solely want the fundamentals, you’ll most likely spend $999 to get it.

In fact, ASUS all the time has higher-tier variations of its telephones. The newest ROG Telephone 7 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage began at $999, however the identical telephone with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage ran for $1,099. In the meantime, the all-out ROG Telephone 7 Final with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage prices $1,399. In different phrases, it’s secure so that you can count on to purchase a ROG Telephone 8 for $999, however there’ll most likely be some vital upgrades obtainable in the event you spend a bit extra.

The processor is the most important differentiator between a ROG Telephone of 1 12 months and the ROG Telephone of the earlier 12 months. This spec is a very powerful in terms of gaming. As ordinary, we count on the flagship Qualcomm processor of 2024 to be superior to 2023’s. The query then turns into whether or not or not we count on a sufficiently big soar in efficiency to necessitate ready for the ROG Telephone 8.

By our estimates, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s rumored options is not going to considerably have an effect on gaming efficiency. We count on 64-bit-only assist, a lot of AI tweaks, and higher/sooner networking capabilities. These are all good upgrades, however somebody primarily targeted on gaming efficiency may not see enormous shifts from 2023’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

As such, if you would like an ideal gaming telephone with no need to attend till 2024, you’ll doubtless do OK shopping for an ASUS ROG Telephone 7 ($999 at Amazon) or ROG Telephone 7 Final ($1349 at Amazon). This is able to be particularly advisable if yow will discover both one on sale.

In fact, that doesn’t imply you shouldn’t await the ROG Telephone 8. It’s potential it might have new options, a brand new design, higher cameras, and many others. However in the event you would moderately not wait, the 2023 fashions are nonetheless terrific.

If, for no matter cause, you need a gaming telephone not made by ASUS, your next-best wager could be the Nubia RedMagic 8S Professional ($649 at Purple Magic). It’ll characteristic a variety of the identical specs because the ROG Telephone 7 however at a barely cheaper worth. You gained’t get practically the identical software program expertise, although, and availability will not be as sturdy.

Lastly, don’t write off telephones not explicitly designed for gaming. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely ($1199.99 at Samsung), for instance, is a incredible telephone with many comparable specs to the ROG Telephone 7. It’ll even have significantly better cameras, higher/extra prolonged software program assist, and will likely be an all-around good telephone, not only a good gaming telephone.

We have now no qualms about calling the ASUS ROG Telephone 7 the perfect gaming telephone you’ll be able to at the moment get. Nonetheless, it’s not at all good. Listed below are some options the ROG Telephone 7 didn’t have that we hope we see on the ROG Telephone 8 collection.

Wi-fi charging

12 months after 12 months, ASUS releases a brand new ROG Telephone; 12 months after 12 months, that telephone lacks wi-fi charging. We perceive that the assorted design components of a ROG Telephone would make wi-fi charging assist tough, such because the peripheral connector and the rear show panel. Nonetheless, we posit that there are extra folks on the market who would favor wi-fi charging over these options. Wi-fi charging is a normal characteristic of any flagship telephone, and the truth that ROG Telephones don’t have it has all the time been a head-scratcher.

Higher cameras

One factor the ROG Telephone collection has by no means been in a position to measure up on when in comparison with different gadgets in its worth vary is the digital camera. Granted, ASUS deserves a lot of credit score for making the digital camera system fairly good for a gaming telephone. But when it needs extra folks to purchase the telephones 12 months after 12 months, it must cease solely interesting to hardcore avid gamers and as an alternative enchantment to each hardcore and informal avid gamers. Informal avid gamers need a wonderful total telephone that may additionally recreation. If ASUS needs to ship that, the telephone will want a greater digital camera than what the ROG Telephone collection has historically provided.

Extra incentive to go Final

The usual ROG Telephone 7 prices $999. The Final mannequin has barely extra RAM and doubles the storage, beginning at $1,399. What’s that further $400 going in direction of? So far as we are able to inform, not sufficient. There aren’t many compelling variations between the usual mannequin and the Final, so we hope ASUS provides extra with the Final in 2024. Some cool concepts may very well be an extended software program replace dedication, higher cameras, a 1440p show, or perhaps a microSD card slot. No matter it chooses, it’s bizarre that there’s an “Final” model of a telephone that doesn’t in any respect really feel “Final.”