The ROG Phone 3 will be the first to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

Asus on Wednesday announced the ROG Phone 3, the company’s third-generation gaming-focussed smartphone. This is a flagship Android smartphone with a 144Hz display, Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 Plus processor, and a 6000mAh battery. The 5G-ready smartphone succeeds last year’s ROG Phone 2. The new gaming phone starts at Rs 49,999 and will go on sale on August 6. The phone is exclusive to Flipkart in India.

What’s inside the ROG Phone 3?

The ROG Phone 3 is the most powerful Android smartphone in the world. The handset will be the first to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 Plus processor, which increases performance and graphics speed up to 10 per cent. Alongside the powerful Snapdragon 865 Plus processor is an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage (no SD card support, unfortunately). Asus will also be selling a model with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB storage. This variant is priced at Rs 57,999.

The ROG Phone 3’s display has got a major update. There’s a 6.59-inch AMOLED display rocking a 2340×1080 resolution and HDR 10+ support. But the AMOLED screen is a 144Hz display with a 1ms response time, but also supports 275 Hz touch response. Asus ROG Phone 3 is one of the few smartphones to feature a fast 144Hz refresh rate display (the ROG Phone 2 had a 120Hz AMOLED display). The display also supports an in-display fingerprint scanner.

Another big highlight of this tank-like smartphone is a 6000mAh battery. The battery should easily last more than a day depending upon the usage. The phone also comes bundled with a 30W fast charger (Quick Charge 4.0 supported)

The ROG Phone 3 includes a vapor chamber that will throttling of the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor’s peak speeds. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

The phone also features a triple-camera setup, featuring a 64MP IMX686 Sony camera sensor with 16MP Quad-bayer performance, an ultra-wide 13MP camera and a 5MP macro camera. The handset also supports 8K recording, 4K HDR recording, and a Pro Video mode at the rear.
The front camera is rated at 24MP.

Other features of the ROG Phone 3 include two USB-C ports, “GameCool 3” cooling system, new AirTrigger 3 technology dual front-facing
speakers, multi-antenna Wi-Fi, quad-mic noise-canceling array, and much more. The ROG Phone 3 runs Android 10 with ROG UI. At 240 grams, the device is heavier than many smartphones.

What about new accessories?

The ROG Phone line isn’t about the beefy specifications or high refresh rate displays. Asus is also giving emphasis on gaming accessories that support the ROG Phone. This year, Asus will be updating anew accessories for the ROG Phone 3. This includes Kunai 3 gamepad, ROG Clip and TwinView Dock 3.