Speaking of e-sports phones, I believe everyone will never forget ASUS’s ROG Phone series. Unknowingly, this year, they have launched the ROG Phone 8 series. After years of baptism, what is the difference between this year’s ROG Phone 8? The author has taken the lead in trying it out for everyone earlier. Now I will share with you my initial experience of using it and how it is different from the previous generation.
ROG Phone 8 / 8 Pro unboxing
Among the ROG Phones launched this year, there is no Ultra (for now), only ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro models. Before sharing the usage experience, let me first share with you their unboxing part.
▲The author first unboxes the ROG Phone 8 for everyone.
▲When you open it, you will see a black paper box with 08 printed on it.
▲Contains a transparent mobile phone case and a uniquely designed SIM card slot pin (the official version should also have a bunch of instructions).
▲Take off the black cardboard box and you will see the real body of ROG Phone 8.
▲There is a USB-C to USB-C cable at the bottom, as well as an original 65W voltage output charging bull. As you can see, the unboxing design of ROG Phone 8 is relatively simple as always.
▲ Next, I will unbox the ROG Phone 8 Pro for you. You can see that it uses the usual Pro/Ultimate version of the hexagonal packaging box, which is very special.
▲The packaging box is also printed with the ROG Phone’s slogan “For Those Who Dare”.
▲Open the top cover and you will see the ROG Phone 8 Pro in the main box.
▲The top cover hides a 65W voltage output charging module, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable and a new AeroActive Cooler X external cooling fan.
▲AeroActive Cooler X also comes with an external carrying bag, making it easy to take out on the street.
▲There is actually a black paper box at the bottom. After pulling it out, you can see the included mobile phone case and SIM card slot pin (the official version should also have a bunch of instructions).
Different from the previous generation: more popular route + more practical functions
Before sharing the two new phones with you, let me first share with you the differences between the current generation ROG Phone 8 series and the previous generation ROG Phone 7. In fact, for the past ROG Phones 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 (6s are counted as 6s in the same series), and 7, the first three are the first part, and the last three are the second part, but the two parts have something in common. The overall design and configuration are designed for gaming enthusiasts, so the appearance is more sci-fi and mechanical, and the functions are also designed to allow users to experience the ultimate game. It is designed for experience, so some functions that are commonly found in flagship phones, such as wireless charging, waterproof and dustproof, etc., have not been added. The current generation of the ROG Phone 8 series can be said to be the launch of the third series. The design style is more popular. Of course, the RGB lighting effects required by traditional gaming phones are still missing, but the body design is different from that of ordinary flagship phones. The styles of mobile phones are not that different. They no longer have a strong sci-fi and mechanical feel. In exchange for a style that is more popular with the public, it can be said that the unique design of e-sports mobile phones has been “done”. However, the AeroActive Portal heat dissipation valve that was included in the previous generation no longer appears, and there is no longer a pair of front-facing dual speakers (they are located at the bottom of the phone and the earpiece instead), and the battery capacity is also reduced to 5,500mAh. However, there are gains as well as losses. The new phone can finally support wireless charging, and thanks to the removal of the heat dissipation valve, it can finally support IP68 waterproof and dustproof functions. Of course, one more important thing is that the body is finally (relatively) thinner and lighter! When you hold it in your hand and use it, the lighter feel is indeed obvious compared to the previous generation. For avid phone fans, they may lose more than they gain, but for ordinary users or general gaming enthusiasts, these “new” features that should appear on flagship phones are actually more practical in daily life. , should help ROG Phone gain a greater market share in the future.
▲The author compared the previous generation ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (white) with the ROG Phone 8 Pro (black). You can see that the new phone obviously adopts a more solid style, without the sci-fi and mechanical feel of the previous ROG Phone. In addition, you can also see that the AeroActive Portal cooling valve that was still there in the previous generation is no longer included in this generation. Another difference is that although the current generation 8 Pro still has the ROG Vision interface, it is no longer displayed in a separate window like the previous generation. Instead, it is integrated into the body design, making the body design look more integrated.
▲In addition, the back edge of the 8 Pro (black) is no longer as curved as the previous generation 7 Ultimate (white).
▲In addition, although the screen size of ROG Phone 8 Pro (left) is the same as that of the previous generation ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (right), the 8 Pro body is significantly more detailed.
▲So ROG Phone 8 Pro is significantly lighter than the previous generation ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. I measured it myself using an electronic scale. The former is only 228g, while the latter is 246.4g, which is more than 18g lighter.
▲So when you hold the new ROG Phone 8 Pro in your hand, the thinness and lightness are very obvious compared to the previous generation, so the control feel has also been greatly improved. The only drawback is that the back of the phone is relatively free of hand.
▲As for other configurations of the new phone, the screen is still 6.78 inches, and the bezels are much smaller than the previous generation, especially the top and bottom of the front.
▲The screen is also the same as the previous generation, supporting up to 165Hz refresh rate.
▲There is also an additional USB-C slot on the left side of the fuselage, and there are still switches and volume keys on the right side.
▲The bottom of the phone is equipped with a USB-C slot, a SIM card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is worth noting that this generation no longer uses a front dual speaker design, but a design with one on the top and one on the earpiece. .
▲The sound effects still support DIRAC technology.
▲Still supports physical dual-SIM dual-standby design.
▲The current generation of closed body design not only supports waterproof and dustproof functions, but also supports wireless charging functions.
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The camera has finally been enhanced with a telephoto lens
In addition to the items mentioned above, another major difference between the ROG Phone 8 series and the previous generation is the main camera. The current generation main camera has finally been significantly enhanced. The configuration of the previous generation main camera + ultra-wide angle + macro lens has been changed to the current generation main camera + ultra-wide angle. It still exists, with similar pixels and configurations, but it is finally willing to support 3x optics. The zoom 32-megapixel telephoto lens should significantly improve the quality of shooting distant objects. But how much has the effect improved? We will test it in detail for everyone when it is released in Hong Kong.
▲ROG Phone 8 finally responded to user requests. In addition to maintaining the configuration of the main camera and ultra-wide-angle lens, it replaced the previous generation’s macro lens with a telephoto lens that supports 3x optical zoom. This should have obvious image quality for shooting distant objects. promote.
▲However, adding a telephoto lens makes the lens module significantly thicker than the previous generation.
The difference between ROG Phone 8 / 8 Pro is no longer big
Talking back to the current generation, ROG has launched two models, namely ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 8 Pro. There is not much difference between the two in terms of hardware configuration and design. At most, 8 Pro has more RAM and ROM, but The body size and weight are almost the same, so the difference in general usage experience is basically not that big. However, there are still a few differences between the two, mainly in terms of design: First of all, in addition to the black version, ROG Phone 8 also has an attractive cyan version, while ROG Phone 8 Pro only has a black version. Secondly, although the backs of ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 8 Pro both adopt a Slash style design, with diagonal lines separating the upper and lower halves of the fuselage, the upper half of the former is made of polished glass material, and the lower half is made of frosted glass material; Both are made of matte material, but the upper half is smoother and the lower half is thicker and textured. Therefore, in appearance, ROG Phone 8 is actually more beautiful, especially the cyan version. It can be said that you fall in love at first sight. So in the future, you don’t have to worry when choosing a model: those who pursue ultimate specifications should choose ROG Phone 8 Pro, and those who pursue appearance should choose ROG Phone 8.
▲As for the difference between ROG Phone 8 Pro (left) and Phone 8 (right), it is actually not very big, at least in terms of appearance. It is completely indistinguishable when viewed from the front.
▲But it is very obvious when looking at the back. Although both use the unique Slash design of ROG products in recent years, there are differences.
▲ROG Phone 8 (first picture) uses polished glass design in the upper half, while the lower half uses frosted glass design; as for ROG Phone 8 Pro (second picture), both the upper and lower half use frosted glass design, but the upper half uses frosted glass design The body is slippery and the lower half is thicker and more body-feeling.
▲So there is still a slight difference in hand feel between ROG Phone 8 Pro (first picture) and ROG Phone 8 (second picture). The author feels that 8 Pro seems to be more comfortable in the hand.
▲In addition, ROG Phone 8 only has ROG logo RGB lighting effects that can convert colors.
▲The ROG Phone 8 Pro integrates the previous ROG Vision window into the back of the phone, making the look and feel more integrated.
▲Like previous Pro/Ultimate models, the ROG Vision interface of ROG Phone 8 Pro can also display other information, such as remaining battery power, time, etc.
▲The information and logos you choose to display can be set by yourself in the Armory Crate interface.
▲As for weight, there is basically no difference between ROG Phone 8 Pro (first picture) and ROG Phone 8 (second picture).
▲In terms of specifications, both ROG Phone 8 (first picture) and ROG Phone 8 Pro (second picture) use Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 165Hz refresh rate screen and built-in 5,500mAh capacity battery , but the former is equipped with 16GB RAM + 512GB ROM, and the latter is equipped with 24GB RAM + 1TB ROM.
▲As for ROG Phone 8, it has two body colors, namely black and cyan. The author feels that the cyan design is very pleasing and fresh. It feels like the e-sports version of ZenFone.
▲As for ROG Phone 8 Pro, it only has a black version.
External cooling fan simplified design
In fact, not only the phone itself, but also the AeroActive Cooler, an external cooling fan that has always been used for ultimate cooling, has also changed in the current generation design. The past few generations of AeroActive Cooler can be said to be designed for machine fans, with more and more functions, but the control becomes more and more complex; in the current generation of ROG, it is named AeroActive Cooler X. Compared with the previous generation AeroActive Cooler 7, although The installation method is exactly the same, but since the phone no longer has a heat dissipation valve, we “restore the basic steps” and adopt a design that uses a cooling fan and a heat absorbing pad like the first few generations of designs. The physical keys on the back of the phone are also restored from 4 There are two on the top, but the bottom bracket, USB-C charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack are still retained, and the RGB lighting effects on the surface of the cooling fan are still provided, so the appearance does not change much. , but it is much simpler and easier to control, which is indeed worthy of praise.
▲As for the AeroActive Cooler X launched for the current generation of ROG Phone 8 / 8 Pro, the design is also very different from the previous generation.
▲Since the phone no longer has a heat dissipation valve, heat dissipation still relies on this heat-absorbing pad to suck out the heat from the phone, and then discharge it out of the phone through the cooling fan on the back. The effectiveness remains to be verified.
▲The top of the machine is also located at the exhaust port, and there is also a button to remove the fan with one press.
▲The front of the fan still has RGB lighting effects, and the physical buttons can be said to “restore the basic steps” and return to the original two-button design.
▲With fewer buttons, there are fewer worries. Although there are fewer map buttons for control, it is simpler and easier to use.
▲There is still a pull-out bracket at the bottom, allowing the phone to be placed flat on the table.
▲The bottom of the fan still has a USB-C slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
▲In addition to ROG Phone 8 Pro, ROG Phone 8 can also use the AeroActive Cooler X, but it is not included and needs to be purchased separately.
Summary: “Testing the water temperature”, the performance of the new phone is worth looking forward to
All in all, with this generation of ROG Phone 8 series, ASUS is finally willing to significantly change the body design, making it thinner and lighter, and enhancing the user experience. This is worthy of recognition, at least in terms of appearance. However, some designs that fans have paid more attention to in the past, such as cooling valves, more sci-fi and mechanized body designs, larger-capacity batteries, etc., have been taken away in this generation and replaced with wireless charging, waterproof and dustproof support, and the addition of a main camera. The telephoto lens, etc., has been changed to a more popular route. The author feels that the ROG Phone has lost some of its “core value”. But at the same time, the public (maybe) will recognize this design and configuration more. How much impact will this “testing the water” e-sports game have on the market? Let us wait and see.
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2024-01-09 12:18:34
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