Asus boosts mobile gaming with its new ROG Phone 7 series - PingWest

Asus boosts mobile gaming with its new ROG Phone 7 series

Asus boosts mobile gaming with its new ROG Phone 7 series

Ward Zhou

posted on April 14, 2023 5:16 pmEditor : Wang Boyuan

Some say the niche market is going to die soon, but is it true?

Major game gadgets vendor Republic Of Gamers (ROG) updated its gaming phone series globally on Thursday with top specs for gamers, according to its press release. The new ROG Phone 7 series includes a standard version, a pro version, and a pro-pro variation called “Ultimate” model for the global market.

In China, the ROG 7 contains two models – ROG Phone 7 and 7 Pro and has a price tag of 4,499 - 7,999 RMB ($657.86 - $1,169.65) in China. 

Another thing that is speical for the Chinese market is that ROG has co-branded with a partner that is Tencent. Eight mobile titles from Chinese gaming giant get to unlock high refresh rate supports for the phones, and more will come to the list, according to the product's description on the Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com.

Tencent Games and Asus ROG announced a collaboration agreement with a focus on gaming phones in the Chinese mainland region in 2019. The partnership aims to optimize hardware performance for gaming content.

Spec-wise, the ROG 7 series has the latest flagship chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, along with high-speed LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.0 storage chips. The chipset also enables Wi-Fi 7, the next generation of wireless tech, which can benefit the online gaming experience.

To maximise ts performance, the phone has an active cooling system, aiming to keep games running at a higher image quality with a lower temperature.

ROG Phone 7 series adopts a 6.78-inch AMOLED display from Samsung, with a high 165 Hz refresh rate and 720 Hz touch-sampling rate. It can also present accurate colour with a Delta E lower than 1. However, the display does compromise in resolution, only supporting 1080p.

Its special dual speaker drivers can provide “50% more effective volume” than the last generation. Working with the new AeroActive 7 cooler, the phone series gives stronger bass, according to its press release. The phone also has a 3.5-mm headphone jack for wired audio output.

The series holds triggers and an x-axis linear motor design from the last generation and has them improved for a console controller-like gaming experience.

Coming with a 6,000-mAh battery and a 65-watt charging speed, it supports charging via a USB port built into the side of the frame.

The Pro or Ultimate model is mainly distinguished from the vanilla one by providing a customized small display on the back case. It also provides a cooling accessory in the box that sells separately.

With up to 16 GB memory and 512 GB storage, the series is now available for preorder in some regions.

Unlike most ordinary phone categories, gaming phones focus more on hardware optimization and software development tailored specifically for gaming, as Sophia Tian, CINNO Research Senior Analyst, told PingWest.

Asus has been the second largest gaming phone vendor in China by shipments till the fourth quarter of 2022 after Xiaomi-backed Black Shark's exit, according to data provided by IDC China. Its market share marked a rise from 9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 21% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

However, the market in China is overall shrinking in shipments since the last quarter of 2021. In the last quarter of 2022, the four brands shipped 108,928 units, a 60.7 year-on-year decrease.

Gaming phone was born from the flourishing development of mobile games and mobile esports. It has emerged as one of the segmented tracks in the smartphone market, Tian told PingWest. Mobile titles demand high performance, but unlike PCs, it is challenging for gaming smartphones to surpass regular flagship phones due to limited processor options. 

Therefore, to enhance gaming performance, gaming phones mainly weighs on features like higher refresh rate displays, superior touch response, and image processing chips that have interpolation capabilities to improve graphics and user experience. Additionally, to maintain CPU stability, these phones are equipped with robust cooling systems, larger batteries, and faster charging speeds, all of which contribute to the overall gaming performance, according to Tian.

Tian added that such phones mainly target high-end mobile gamers. And these brands also collaborate with primary gaming firms to boost the gaming experience jointly and strengthen their positioning as a designated device for esports events.

A source working in China's esports industry told PingWest that some phone vendors would partner with esports events and provide specific models for matches. 

If the partnership did not cover esports clubs involved in the events, clubs would buy them in batches at a lower price for their players to practice before the event, the source added.