ASUS just unveiled their very first gaming smartphone — the ROG Phone. And finally, the company now has a proper smartphone to compete with the Razer Phone.
As you all know, Razer is the one who spearheaded this gaming smartphone trend. Being as one of the biggest names in the PC gaming industry, Razer did a really good job on their first smartphone.
The Razer Phone will now be joined by ASUS ROG Phone — a product from a company that has expertise in both the PC gaming and smartphone realms. Both Razer and the ASUS Republic of Gamers brand were always battling it out in the PC category. Now, they started a new fight in the smartphone stage.
Today, we’re curious to see which between these two would actually come out as the champion when both of their gaming smartphones were matched against each other. Will the Razer Phone continue its dominance? Or will the new ASUS ROG Phone show the company’s real proficiency in the gaming and smartphone field?
With our ASUS ROG Phone versus Razer Phone specifications and features comparison, we aim to find the answers to those questions. Let’s start!
| Razer Phone | ASUS ROG Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 8.1 Oreo | Android 8.1 Oreo ROG Gaming UI |
| SIM | Single SIM | Single SIM |
| Display | 5.7-inch QHD IGZO LCD 2560 x 1400 resolution ~515ppi 16:9 aspect ratio 120Hz refresh rate Wide color gamut HDR | 6-inch FHD+ AMOLED display 2160 x 1080 resolution ~402ppi 18:9 aspect ratio 90Hz refresh rate 1ms response time 108.6% DCI-P3 color gamut HDR |
| Processor | 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core Custom Cooling (Heat pipes, Thermal Paste) | 2.96GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core Vapor Chamber Cooling |
| GPU | Adreno 540 | Adreno 630 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 64GB UFS 2.1 non-expandable | 64GB /128GB UFS 2.1 non-expandable |
| Front Camera | 8-megapixel f/2.0 | 8-megapixel front camera |
| Rear Camera | 12-megapixel (Wide, f/1.75) + 13-megapixel (Telephoto, f/2.6) Phase detection autofocus dual-tone flash | 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel (120-degree wide-angle) Phase detection autofocus LED flash |
| Security | Fingerprint scanner | Fingerprint scanner |
| Audio | Stereo front speakers Dual Amplifiers Dolby Atmos Audio Adapter, THX-certified DAC | Stereo front speaker DTS Headphone:X 7.1 virtual surround |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 ac, WiFi hotspot Bluetooth 5.0 Dual-band GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS USB Type-C | 4G LTE WIFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ad, 2×2 MIMO WiGig 802.11 ad wireless display support Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS< BeiDou NFC Custom USB port on the side (supports USB 3.1, DisplayPort 1.4, 15w fast charging) |
| Others | n/a | 2x Ultrasonic AirTriggers Compatible with ASUS mobile gaming accessories |
| Dimensions | 158.5 x 77.7 x 8 mm | 158.8 x 76.2 x 8.6mm |
| Weight | 197g | 200g |
| Colors | Black | Black |
| Battery | 4,000mAh non-removable Quick Charge 4+ | 4,000mAh battery non-removable ASUS HyperCharge |
| Price | Php37,500 | TBA |
The Razer Phone packed all the high-end specs that you can find on a smartphone. It’s the same case with the ASUS ROG Phone, only with better hardware and dedicated gaming accessories. The two actually belongs to the same generation, however, the ASUS offering was still able to beat Razer.
As you can see, both smartphones boast some of the best mobile chipsets in the market today. The Razer Phone is equipped with an older Snapdragon 835 clocked at 2.3GHz, while the ROG Phone features the latest custom Snapdragon 845 processor overclocked to 2.96GHz.
The ASUS ROG Phone is also said to be the first smartphone to have Vapor Chamber Cooling system, which is probably the reason why it can achieve such high clock speeds.
ASUS has also come up with a dedicated accessory that attaches a cooling fan on the back of the device so the temperatures would be cooler. Other than that, the ASUS ROG Phone also have tons of dedicated gaming accessories made specifically for it. There’s the desktop dock, low-latency wireless receiver, and a controller dock with a secondary screen.
The ASUS ROG Phone also has a bizarre Ultrasonic AirTriggers on the sides. This allows the user to make trigger quick controls (e.g. shoot an enemy), by lightly tapping any of the two top corners of the device.
See also: Xiaomi Black Shark vs Razer Phone: Specs Comparison
On the other hand, the Razer Phone, as good as it is, came out a little boring as it gets overshadowed by the ASUS ROG Phone’s plethora of accessories.
And to really nail those graphically intensive games, the ROG Phone comes with an Adreno 630 GPU similar to the Xiaomi Black Shark, which is relatively better than the Adreno 540 GPU found on the Razer Phone.
But to Razer’s credit, their first smartphone does have a sharper display. It sports a QHD resolution screen, while the latter only has an FHD+ panel. It is also noticeably faster with its 120Hz refresh, while the ROG Phone is limited to 90Hz.
The screen that the Razer Phone possesses is almost comparable to most high-end gaming monitors today as it is all about speed and accuracy. But if you value the color quality more, then you might like the AMOLED screen of the ROG Phone. It also comes with a 108.6% DCI-P3 coverage.
To wrap it up, I guess it’s pretty clear that the ASUS ROG Phone easily beats the Razer Phone by a mile. Judging by the aggressive gamer design alone, Razer’s Phone is no match with the ASUS ROG Phone. However, there’s more to a device’s looks and features that make it a great smartphone.
We have to remember that ASUS hasn’t revealed the official pricing of the ROG Phone just yet. That’s a major factor that could easily change the tone of this comparison once it gets revealed. Meanwhile, select retailers in the Philippines is offering the Razer Phone for a price of Php37,500.
With what the ASUS ROG Phone offers, plus all the other high-end Android devices that are out today — we can surely expect it to be priced higher, or maybe twice as much as the Razer Phone’s cost. But if it is within the reasonable price, going with ASUS’ first gaming smartphone is the obvious option.