GAMER TECH: ROG Phone 8 and Zephyrus laptop lineup aims to go beyond the play

ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced the availability and pricing of the new 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 (GA403) and ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU605), along with the ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 8 Pro – laptops and phones that have good gaming experiences at the core, but also offer a robust overall performance.

Fragster.com was among several tech, gaming, and other media outlets invited to an exclusive event in the Philippines’ capital, Manila, for their recent trade event, where they revealed two of their most recent products for the ROG phone and laptop series.

THE ROG PHONE 8 / PHONE 8 PRO: THE LOWDOWN

 

Among one of the more prominent brands for mobile gaming in the mobile-heavy Philippine and Southeast Asia regions is ROG’s newest phone lineup.

The new ROG Phone 8 is slimmer by up to 15% compared to the old model but still packs a powerful punch. With a focus on top-notch design and durability, these phones are not just for calls – they are symbols of style and strength that blend looks with practicality.

The ROG Phone 8 series introduces cool features like customizable Aura RGB Lighting (ROG Phone 8) and Anime Vision Mini-LED display (ROG Phone 8 Pro), letting users show off their own unique style. Whether you’re a serious gamer or just love tech, the ROG Phone 8 series promises to take your mobile gaming to new heights.

Under the hood, the ROG Phone 8 series runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform, with super-fast 8533 Mbps LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage for top-notch performance. To keep cool during long gaming sessions, it uses a special Rapid-Cooling Conductor design that draws heat away from the processor. The all-new AeroActive Cooler X clip-on accessory is smaller and more efficient, reducing the phone’s temperature by as much as 26°C. Plus, being the world’s first IP68-compliant gaming smartphone, it’s built to resist dust and water, so you can game worry-free anywhere, anytime.

Ultra-bright Display

The ROG Phone 8 Pro series comes with a new 6.78″ flexible AMOLED screen. It uses LTPO technology for adaptive refresh rates, automatically adjusting from 1-120 Hz based on the task to save power. It offers up to 165 Hz refresh rate for seamless gaming and a touch sampling rate of up to 720 Hz for instant response. The peak brightness is increased to 2500 nits, ensuring clear visibility even in bright sunlight for gaming or watching movies.

Pro-level AI Cameras

Gamers and creators can explore endless photographic possibilities with the ROG Phone 8 series’ advanced tri-camera system. The main camera uses the latest 50 MP Sony image sensor for crystal-clear images. Its 24 mm wide-angle lens is perfect for dynamic street snaps, while a 2X zoom mode transforms it into a versatile 50 mm prime lens, ideal for portrait and food photography. Photography and videography can reach new heights with the 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 3.0, which ensures even smoother videos and shake-free photos on the move. Video stability is assured with hardware anti-shake OIS and an upgraded EIS software algorithm that uses gyroscopic data to detect movement. This dynamic adjustment of the field of view ensures videos remain rock steady.

For the first time, the ROG Phone 8 series includes a 3X telephoto lens that enables the capture of distant objects. Equipped with built-in OIS, the lens delivers crisp and sharp results, even in low-light conditions with Night Photography mode. ASUS HyperClarity technology, using unprocessed (RAW) files, preserves every detail in photos, providing more explicit images even at up to 30X zoom. During video shooting, the telephoto camera employs adaptive EIS to produce stable results with up to a 10X zoom.
The 13 MP ultrawide camera has a free-form lens and cutting-edge algorithms to reduce lens distortion, resulting in stunning yet natural images. The ROG Phone 8 series delivers exceptional quality and clarity in every shot and recording. Finally, the front 32 MP ultrawide selfie camera’s field of view (FoV) has been increased from 73° to 90° to make it perfect for group selfies. The lens has an RGBW sensor that ensures images are clean with less noise, even in low light.

AI-enhanced Features

The ROG Phone 8 series introduces four gaming-friendly AI features that take gaming to the next level. Background Mode allows gamers to easily switch a game to the background, while X Capture lets them capture important moments seamlessly. The intuitive AI Grabber helps with text capture, and X Sense 2.0 offers tips and assistance during gameplay.

With Machine-Learning Recognition technology, AI Grabber can now extract text directly from games. Additionally, AI Pattern Recognition technology expands support for more new top games in X Capture and X Sense 2.0.

THE ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 AND G16: MORE FOR YOUR WORK, WITH PLAY AT ITS CORE

 

The 2024 Zephyrus G14 and G16 boast a lightweight, all-aluminum chassis that’s precision-machined for durability and extra space inside. This means a sleek, edge-to-edge keyboard and bigger, louder speakers – 25% larger than before – for immersive sound.
Both models feature larger keycaps and touchpads for better typing and gaming. Plus, they sport a new Platinum White color with a luxurious matte finish. Additionally, they come with a new LED lighting system on the lid called Slash Lighting. It offers customizable patterns and animations, ensuring you stand out.
These laptops redefine thin-and-light gaming with their slim design and powerful performance.

AI Pushes Performance to New Heights

Equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen 8000 Series processor and AMD Ryzen AI support, the Zephyrus G14 is poised for the future. It offers compatibility with Windows Studio effects productivity tools, enabling features like automatic framing, eye-contact correction, and advanced background effects during video calls. Additionally, it boasts up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, providing access to advanced features such as DLSS 3.5, Frame Generation, and Ray Reconstruction for enhanced visuals and gaming responsiveness in demanding titles.

In contrast, the Zephyrus G16 features up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 185H paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU. This combination delivers exceptional performance in both gaming and creative applications. With dedicated AI support for tools like Omniverse and Stable diffusion, users can generate images locally in seconds, bypassing lengthy cloud queues. With access to the latest AI-accelerated technologies, this hardware effortlessly handles the most demanding creation software and games.

First ROG OLED gaming laptop with ROG Nebula Display

ROG proudly introduces the new Zephyrus G as the first gaming laptops with OLED panels with the ROG Nebula Display. Both models deliver an exceptional blend of visual fidelity and image quality ideal for fast-paced gaming. The Zephyrus G14 offers a 3K resolution, 120 Hz panel, while the Zephyrus G16 boasts a 2.5K 240 Hz display. With NVIDIA G-SYNC support, these laptops ensure remarkable motion clarity, even during brief framerate drops.

Both options feature a 16:10 aspect ratio, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500, and an impressive 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, delivering true inky blacks. Achieving 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and a Delta E accuracy of less than 1, these displays are favored by content creators who prioritize color accuracy. Gamers will appreciate the incredibly fast 0.2 ms gray-to-gray response time, virtually eliminating ghosting and ensuring the clearest image with every screen refresh.

Hyper-efficient Cooling

Slim yet powerful laptops require highly efficient cooling solutions. The CPU utilizes a high-performance liquid metal thermal compound, while 2nd Generation Arc Flow Fans help expel heat from the chassis effectively. Tri-fan technology, featuring a third auxiliary fan, aids in directing airflow over components and removing GPU heat. For Zephyrus G16 models with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, a custom vapor chamber with dual fans is employed to accommodate the flagship hardware.

Robust Gaming with Peace of Mind

Users can also enjoy peace of mind with ASUS’s comprehensive 4A Quality and Service covering always-on technical support with all-around coverage including free ASUS standard warranty package such as two-year international warranty, accidental damage protection, preventive maintenance and customizable premium add-ons.

THE VERDICT: TOP FRAG!

Why does the ASUS ROG Phone 8 lineup and ROG Zephyrus get a TOP FRAG recommendation?

Simply put, the design features and its specifications are worth for its price ranges. The said units are well within the upper tier of mobile phones and laptops for its market, but all things considered, this is a very good investment for either hardcore gamers, those who want to shift from one main platform to another (say iOS to Android), as well as added work functionality which transforms the ROG device lineup from being Republic of Gamers to Republic of Greatness.

Pricing information per country may be found on the ASUS social media pages and the ASUS website.