[ad_1]
The Asus ROG Phone 2 was arguably the best gaming phone of 2019, with capacitive shoulder triggers, a 120Hz OLED display, and some nifty gaming enhancements.
However, things are heating up in 2020 as gaming phones like the Black Shark 3 series and Nubia Red Magic 5G bring the heat. Add the refresh rate wars across the broader industry, and there’s the pressure for new gaming phones to stand out. With that in mind, this is what we want to see from the Asus ROG Phone 3.
Actual physical inputs
Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
The Asus ROG series of phones delivered capacitive shoulder triggers, giving you pseudo-physical controls for shooters, sports games, and emulation. But as the Black Shark 3 Pro shows, physical triggers are possible on smartphones, so we’d love for Asus to offer this as an option for better tactile feedback.
In fact, we’d like to see Asus take out an Xperia Play and deliver a slider gamepad built into the Asus ROG Phone 3. It’s a tough design challenge due to space and thermal requirements, but if it means not having to deal with Pairing Bluetooth, I would be happy.
Failing the built-in physical controls, we definitely want Asus to include a gamepad accessory in the box. In this way, you have everything you need from the beginning.
QHD + at 120Hz
The ROG Phone 2 outperformed Samsung to the max by offering a 120Hz OLED display to the Korean manufacturer. The only real downside is that the 6.59-inch screen was an FHD + screen, which wouldn’t be a problem if the screen was slightly smaller.
Read: Here’s why I think update rate wars are silly
Hopefully Asus will bring an OLED QHD + display with a 120Hz refresh rate to the new phone. And we hope that you can use the 120Hz refresh rate on QHD +, instead of FHD +.
Hold 6,000 mAh battery
Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
The ROG Phone 2 offered a monster battery last year, hitting 6,000 mAh. This would still be a big battery if it landed on the ROG 3 phone, even though 5G connectivity could deplete more power than last year’s phone.
Last year’s phone offered 30W fast charge that completed 6,000 mAh battery in 105 minutes according to our ROG Phone 2 review. That’s the fastest for a battery of this size, but we’d love to see one more charge. Quick to save even more time on the Asus ROG Phone 3.
A telephoto camera
Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
The ROG Phone 2 offers a dual rear camera setup, with a 48MP main trigger and a 13MP ultra-wide snapper. We are very happy in this regard, but the lack of a telephoto camera means that the phone is not as flexible as other devices.
Read: The best budget camera phones you can buy
So we dug to see a telephoto sensor on the Asus ROG Phone 3, which gives you a camera for most situations. Add improved image processing and hybrid zoom, and you’ll also have a phone that can train with traditional flagships.
Hold the headphone jack
Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
We have seen several manufacturers abandon the 3.5mm port in recent years, but we are glad to see that Asus broke the trend with the ROG Phone 2 last year. It was one of the few brands to offer the standard in a flagship, joining the likes of the LG G8 series, Samsung Galaxy S10, Realme X2 Pro, and Redmi K20 Pro.
Hopefully Asus will keep the headphone jack on the ROG Phone 3 as well, as it would allow consumers to use their legacy and / or preferred accessories. And that aside from the added versatility that comes with having a 3.5mm port overall.
Exclusive games
One of the funniest wishes we have for the Asus ROG Phone 3 is for it to offer some exclusive games. It would also be unprecedented, as Nvidia’s Shield tablets and TVs offer Android ports from popular PC titles.
One possibility is that Asus signs agreements with publishers to port their own games to Android, but this could be very expensive. Alternatively, the company could theoretically strike a deal with Nvidia to bring its Android ports to Asus devices. The brand could also sign an agreement with people like Sony to bring some console titles to the platform (for example, PSP and Vita titles).
Again, we don’t think this is going to happen at all. Nvidia would likely keep these titles for their own devices, while Sony would likely bring PlayStation games to Xperia phones before other original equipment manufacturers. However, exclusive Android titles would show that Asus takes gaming phones seriously.
That’s what we’d like to see from the Asus ROG Phone 3, but now we deliver it to you! What would you like to see?
