Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, A gaming smartphone that remembers being a phone

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is something special. The Asus ROG series gaming phones continue to surprise me with their distinctive style that traditionally appeals to gamers. However, this year's ROG Phone 8 series surprises me with its mainstream look. Gone are the spaceship-like whites of the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 7, and here is a subtle matte black look - a subtle look for a sophisticated gaming phone.

Be proud of 6.78-inch screen, the top frame that hid the front camera of the latest ROG Phone 7 is gone, otherwise it was last seen in 2019 on phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Google Pixel 4. The ROG Phone 8 Pro has incredible performance: front camera, like most Android phones. The secondary color screen on the back of the phone is replaced by the increasingly attractive mini-LED display, which looks even more impressive on the Pro model. The

What Results looks like a black version of the Nothing Phone 2, with the gaming extras of previous ROG phones as well as the specs and $1,200 starting price we've come to expect from this year's Android flagships. My review unit is the $1,500 version of the ROG Phone 8 Pro, with an incredibly large 24GB and 1TB of storage.With this maximum configuration I can easily multitask. In my testing, that included switching between Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Dead Cells, and texting while waiting in line for GeForce Now's free cloud gaming tier.

The ROG Phone 8 Pro's design may not stand out that much from other high-end Android phones, but when I used it, I knew straight away that it was still a gaming phone. Unlike common phones in this price range, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro has a headphone jack. However, it offers two USB-C ports, one on the bottom and one on the left, for two different adapters or to more easily charge your device by holding it horizontally. It was especially nice when you plugged in an Xbox controller while it was charging.

This side of the USB-C port also allows you to connect the AeroActive Cooler X accessory fan, which stops opening the phone door and cools the phone's internal components. Instead, the ROG Phone 8 Pro has an IP68-rated sealed case to protect against water and dust, and the cooler only cools the outside of the phone. Attaching an accessory to your phone is like attacking a spider to keep it cool. If you own the $1,200 model, this accessory costs $100 and is included in the $1,500 model.

The Phone 8 Pro does a good job of taking photos and videos, and their processing is facilitated by artificial intelligence based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. This is, in my opinion, just the beginning for flagship phones with a new chip focused on AI. The other ways the Phone 8 Pro uses AI are more subtle. These include in-device contextual search capabilities, AI noise reduction in calls, and predictive text in games.