Is the ROG Phone II worth saving for?

[IAmAndre]

Hey guys,

 

So my birthday is next month so I wanted to treat myself with a new phone. My budget was around $300 so I originally wanted to buy the Xiaomi Mi 9T, which would be a solid upgrade to my Redmi 4x. Now I just saw MKBHD's review of the ROG Phone II and now I'm tempted to buy it. It's twice my budget so I'll have to buy it on Xmas instead or maybe Black Friday. However I'm not sure if it's really worth the investment. Up until now I always thought it was ridiculous to spend a grand on a phone. This one is $650, which is still a lot but seems to make no compromise other than the absence of IP rating.

So let me know if there's anything I should know before buying it. Has Asus fixed their software/updates issues? Would I still be able to use it in 4-5 years from now? Is there a better option at this price range?

 

Thanks

[Streetguru]

13 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

 

If you just want the Snapdragon 855 S10es are pretty cheap

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/Samsung-Galaxy-S10e-SM-G970U-128GB-Prism-Black-Sprint-Single-SIM/25029459946?iid=133125067295&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=133125067295&targetid=809743991665&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9031291&poi=&campaignid=6470742389&mkgroupid=81275890247&rlsatarget=pla-809743991665&abcId=1141156&merchantid=7955804&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn_LrBRD4ARIsAFEQFKuLGGAEu2XVrKLC_KBJlh50375UHaMgGrOhT9iGAoAwXD7KLNvC5CcaAsc9EALw_wcB

There's the list anyways.
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sChipset=31

[5x5]

Don't overspend for the ROG phone. It's not worth the asking price I'd money is a concern. Plenty of cheaper and better devices on the market

[IAmAndre]

3 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

If you just want the Snapdragon 855 S10es are pretty cheap

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/Samsung-Galaxy-S10e-SM-G970U-128GB-Prism-Black-Sprint-Single-SIM/25029459946?iid=133125067295&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=133125067295&targetid=809743991665&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9031291&poi=&campaignid=6470742389&mkgroupid=81275890247&rlsatarget=pla-809743991665&abcId=1141156&merchantid=7955804&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn_LrBRD4ARIsAFEQFKuLGGAEu2XVrKLC_KBJlh50375UHaMgGrOhT9iGAoAwXD7KLNvC5CcaAsc9EALw_wcB

There's the list anyways.
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sChipset=31

Very interesting. I know these are refurbished but why are they so cheap. Isn't the S10 the latest of the S series?

I also like the 12GB of RAM and the high refresh screen. However I don't like how big the phone is because I usually jog with my phone.

[IAmAndre]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Don't overspend for the ROG phone. It's not worth the asking price I'd money is a concern. Plenty of cheaper and better devices on the market

Any suggestion?

[JHY]

28 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Any suggestion?

razerphone 2?

[Streetguru]

33 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Very interesting. I know these are refurbished but why are they so cheap. Isn't the S10 the latest of the S series?

I also like the 12GB of RAM and the high refresh screen. However I don't like how big the phone is because I usually jog with my phone.

The e is the cut down version hence the price ONLY 6GBs of RAM...

Just get some kind of smart watch for the phone during jogging and all of that?

I think it's the cheapest 855 solid phone anyways.

[5x5]

12 minutes ago, PCNoobie said:

razerphone 2?

That's not a phone worth taking a leak on, much less paying for

[dizmo]

Worth is completely subjective and only you can answer that question for yourself.

Personally, if you can't afford it outright and it requires months of savings, it's a poor decision to spend the money on it. Period. That goes for anything.

You can use virtually any device 4 to 5 years from now. None of them will have current support.

[IAmAndre]

20 minutes ago, PCNoobie said:

razerphone 2?

It's not a bad phone but it has some relatively bad reviews from what I can see.

[IAmAndre]

10 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Personally, if you can't afford it outright and it requires months of savings, it's a poor decision to spend the money on it. Period. That goes for anything.

Well people tend to save for buying their high-end PC among other things... and their car or their house as well I believe  

I get your point though and I tend to like the Mi 9T a bit more now considering what it has to offer for the price.

[Suika]

1 hour ago, IAmAndre said:

Very interesting. I know these are refurbished but why are they so cheap. Isn't the S10 the latest of the S series?

It is, but Samsung devices, even their premium lineup, don't hold their value as well as other brands. It's been a running joke between some of my friends that Samsung has a $200-300 launch tax that goes away after 90 days.

1 hour ago, IAmAndre said:

I also like the 12GB of RAM and the high refresh screen.

Having 12GB of RAM on your Android is absolutely ridiculous. Take it from somebody who swaps between dailies with 4GB and 8GB, I've had no problems with the 4GB device and constantly had problems with the 8GB device (due to having awful memory management).

[IAmAndre]

2 minutes ago, Suika said:

It is, but Samsung devices, even their premium lineup, don't hold their value as well as other brands. It's been a running joke between some of my friends that Samsung has a $200-300 launch tax that goes away after 90 days.

Having 12GB of RAM on your Android is absolutely ridiculous. Take it from somebody who swaps between dailies with 4GB and 8GB, I've had no problems with the 4GB device and constantly had problems with the 8GB device (due to having awful memory management).

Then maybe I should stick with my original plan, which was to get the Mi 9T, or maybe spend an extra $100 and get the K20 pro instead 

[Streetguru]

24 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Then maybe I should stick with my original plan, which was to get the Mi 9T, or maybe spend an extra $100 and get the K20 pro instead 

Didn't see that those were only $300-400 too, not bad.

I'm lazy and would just stick to Samsung or a google pixel personally though.

[IAmAndre]

7 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Didn't see that those were only $300-400 too, not bad.

I'm lazy and would just stick to Samsung or a google pixel personally though.

I really considered the Pixel 3A but the Mi 9T looks sooo much sexier on top of being $100-150 cheaper 

[IAmAndre]

6 hours ago, huilun02 said:

What do you want in a phone?

What you currently use and what are your complaints about it?

Do you game so ridiculously hard on your phone to want 12GB of RAM and a 120Hz screen?

How is it even possible to have the RoG phone 2 and Pizel 3a in the same discussion?

Phones over $500 and phones with pathetic battery make me disappointed in humanity, but thats just my opinion.

I currently have a Redmi 4X and I want to upgrade it because I want a better screen, a better camera, and a better software experience.

 

I asked about the ROG Phone just because I saw MKBHD's and was expecting it to be a $1000 so I got surprised by the price with all the features it packs. I mean it's my birthday and I can afford to spend a little more than I originally planned if it's worth it, meaning I'll be able to use it for a longer period.

 

The extra RAM is just for future proofing and the screen because of the extra features even when I'm not gaming. I don't game that much but I probably would turn my phone into a gaming console if it's powerful enough.

 

The RoG phone is only $150-200 more expensive than the 3a and has better specs in all aspects except for photo quality.

 

The ROG Phone is praised for it's crazy battery life: 6000MaH and 2 days of regular use with the screen at 120Hz, probably more if you cap it at 60 or 90Hz.

But at this moment I'm more tempted to stick with the Xiaomi 9T which is half the price or maybe spend a $100 to get the K20 Pro. I just hope that I'll keep receiving software updates for a long time.

[IAmAndre]

4 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Ftfy

Its not going to last 2 days with the screen turned on at 120Hz, sorry

 

Some sanity check maths for you:

(the big Endurance Rating in red is how long the phone lasts in standby in stock condition)

 

4,500mAh battery for 1080p OLED @ 60Hz

 

4,000mAh battery for 1440p OLED @ 90Hz

 

4,000mAh battery for 1440p OLED @ 60Hz

I'm quoting MKBHD here. With the 6000Mah battery I guess you can expect up to 50% more battery life so it makes a lot of sense.

As of now the Xiaomi phones are the ones I'm into just because of the absence of notch, but we'll see how the situation evolves within a month.

[IAmAndre]

2 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

50% more battery life where the baseline is a 60hz device

The OP 7 Pro has a 90Hz refresh and a higher resolution. I don't know in which conditions the tests you mentioned were done but if it gets 100+ hours on standby, why couldn't it stay on for 48 hours of regular use? This is just speculation anyway and the fact is the ROG 2 has a better battery life than most phones, and that's according to reviewers.

[IAmAndre]

8 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

50% more battery life where the baseline is a 60hz device

From the same source: 

 

 

That's almost 3 times more than 48 hours in the test, so my point stands.

[IAmAndre]

6 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

There you go, you linked battery test at 60Hz

Now link the 120Hz result

Already did.

 

6 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Look at the web browsing and video playback endurance time

Why is it so much lower than standby time?

Because in standby the screen/GPU are turned off, and processor is barely doing anything

Standby time is not usage time

I never expected the battery life to be the same. The point it's still more than capable to be used for 48 hours without charging it. I'm talking about regular use. That's almost 17 hours of video playback, which is like watching 7-8 movies on your phone during a weekend at 120Hz.

[IAmAndre]

26 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

At least you know. Perhaps in your usage it will indeed last a really long time. Too often I have encountered people getting recommended "Pixel 3a" when asking for something with good battery life. Or worse, thinking about a Pixel 3a whilst lambasting the poor endurance of his own device that has a same or larger battery. The truth is that for many, a 3000mAh device at 60Hz dont last them even a full day. This means doubling the battery wont last them 2 full days. And things only go south with a high refresh rate screen.

 

The RoG phone 2 brings more than just a big battery though. It has loud stereo speakers and an overclocked SD855. If you think all the extras it has is worth the premium in price tag, go for it. Personally I would avoid the obnoxious design and the thing is almost a full centimeter thick.

 

Also if you want it to last many years, you'll obviously have to take good care and not frequently run the battery into the ground. Avoid fast charging and overnight charging. Having a large battery, ample RAM and a powerful chipset, will definitely help. In the 'support and update' department it is a different story though. This is why iPhones and Pixels are stingy with raw specs. They bait people with 'support and updates' that the devices cant survive long enough to see (at least for most people)

I double checked the prices and saw that many editions are available the $650 is apparently the low-end one with only 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. These are still solid specs but as far as I can see there are three editions of the phone but Asus only communicated about the 2 high end ones at $900 and $1200. My guess is that the low end version won't be available in all markets but I can see it here: https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZS660KL-Smartphone-Snapdragon-Android/dp/B07X1WL39V

I'll just wait another month and see how it unfolds.

[IAmAndre]

6 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

$650 is more reasonable. 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is still plenty. You can buy two Mi 9T's for that amount of money though...

Exactly. It does make it less attractive. The K20 Pro is the better deal .