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More affordable ASUS ROG phone in the works?
- ASUS might be prepping a less powerful, less expensive version of its ROG phone, as indicated by TENAA.
- A recent ASUS phone appeared on the communications website with a similar design to the ROG phone, but with less RAM and a different camera setup.
- The original ROG Phone, which is still to be released, is tipped to cost in the region of 999 euros.
ASUS might be prepping a new smartphone in its ROG (Republic of Gamers) lineup. GSMArena recently spotted an ASUS handset on Chinese communications commision website TENAA with striking similarities to the original ROG phone, but with a different memory and camera setup.
The handset, which features model number Z01QD, looks pretty much identical to the original ROG Phone (below) but it comes with slightly different specs. It’s said to feature 8GB, 6GB, and 4GB RAM options (the original handset was fixed at 8GB), and only a single 12MP rear camera, indicating that it could be a less expensive ROG Phone option.
With that being said, the original phone comes with a 12MP + 8MP rear camera setup which looks (as you can see from the images above and below) like the same dual camera system as on the latest TENAA version. This could be a simple typo, or the images could be placeholders.
Is a less expensive ROG Phone likely?
TENAA listings themselves are not confirmations of upcoming hardware, and ASUS hasn’t mentioned anything about a potentially less expensive ROG phone. This is also the first we’ve heard of such a handset; still, it’s possible that ASUS does have it in the works.
The ROG Phone hasn’t yet been released, but it was glimpsed earlier this month on a Finnish website with pre-orders beginning at 999 euros (~$1,150). Though a high price is somewhat expected for niche gaming hardware products, it’s nonetheless a hard sell: the ROG Phone is a new (i.e. risky) product in a crowded marketplace filled with less costly alternatives (even the creator of Android itself is struggling to sell original hardware).
With competition like the Razer Phone starting at $700, a cheaper alternative ROG Phone doesn’t sound like it would hurt the line’s chances of success.