ROG Phone 2 vs Black Shark 2 vs Red Magic 3 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: A new gaming beast is in town

Asus ROG Phone 2 is the second generation of the ROG phone (Review) and it has now debuted in India at a starting price of Rs 37,999 for the 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant. Last year, the ROG Phone was launched at nearly Rs 70,000 and the successor to the device has been priced at nearly half, which shows Asus' commitment to competing in the gaming smartphone space, which already has great devices such as the Black Shark 2, and Nubia Red Magic 3.[caption id="attachment_7388521" align="alignnone" width="944"]

ROG Phone 2.[/caption]The newly launched Asus ROG Phone 2 comes with a 6.50-inch AMOLED panel that has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Unlike its predecessor, ROG Phone 2 features an in-display fingerprint sensor. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, and runs on Android 9.0 Pie and it has a stock Android UI.(Also Read - Asus ROG Phone II first impressions: Going all out in the smartphone spec race)The smartphone comes with two air triggers and they can be customised in the gaming menu of the device. These air triggers are said to be improved as compared to last year. Sliding touch functionality is also going to be added soon.In terms of cameras, the ROG Phone 2 features a dual rear camera setup with 48 MP and a 13 MP sensors. On the front, there is a 24 MP camera for selfies. It packs with a massive 6,000 mAh battery that supports 30 W charging. The phone has 4 Wi-Fi antennas located strategically so that even if your hands cover some of the antennas you will still get high network speeds.Marketed as a gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 2's aggressive pricing pits it against other gaming smartphones such as the Black Shark 2, Nubia Red Magic 3 and also the OnePlus 7 Pro (Review). Let's see how the ROG Phone 2 compares to these devices based on specs.

Smartphone	ROG Phone 2	OnePlus 7 Pro	Red Magic 3	Black Shark 2
Display Size (inch)	6.59	6.67	6.65	6.39
Resolution (pixels)	1080 x 2340	1440 x 3120	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2340
Pixel Density (PPI)	391	516	388	403
Display Type	AMOLED	Fluid AMOLED	AMOLED	AMOLED
Dimensions (mm)	171 x 77.6 x 9.5	162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8	171.7 x 78.5 x 9.7	163.6 x 75 x 8.8
Weight (g)	240	206	215	205
Dual SIM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SIM Type	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM
Connectivity Types	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE
Processor	Snapdragon 855+	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
CPU Cores	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa-core
CPU Clock Speed (GHz)	1x2.96 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485	1x 2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x 1.80 GHz Kryo 485	1x 2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x 1.80 GHz Kryo 485	1x 2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x 1.80 GHz Kryo 485
GPU	Adreno 640	Adreno 640	Adreno 640	Adreno 640
RAM	8, 12 GB	8, 12 GB	8 GB	6,8 GB
Ruggedness	—	Splashproof	—	Splashproof
On-Board Memory	128, 512 GB	128, 256 GB	128 GB	128, 256 GB
Expandable Memory	No	No	No	No
Sensors	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Primary Camera	48 MP, f/1.8 + 13 MP, f/2.4	48 MP, f/1.6 (primary) + 16 MP, f/2.2 (ultrawide) + 8 MP, f/2.4 (telephoto)	48 MP, f/1.7	48 MP, f/1.8 + 12 MP, f/2.2
Optical Image Stabilization	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Camera Array	Dual Camera	Triple Camera	Single Camera	Dual-camera
Autofocus System	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus
Secondary Camera	24 MP, f/2.2	Pop-up 16 MP, f/2.0	16 MP, f/2.0	20 MP, f/2.0
Video Capture	2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps	2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps, Auto HDR, gyro-EIS	4320@15fps, 2160p@30/60fps, 1920fps	1080p@30fps
Flash	LED flash	Dual-LED	LED flash	LED flash
OS Version	Android 9.0	Android 9.0	Android 9.0	Android 9.0
AI (Smart Assistant)	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Google Assistant
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
NFC	Yes	Yes	No	No
Infrared	No	No	No	No
Fingerprint Scanner	Yes, In-display	Yes, In-display	Yes, rear button	Yes, In-display
3.5mm jack	Yes	No	Yes	No
Radio	Yes	No	No	No
USB Type	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C reversible connector
USB Standard	USB 3.1	USB 3.1	USB 2.0	USB 2.0
Battery (mAh)	6,000	4,000	5,000	4,000
Fast charging	Yes, 30 W Fast Charge	Yes, 30 W Warp Charge	Yes, fast battery charging 27 W	Yes, fast battery charging 27 W
Colors	Matte Black, Glossy Black	Mirror Grey, Almond, Nebula Blue	Black, Red, Camouflage, Red/Blue	Black, Silver, Blue
Prices in India	Starts at Rs 37,999	Starts at Rs 48,999	Rs 35,999	Starting at Rs 39,990

Based on the spec sheet of the ROG Phone 2, we can easily see that the device is quite a beast. Talking first about the phone's trademark feature which is its 120 Hz AMOLED screen with a 10-bit HDR display, we can see that none of the competing devices are close to the phone. The OnePlus 7 Pro and Red Magic 3 have a 90-Hz AMOLED display but do not have the ROG's 10-bit HDR display, while the Black Shark 2 just has a 60 Hz display. In terms of battery as well, the ROG Phone 2 has the competition beat with its humongous 6,000 mAh battery.The ROG Phone 2 also has the Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset which is again not present in the competition, all of which run on the Snapdragon 855 chipset. Again, we will need to put the phone through its paces in our detailed review to see how fast the phone actually is and whether the Plus version makes a noticeable difference. In terms of camera, the OnePlus 7 Pro does have a triple-camera system that could, on paper, overshadow the ROG Phone 2 but we will need to do a camera comparison to be sure of that. All-in-all, Asus' aggressively priced ROG Phone 2 could be a real winner in the Indian gaming smartphone market so do stay tuned for our full review of the device.