cool gifts for gamers

Through the ROG (Republic of Gamers) series, ASUS is known for its laptops and other accessories to support gaming. The smartphone is also predicted to be one of the fastest. But if we talk about flagship, fast is not enough, right? When I tried to use ROG Phone 3 as a daily driver, I was quite satisfied with its overall performance. No, I'm a game player.

Coming quite fast, what does ASUS have to offer on their best gaming smartphone in 2020? Here are my impressions of the ASUS ROG Phone 3, from the point of view of non-gamer users.

It is common for a smartphone specifically for gaming, to have a bold and characteristic design. Still having strong characteristics, ROG Phone 3 carries a slimmer design, with a slightly curved rear body, not as rigid as the previous generation. So, this smartphone is the best gift for mobile gamers.

This smartphone has quite large dimensions, is almost 10mm thick, and weighs 240 grams. Not very wide actually, but quite tall due to the thick top and bottom bezels for some reason. If you hold it for a long time with one hand, you may feel tired.

The frame or frame of the ROG Phone 3 is made of metal, while the glass back serves Gorilla Glass 3. The surface is shiny, easy enough for fingerprints, and a bit slippery. In the sales package, ASUS includes a plastic Aero Case that doesn't fill the body like a soft case. But at least it protects the important corners of the smartphone.

In addition to the main camera module, there is AURA RGB Lightning which is placed in the middle of the rear body. Then next to it is a physical hole to get the heat out of the way. Yes, with that said, ROG Phone 3 hasn't been made waterproof. There are four microphones around the body, and three USB-C ports; one below, and two on the left.

Covered in rubber which is rather difficult to remove, one port on the left can be used for charging, while the other is specifically for attaching additional accessories, such as the Aero Cooler cooling fan, docking station, gamepad, and others.

The screen dimensions of ROG Phone 3 are still the same as the previous generation, which is 6.59 inches with full HD + resolution. Gorilla Glass 6 in practice is made flat or flat, with a fairly thick bezel on top and bottom. It is designed to keep the smartphone comfortable. When used for shooting in landscape mode, place two stereo speakers on each bezel.

Besides being comfortable to use for playing games, the ROG Phone 3 screen is also suitable for multimedia consumption, it supports HDR10 + and Widevine L1. The in-screen fingerprint sensor is also quite responsive and instant in reading fingerprints. With speakers that are quite loud and quality - ASUS optimizes the audio so that it adds sound like enemy steps in a game.

It's just that, I feel like the ROG Phone 3 screen has a problem which is actually quite common for high refresh rate screens. When displaying a dark color like gray, the color can change from purplish to greenish. The intensity is also quite high. Apart from hardware, this could be due to a calibration error alone. Hopefully, it can improve via a software update.

ASUS added one additional sensor for the rear camera. Not telephoto, nor depth sensor, but 5MP f / 2.0 macro sensor. I myself am not sure if gamers need this type of sensor more. But never mind, think of it as a bonus.

While the main rear camera sensor is good enough, go for the Sony IMX686 64MP f / 1.8. Then accompanied by a 13MP f / 2.4 ultra-wide-angle sensor. And upfront, it's a 24MP f / 2.0 front camera. I myself was initially quite pessimistic about the photos from this smartphone game, but it turned out that the photos were quite good.

A slight drawback is a dynamic range and HDR effect, not the best in the same price class. Also, skin tones tend to be smooth and cool, even though the beauty effect is turned off. Meanwhile, the night mode can increase photo detail.