You probably already know this: The ASUS ROG Phone 3, which recently launched in the Philippines starting from P39,995 or around $827, is easily one of the most powerful smartphones around today. Of course, that means you play any app on it — after all, it has the hardware for the most intensive games, including PUBG Mobile, GRID Autosport, and Black Desert Mobile, to name a few.

(Update, October 8: Our review of the gaming phone is finally up!)

And knowing very well what the ROG Phone 3 is capable of, we decided to put it through its paces by playing some of the most demanding and resource-intensive games out there with ASUS’ native FPS counter running in the foreground, to give you an idea of how well our unit renders a specific title.

We ran the ASUS ROG Phone 3 through a gauntlet of 16 games, and the result was interesting, to say the least. Watch the video below. Keep in mind that some games were capped to 120 fps due to a limitation of the built-in recorder, which capped the fps to 120 while recording in-game footage. That, and the ROG Phone 3’s X Mode (read: performance preset) was enabled throughout the recordings.

Our gaming-test video

Here’s the summary of our ASUS ROG Phone 3 gaming test (X Mode turned on):

0:00 – 2:00: Mobile Legends (60 fps)
2:01 – 4:00: PUBG Mobile (60 fps)
4:01 – 6:00: Call of Duty: Mobile (60 fps)
6:01 – 8:00: GRID Autosport (30 fps)
8:01 – 10:00: Asphalt 9 (60 fps)
10:01 – 12:00: Real Racing 3 (144 fps with screen recording off)
12:01 – 14:00: Honkai Impact 3 (60 fps)
14:01 – 16:00: Black Desert Mobile (45 fps)
16:01 – 18:00: V4 (30+ fps)
18:01 – 20:00: The Last Remnant (60 fps)
20:01 – 22:00: Brawlhalla (60 fps)
22:01 – 24:00: NBA 2K20 (120 fps with screen recording off)
24:01 – 26:00: NBA Jam (120 fps)
26:01 – 28:00: Alto’s Adventure (144 fps)
28:01 – 30:00: Dead Cells (60+ fps)
30:01 – 32:00: Shadowgun War Games (120+ fps)

Some observations:

• All the games we tested — with the surprising exception of Mobile Legends, which doesn’t have the Ultra graphics preset available on the ASUS ROG Phone 3 — ran smoothly at the highest detail settings, with the super-fast OLED screen really making a difference in apps that supported it.
• Out of all the games we tried, only Alto’s Adventure and Real Racing 3 ran at a stable 144 fps, while NBA 2K20 and NBA Jam maintained a solid 120 fps throughout our gaming sessions.
• For some reason, Dead Cells maxed out at around 60 fps on our review unit. It was previously reported that the Android port could take full advantage of 144Hz displays.
• Even though Shadowgun War Games makes 144Hz support available through its settings menu, the ROG Phone 3 can’t hit 144 fps in actual matches.
• We really suck at Alto’s Adventure. Sorry about that.
• Enabling X Mode and 144Hz mode at the same time will not only drain the battery much faster, these settings will generate a lot of heat on the back of the device and put a strain on the battery in the long run.

To recap, the ASUS ROG Phone 3 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus under the hood, coupled with boatloads of RAM and storage (16GB and 512GB, respectively), leading to the highest Antutu score we’ve seen to date. Just in case you’re curious, our unit posted a high score of 644,000. That’s ridiculously high. To put that into context, most modern flagship phones struggle to break the 600,000 mark, let alone get close to the ROG Phone 3’s cumulative output.

That’s not all. The Taiwanese company’s gaming phone is also the first handset on the local market that supports a 144Hz refresh rate, meaning it refreshes 144 times per second, for super-smooth gameplay and interaction between the screen and the user. The average smartphone has a 60Hz display.

Although most games don’t support a high refresh rate yet, the number of titles that can give you more than 60 frames per second is probably a lot higher than you think, with more on the way as the industry moves forward from 60Hz screens.

Other highlights of the ROG Phone 3 include a massive 6,000mAh battery that supports 30-watt wired fast charging; touch-sensitive shoulder triggers that can be customized and attached to any button on the screen; front-facing stereo speakers; and triple cameras with Sony’s 64-megapixel IMX686 sensor at the back.

Check back in a few days for our full review of the ASUS ROG Phone 3.

Specs of the ASUS ROG Phone 3 (Prices: P49,995 or $1,034, 12GB/512GB; P54,995 or $1,137, 16GB/512GB)

• 6.59-inch AMOLED display, 2,340 x 1,080 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms, 650 nits brightness, HDR10+ and DCI-P3 support
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor (up to 3.1GHz)
• 5G connectivity
• Up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM
• Up to 512GB UFS 3.1 storage
• Triple 64MP main (Sony IMX686), 13MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro rear cameras
• 24MP front camera
• Fingerprint sensor (under display)
• 6,000mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C fast charging
• Android 10 with ROG UI (upgradeable to Android 11)

Specs of the ASUS ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition (Price: P39,995 or $827, 8GB/256GB)

• 6.59-inch AMOLED display, 2,340 x 1,080 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms, 650 nits brightness, HDR10+ and DCI-P3 support
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor (up to 2.84GHz)
• 5G connectivity
• Up to 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
• Up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
• Triple 64MP main (Sony IMX686), 13MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro rear cameras
• 24MP front camera
• Fingerprint sensor (under display)
• 6,000mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C fast charging
• Android 10 with ROG UI (upgradeable to Android 11)

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