A more affordable, more practical variant of the ROG Phone 2 gaming phone is now available in the Philippines.

The ASUS ROG Phone 2 Strix Edition has hit the local market with a competitive price tag of P34,995 (around $688 converted) and comes with the standard Aero case and Aeroactive Cooler 2 accessories, just like the regular releases of the ROG Phone 2.

You might recall that the ASUS ROG Phone 2 Ultimate Edition with 12GB RAM and 1TB of storage was announced in the Philippines for P59,995 ($1,179) late last year, several weeks after the 12GB/512GB model arrived in stores. The latter set buyers back P49,995 ($982) at launch.

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Besides the memory configuration, the other notable difference between the Strix Edition and the Ultimate Edition comes down to connectivity. The Strix Edition offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Cat 16 LTE for gigabit speeds, while the most expensive version of the gaming handset has 802.11ad/60GHz Wi-Fi support and can deliver speeds up to 2Gbps on Cat 20 LTE.

Granted, you probably won’t notice the difference in this country, but the promise of faster internet where available is always a plus. The ASUS ROG Phone 2 Strix Edition, like the 12GB/512GB model, also features a glossy finish on the back, as opposed to the matte rear panel of the Ultimate Edition.

Post announcing that the ASUS ROG Phone 2 Strix Edition is already being sold in the Philippines

Despite releasing in 2019, the ASUS ROG Phone 2 is still one of the fastest smartphones out on the local market today, and runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus processor paired with Adreno 640 GPU and UFS 3.0 storage. It’s also one of the coolest-looking smartphones you’ll ever see, with its lighting effects on the back and aggressive overall styling.

The ROG Phone 2 packs a 6.59-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with an impressive 120Hz refresh rate, too, while its massive 6,000mAh battery comes equipped with 30-watt fast charging over USB-C. On the audio side, the gaming phone packs dual-front facing speakers for stereo sound. And if you need it, there’s still a 3.5mm headphone jack here.

ASUS ROG Phone 2 Strix Edition specs

• 6.59-inch AMOLED display, 2,340 x 1,080 resolution (19.5:9), 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass 6
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• Dual 48MP, f/1.8 main, 13MP, f/2.4 ultra-wide rear cameras with LED flash
• 24MP, f/2.2 front camera
• Fingerprint sensor (under-display)
• 6,000mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C fast charging
• Android 9.0 Pie

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