ASUS Teases ROG Phone 8 With An Exciting Pro-Level Camera Upgrade For Gamers
In our experience, ASUS and its ROG division make the best gaming phones on Android period. The blend of hardware features and software optimizations is just simply unrivaled when viewed as a whole, and this dates back to the first iteration released five years ago this month. Not content to stay in its lane, however, ASUS is teasing a "pro-level" camera upgrade that's headed to the next iteration of its gaming handset, the ROG Phone 8.
ASUS stopped short of divulging what exactly that entails, though it did relay on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the ROG Phone is getting a "brand new camera system."
The same post links viewers to a blind test consisting of several sets of three photographs. It's not clear if any of the photos represent shots taken from the ROG Phone 8, or if they all do but with varying levels of software enhancements. At the end of the blind test, ASUS simply thanks visitors for participating and says, "Your opinions are immensely valuable to us for future improvements."
Feedback from the test will presumably help shape how future camera upgrades go, whether on the hardware side, software side, or both. As an added incentive, ASUS is offering a chance to win an ROG Phone 8 for participating.
In addition to selecting a preferred photo, participants can share feedback with ASUS
"The new ROG Phone 8 blends innovation with excellence, and includes some remarkable camera enhancements. Here's the exciting part: we're inviting you to participate in a blind photo test, comparing images taken on phones from industry giants. Your opinion matters greatly to us, and we value your voice in shaping the future of our new phones," ASUS states.
As a point of reference, the ROG Phone 8 Ultimate features a 32-megapixel camera (f/2.5) on the front, and a triple camera system on the rear consisting of a 50-megapixel main sensor (f/1.9), 13-megapixel ultrawide lens (f/2.2, 120 degrees), and a 5-megapixel macro sensor (f/2.2).
We posted several sample shots and our impressions in our ROG Phone 8 Ultimate review, but the general takeaway is that the camera system is underwhelming compared to what's available on devices like the Galaxy S23. The photos it takes are certainly serviceable and in some cases very good, just not on par with what we expect from a high-end handset, given the stiff competition. That being the case, we're excited to see what improvements the revamped camera system on the ROG Phone 8 will deliver.
We're also curious to see what the specifications look like from top to bottom. While nothing has been confirmed, our hunch is that it will debut with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. We also expect it to arrive with at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, if not more as the baseline, as those are the starting points for the ROG Phone 7.
For those who decide to participate in the blind photo test, be sure to read the fine print regarding eligibility for the giveaway, and good luck!
