Asus ROG Phone 2 first to be powered by gaming-centric Snapdragon 855 Plus

Asus ROG Phone
Image Credit: TechRadar (Image credit: Future)

Brace yourselves, gamers: we know the Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) Phone 2 is launching on July 23, and Asus just confirmed it'll also be the first mobile handset to be powered by the Snapdragon 855 Plus.

That "Plus" denotes a small gaming and VR-focused upgrade on top of the Snapdragon 855 processor found in a lot of the top Android phones of 2019.

Specifically, the 8-core processor will run at up to 2.96GHz instead of 2.84GHz, while the upgraded Adreno 640 graphics should provide a speed boost in the region of 15%.

We've not seen a mid-year chip bump like this before from Qualcomm, and it means flagship phones in the second half of the year may have a slight performance edge over the handsets we've seen so far – with the Asus ROG Phone 2 leading the charge.

Ready for the sequel

Even with launch day rapidly approaching, we still don't know too much about the Asus ROG Phone 2. We do know that we liked the original a lot, so expectations are high for whatever Asus is planning for a follow-up.

One feature that has been confirmed is that the new phone's display will boast a 120Hz refresh rate – meaning super-slick scrolling and motion, and a screen that doesn't lag behind your inputs.

Besides that, expect the usual gaming phone goodies: exceptional performance, superior sound, tons of customization options and visual flair, and more besides (the original phone came with physical trigger buttons, which was a big plus).

We'll bring you news of the Asus ROG Phone 2 as it's announced, as well as updates on any more handsets that might be carrying the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.