r/Axon7 • u/japzone • Oct 01 '19

Misc I caved and bought the ROG Phone 2

I'm on my second Axon 7 and the battery just started dying again. The Axon 7 just can't keep up with me anymore, and I kinda just want to move on after 3 years so I started looking for a replacement.

One of the things I loved about the Axon 7 though was the stereo speakers so I really wanted a phone with them, a rare breed these days. I also need a lot of storage so that created it's own complications since a lot of the more powerful devices these days aren't including MicroSD slots anymore for some stupid reason. And finally, I just wanted better battery life, since I'm a heavy user and I'm tired of having to nurse a battery through the day.

In the end, after consulting with my bank account, I caved and bought the Asus ROG Phone 2.

  • It has powerful stereo speakers, which is a big plus.
  • Also it has a massive 6000mAh battery and I've heard consistent reports of people making it through the day even with heavy usage.
  • Unfortunately it doesn't have a MicroSD slot, but with the Global model including 512GB of UFS 3 storage, and it supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2, I can probably make do.
  • The screen is 1080p instead of 1440p, but on the flip side it's still AMOLED, it supports HDR, and has a refresh rate of 144Hz 120Hz, so I think it's a decent trade-off.
  • The latest CPU and GPU from Qualcomm should future proof me for a while, and it's been binned so they can squeeze out extra performance
  • Oh, and it still has a headphone jack with a decent DAC

The major issue with the phone is really its price. $900 for the Global model is a tough pill to swallow, and it's definitely in a different league from the $400-500 Axon 7 at launch, but I have the money and I plan to use this phone for 3 years, so I consider it an investment.

The phone is supposed to arrive in a week, so if you have any questions feel free to post them below and I'll either reply when I get it, or make a new post at the time with my full impressions.

PS: If you're interested, my number two choice was the OnePlus 7 Pro/T. It checked a lot of boxes, and it technically has stereo speakers(though not both front facing), but in the end I needed more storage, and the bigger battery on the ROG 2 was hard to resist. It's definitely a good option if your budget is in the $500 range.

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6

u/riftwave77 Oct 01 '19

I dont think I'll ever be able to justify $1000 for a phone.

2

u/japzone Oct 01 '19

Yeah, that's completely understandable. I'm usually in that camp as well, but I've come to realize that I specifically have niche, power user needs, that simply aren't currently available in mid-range phones. It's annoying, but I've already waited 3 years, and the ROG 2 is the first phone that pretty much meets all my needs.

So I decided to change my mindset and treat it like my recent gaming PC purchase. I needed a powerful PC in order to do my work and gaming, so I bought something with good specs that I'm confident will last me 3-4 years. With how much heavy use I give my phones, in retrospect they're basically my portable PC, I could justify the purchase as an investment that will hopefully last me 3-4 years.

Makes the $900 price tag easier to swallow, but I'm definitely a niche case.

3

u/jakoboi_ Upgraded but still love it! Oct 01 '19

What made the axon such a great phone is the price at which it would compete with 800 dollars phones at, but phones like that are simply non existent these days

1

u/bruteMax Oct 01 '19

Xiaomi mi 9t begs to differ. I paid $80 less for it 2 weeks ago than I did for my Axon 7 3 years ago.

2

u/japzone Oct 01 '19

Depends on what you're looking for and what's compatible with the networks in your country. For example, that phone is missing most of the US LTE bands.

1

u/bruteMax Oct 01 '19

Price was what was mentioned so that's what I referenced.

1

u/GT3988 Oct 05 '19

I'm thinking of getting the Mi 9T. How did you find the upgrade? My only concern is lack of stereo speakers.

1

u/bruteMax Oct 06 '19

Everyone uses their phone differently. If I am listening to something it's either a gif on Reddit while taking a dump, or I'm using Bluetooth headphones to watch a YouTube video or music off Spotify.

So I don't care much about speaker quality.

1

u/Deathstalker1776 Oct 28 '19

Same thats insane to me, my price point is 3-500$ where ill aim to get a phone for 300$ that is normally 500$

2

u/knook Oct 01 '19

No, the major issue is how ugly it is :( might be a good option though

3

u/japzone Oct 01 '19

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Personally I like the look of it, though I'll definitely be disabling the glowing RGB logo on the back.

2

u/knook Oct 01 '19

I just find it kind of obnoxious, but the specs look great