Asus ROG Phone 5 launches in the US with standard 16GB RAM for $1,000

Asus makes one of the popular gaming smartphones under its Republic of Gamers brand, and its latest model, the ROG Phone 5, was announced last March. It may have taken a while, but customers in the United States can now order the device and other ROG-branded accessories.

The Asus U.S. online store currently lists just one smartphone under its phones category, and it is the base model for the ROG Phone 5. A $1,000 price tag might appear too much, but it could avid mobile gamers are likely to find it justifiable considering the technical specifications it offers.

ROG Phone 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC that comes with a built-in 5G modem and has eight cores clocked with a speed of up to 2.8GHz. It sports a 6.78-inch FHD+ (2448 x 1080) AMOLED screen, which may appear like a standard flagship phone feature until customers consider its promised 144Hz per 1 millisecond response time.

A configuration for the ROG Phone 5 global version is available with 8GB. But the product offered for customers in the U.S. offers a whopping 16GB RAM paired with a 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. It supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connections.

Since the device is designed to handle the most demanding mobile games, it is not surprising that the ROG Phone 5 is powered by a 6000mAh dual-cell battery. When Asus announce the phone series, the company confirmed that one of its standard features is the 65W fast charging tech promised to let the phone gain 70 percent charge in 30 minutes and a full charge in 52 minutes.

Asus did not skimp on the ROG Phone 5 camera specs, too. The device is equipped with a triple rear camera composed of a 64MP wide-angle Sony IMX686 sensor, along with a 13MP ultrawide and 5MP macro lenses. For selfies, the device has a 24MP wide camera in the front.

Aside from the ROG Phone 5, Asus has also started selling gamer-friendly accessories in its U.S. store. Customers can purchase the phone bundled with the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad, currently discounted at $1,040 instead of its regular $1,150 price. By itself, the gamepad costs $150. Another phone accessory worth checking out is the $70 ROG AeroActive Cooler 5 that can be mounted on the phone as an external cooling fan.

Asus previously announced two more superior ROG Phone 5 models called the ROG Phone 5 Pro and ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, with an expected retail launch later this year. They both feature the ROG Vision rear-facing matrix display, but only the latter was advertised to offer 18GB RAM.