Asus' next ROG Phone could regain a feature from the past

The ROG Phone 8 series goes official in less than a week

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Summary

• The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro might have colorful dot matrix-style customizable LED lights at the rear, distinguishing it from previous models.
• The ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro could feature a redesigned chassis with slimmer bezels and a bigger camera bump housing three sensors.
• The Pro variant is expected to have better components, such as 24GB RAM and 1TB storage, and may come with a faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate was our favorite gaming phone of 2023, and for good reason. The phone is packed to the gills with top-notch hardware, excellent build quality, and all the features you could ask for as a gamer. For 2024, the Taiwanese company is gearing up to announce the ROG Phone 8 earlier than usual, with the device scheduled to debut at CES next week. Leaks have already revealed the Phone 8's design and specs. A new leak now gives us our first look at the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro and its unique LED lights at the rear.

Previous Pro-gaming phones from Asus have featured a customizable LED screen at the rear. However, this won't be the case with the company's next flagship gaming phone. Based on the leaked images shared by MySmartPrice, the ROG Phone 8's Pro sibling will apparently feature colorful dot matrix-style customizable LED lights.

Asus previously used a dot matrix display on the ROG Phone 6 and some of its older gaming phones. The company also uses a similar dot matrix display on its expensive Zephyrus gaming laptops.

If the previously leaked ROG Phone 8 renders are accurate, it will sport an RGB ROG logo instead of the dot matrix-style LEDs. Interestingly, this appears to be the only design difference between the ROG Phone 8 and its Pro sibling. Both models will feature a redesigned chassis with slimmer bezels surrounding the 6.78-inch flat display, a squared-off chassis, and a bigger camera bump housing three sensors.

With Asus giving up on the chunky bezels, the ROG Phone 8 is unlikely to ship with front-facing speakers. While disappointing, this trade-off will allow the Taiwanese company's next gaming phone to have a more compact footprint, making it easier to carry. The removal of the customizable rear display could also be for the same reason. As for the selfie camera, it will sit inside the centrally aligned punch-hole.

While the design changes between the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro are seemingly minor, Asus will likely reserve the best components for the latter. So, if you are interested in the ROG Phone 8's rumored 24GB RAM and 1TB storage variant, you might have to opt for the Pro variant. The latter could also ship with a faster version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

Thankfully, you won't have to wait long to know more about the ROG Phone 8 series. Asus is officially scheduled to unveil the phone on January 8 at CES 2024 and has been teasing the device for the last few weeks. So far, the company has confirmed the ROG Phone 8's bezel-less display can reach a peak brightness of 2,500 nits.