Qualcomm and ASUS have partnered to make a Snapdragon-branded phone ostensibly for the 1.6 million subscribers of the Qualcomm Insiders program. The Qualcomm Insiders program is an online community of fans and enthusiasts who will be the first to hear about news about Qualcomm. Participating for it is free, and you can download its free exclusive wallpapers once you have been registered.
Going back to the phone, the phone first appeared on TENAA. From there, we can say that the phone is going to be official soon, due to that listing. The phone has a triple camera setup, with a 64mp main camera, a 12mp ultrawide and an 8mp telephoto, which are all useful for photographers, unlike the usual camera setup. The camera app of the phone will make use of the AI capabilities by Qualcomm like auto zoom and object tracking, but the actual processing of the pictures is done by ASUS.
The design already looks familiar, it looks like the ROG Phone 5 with the camera setup of the Zenfone 8 Flip. Nevertheless, it is a good looking design without holes or notches, thus having a nearly distraction-free screen.
For the front camera, you have a 24mp front camera. Also, this is one of the few newly released phones without a notch, which is a novelty these days. For the display, you have a 6.78in. Samsung AMOLED with 2448×1080 (FHD+) resolution, along with 144Hz refresh rate. There is also Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection on top as well as Always-on Display. Unfortunately, there’s no announced IP rating, but we assume there is some sort of watertight protection included in the phone.
This is also one of the rare flagships released today that includes a rear fingerprint scanner. It uses the same 3D Sonic Technology seen on the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, making for an ultra quick fingerprint scanning. The reason for this placement is, according to Qualcomm, is that the OLED that the phone came with is not compatible with an in-display fingerprint.
The phone will have a Snapdragon 888 (non-plus version, that is not released yet) and 16/512 RAM/storage configuration. The phone will have UFS 3.1 storage as well as LPDDR5 RAM. The phone will come with bone-stock Android but there may be optional removable apps that Qualcomm has included in the phone. They have not exactly confirmed it yet.
For the sound, this phone is also the first to support Snapdragon Sound, which features clear and rich sound including low Bluetooth latency, listening profiles, active noise cancellation, and high-res audio up to 24-bit 96kHz. The phone also has stereo speakers and will come shipped with premium Master & Dynamic true wireless ANC earbuds.
There is also a 4000mAh battery inside the phone and, as part of the package, will come with a Qualcomm Quick Charge 5.0 charging brick in. The phone is capable of charging up to 100% in 50 minutes.
With all these features and amazing specs announced, comes with an amazing price. The phone will come with earbuds, a QC5.0 fast charging cable and brick, as well as bumper case. Also, this is a flagship device, so expect flagship prices. The phone will cost you $1500 (~75K php) if you buy directly from Qualcomm. The phone was created in dedication to its 1.6 million registrants for the Qualcomm Insiders program, as well as to showcase Qualcomm’s software that can integrate into their hardware.
The phone will be manufactured, marketed and sold by ASUS. It will be available around August in the following areas: China, USA, Germany, UK, Japan, South Korea and India.