Asus ROG Phone 2 to Black Shark 2 Pro: New gaming phones launching this month

The smartphone gaming scene is about to get very exciting. Gaming phone pioneers Asus, Nubia and Black Shark have announced new devices in this segment. Asus ROG Phone 2, Black Shark 2 Pro and an upgraded version of Nubia Red Magic 3 are the upcoming confirmed gaming phones.

The new generation of gaming phones will have one thing in common - the chipset. All three phones will be or are expected to be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 855 processor. The new chipset is equipped with Qualcomm Kyro 485 Prime CPU cores that can be clocked up to 2.96Ghz. Snapdragon 855 Plus is also said to deliver 15% speed post.

Qualcomm said Snapdragon 855 Plus "would raise the bar for elite gamers with the increase in CPU and GPU performance and elevate experiences for 5G, gaming, AI and XR."

Here's what we know about the Snapdragon 855 Plus phones so far.

Black Shark 2 Pro

Xiaomi-backed Black Shark will launch its latest gaming phone on July 30 in China. Black Shark 2 Pro is highly expected to launch with the Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset. The smartphone was also spotted on Geekbench revealing some key specifications. According to the listing, Black Shark 2 Pro will come with Android 9 and 12GB of RAM. The chipset's codename is "msmnile" which is used for both Snapdragon 855 and its plus version.

Asus ROG Phone 2

Launching a little earlier is Asus ROG Phone 2 on July 23. The second-generation ROG phone has been confirmed to come with Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC making it the first to do so. TENAA listing of Asus ROG Phone 2 reveals the phone will feature a 6.59-inch OLED display. It will come with up to 12GB of RAM and 1TB of built-in storage.

Its camera configurations include a 24-megapixel selfie camera and dual rear cameras with a 48-megapixel sensor. The smartphone could pack a 5,800mAh battery with 30W fast charging support. Asus ROG Phone 2 is also said to feature a 120Hz display.

Nubia Red Magic 3

Nubia quickly joined the race by announcing that it will upgrade the Red Magic 3 with Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset. Details on the new Red Magic 3 are still scarce. Nubia Red Magic 3 launched earlier this April in China. The smartphone comes with a 5,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 855 chipset and a 90Hz display. It also supports 30W quick charging.