Asus’ latest gaming smartphones have just been launched in Malaysia. The Asus ROG Phone 8 series has a much more minimalist design now, though it is still very much a gaming-centric lineup with the latest and greatest hardware, including a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.

For the Malaysian market, three different configurations of the ROG Phone 8 are offered. There’s the base ROG Phone 8 (12GB/256GB) for RM3,999, and the ROG Phone 8 Pro (16GB/512GB) for RM4,799. There’s also the ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition – yes, a rather odd naming convention – with a whopping 24GB RAM and 1TB storage for a cool RM5,999; the AeroActive Cooler X is bundled with this model.

Design wise, the ROG Phone 8 phones look more like a smartphone than a dedicated gaming device now, which is great in our opinion. The standard model has a two-tone finish on the back with an RGB logo, while the two Pro versions have a more understated, “stealthy” all-black finish with an LED dot-matrix display instead, as you can see above.

Beyond the different design and memory configuration, all devices in the ROG Phone 8 series have similar hardware. The three gaming phones feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a 6.78-inch 2400 x 1080 AMOLED display with 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate – though the panel itself is capable of 165Hz – a 32MP selfie camera, an IP68 rating, and a 5,500mAh battery.

Curiously, unlike the global market, the camera system of the ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 8 Pro is different for Malaysia. Globally, both phones feature a triple camera array made up of a 50MP primary sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide shooter, and a 32MP telephoto lens. But for our market, the ROG Phone 8 swaps out the telephoto camera for a 5MP macro shooter instead.

The ROG Phone 8 series is now available for purchase in Malaysia from RM3,999; freebies worth up to RM748 are also up for grabs for early birds. For a limited time, all devices in the series will come with a free one-year extended warranty, and the standard ROG Phone 8 will even be bundled with an AeroActive Cooler X fan. As for the ROG Phone 8 Pro (16GB/512GB), it will come with a DEVILCASE Guardian Gaming case.