ROG PH launches ROG Flow X13 with XG Mobile External GPU

ASUS Republic of Gamers Philippines (ROG) launched the ROG Flow X13, the first 2-in-1 convertible ROG gaming laptop, and the ROG XG Mobile, an innovative ultraportable external GPU that augments the ROG Flow X13’s gaming performance and connectivity. With this special announcement, ROG nears the completion of the entire AMD Ryzen 5000 series for the year.

“ROG is truly proud to be the first to deliver the latest top-of-the-line gaming products that are powered by the newest AMD 5000 CPUs and NVIDIA 3000 GPUs.” ASUS Philippines Country Head, George Su, shares, “with the ROG Flow X13 and the ROG XG Mobile added to our strong portfolio, we take innovation and gaming to new heights as we cater to the needs of on-the-go gamers and content creators, who rely on the very best hardware for their daily routine.”

When ROG Flow X13 is paired with the behemoth graphical performance of the ROG XG Mobile, ROG sets itself to redefine what is possible with a 13-inch gaming device – making it the most powerful 1-inch ultraportable gaming notebook today. Through this powerful combination, ROG empowers its users with versatility and portability while providing desktop-class gaming performance and connectivity on demand.

The first of the ROG Flow X13s is slated to arrive by February end, with the later variants to follow in March 2021. The ROG XG Mobiles on the other hand will be available within the 2nd quarter of the year.

ROG Flow X13: Compact is the new impact

Up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads provides the performance needed for demanding workloads. The Ryzen 5000 Series mobile processors feature the new Zen 3 architecture that is faster and more efficient to last you throughout the day.

The ROG Flow X13 incorporates a GeForce GTX 1650 GPU capable of hitting clock speeds up to 1255MHz at 35W in Turbo mode with ROG Boost, with the ability to draw an additional 5W via Dynamic Boost, enabling strong performance in the latest games.

Up to 32GB of memory provides smooth multitasking, the ROG Flow X13 uses LPDDR4X-4266 RAM, which consumes 50% less power and generates less heat than typical DDR4 memory. LPDDR4X memory also takes up 46% less surface area on the motherboard thanks to smaller chips and simplified traces, creating more room for the X13 to house a powerful CPU and GPU. A PCIe SSD provides high performance and up to 1TB of capacity, giving users ample storage space for games and professional portfolios.

Ultraportable 2-in-1

The ROG Flow X13 has a slick convertible design with a 360-degree hinge that allows users to use different modes for different tasks. Standard laptop mode is optimal for serious gaming and multitasking while tablet mode makes it possible to swipe through content or draw and take handwritten notes with a compatible active stylus like the ASUS Active Pen.

The touchscreen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, which resists scratches from everyday use. The 360-degree hinge also enables stand mode, which brings the display closer to the user, and tent mode, which minimizes the device’s footprint. These positions give the cooling fans more unobstructed access to airflow, lowering temperatures by up to 8-degrees Celcius.

The 13-inch chassis is slim at only 15.8mm thickness and lightweight at only 1.3kg. A textured exterior with a wave-like design adds style while providing a secure, fingerprint-resistant grip for easy carrying.

Integrated one-touch login also allows the ROG Flow X13 to log users in with a simple touch of a finger.
The long-lasting battery powers the ROG Flow X13 for up to 10 hours of video playback. Type-C charging support allows users to replenish the battery from portable power packs and third-party adapters, enabling more time away from wall sockets.

A 4K Ultra HD display provides a high pixel density well-suited to artistic work. Adaptive-Sync synchronizes the panel’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate to reduce lag, minimize stuttering, and eliminate visual tearing. The ROG Flow X13 is also factory-calibrated to meet the PANTONE validation standard for color accuracy. It also has a taller 16:10 aspect ratio that provides more vertical space for games and creative workflows.

Unhindered cooling

Liquid metal thermal compound improves thermal transfer from the CPU to the heat pipes, reducing the CPU’s temperatures by up to 10°C compared to standard thermal pastes. ROG was the first to automate the application of liquid metal for mass production. Now, ROG is the first to mass-produce laptops with liquid metal on AMD CPUs.

Heat is transferred away from the CPU, GPU, and VRM by 2 heat pipes, which have a slimmer profile to save space while still increasing the contact area for better thermal transfers. With the help of the new Dual Arc Flow fans, the X13 will generate maximum airflow with minimal noise. The fans switch off completely when CPU and GPU temperatures are low in Silent operating mode. This makes cooling truly silent under light workloads.

Crystal clear sound

Virtual 5.1.2-channel surround sound powered by Dolby Atmos provides a richer and more immersive audio experience. Smart Amp technology keeps the onboard speakers within thermal and excursion limits, allowing users to enjoy a louder and more engrossing experience.

To improve voice chat, advanced Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation removes unwanted sounds from both input and output audio. It can be applied to any device and even customized on a per-app basis, so users can limit noise-canceling to chat apps without affecting in-game sounds. Gamers can communicate better with teammates, creators can record cleaner audio in any environment, and everyone can enjoy clear conversations.

ROG XG Mobile: more than graphics. Less to carry.

ROG is a pioneer in the field of external graphics, having introduced the very first eGPU dock, the XG Station, in 2007. The new ROG XG Mobile introduces a streamlined design that offers an innovative new way to bring desktop-class gaming performance to an ultraportable form factor.

 

Weighing only 1kg and measuring just 29mm thickness, the ROG XG Mobile is 6% the size of typical eGPUs despite featuring up to a top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 3080 GPU.

Efficient vapor chamber cooling keeps the ROG XG Mobile operating at ideal temperatures despite its small enclosure. The compact vapor chamber design increases contact surface area by 54% compared to heat pipes, maximizing thermal transfer to the heatsink fins for rapid dissipation.

The ROG XG Mobile connects directly to the CPU with a custom PCIe 3.0 x8 interface that’s faster than Thunderbolt 4. The interface dedicates 63Gbps of bandwidth exclusively to graphics, resulting in significantly higher performance than eGPU alternatives. The USB link drives the XG Mobile’s multi-port hub, which has four USB Type A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a full-sized SD card slot, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0a display outputs connect directly to the external GPU.

An integrated 280W power adapter supplies the ROG XG Mobile and laptop simultaneously, so users do not need to carry a separate power brick.

The ROG Flow X13 and XG Mobile will be available by end of February 2021 in the following variations:

    • ROG Flow X13 Supernova Edition – The ROG Flow X13 Supernova Edition comes in with a specialized metal nameplate with an iridescent shine, in the ultraviolet shade and is powered by the ROG X13 exclusive – Ryzen 9 5980HS. This limited-time offer is complete with an ROG XG Mobile GC31S (RTX 3080) and the new Xbox Wireless Controller for its first owners.
    • ROG Flow X13 – Go small without sacrificing power. Even with an ultralight, compact chassis, the ROG Flow X13 speeds through tasks with cutting-edge processors of up to a Ryzen 9 5900HS
    • G XG Mobile – The ROG XG Mobile is the ultimate choice for flexible gaming and content creation. Long, flowing lines wrap around its chassis visually evoking the same futuristic design of the ROG Flow X13.

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realme X50 Pro 5G review: Saving the best for last

12/03/2020

After bagging the title of the Number One smartphone manufacturer in the Philippines, realme is closing the year 2020 with one last product launch. And it’s not just any ordinary device. The company is introducing for the first time in the country its 5G-enabled flagship phone — the X50 Pro 5G. This is in addition to other AIoT products that were also freshly unveiled.

With a really powerful Snapdragon processor, a quad-camera setup, fast-charging technology, and 5G connectivity, did realme save the best for last?

Design

As with other realme smartphones, the X50 Pro 5G looks familiar with its rounded edges and a bit of a chunky physique. You have your usual power/lock button on the right while the left side holds the volume buttons.

The top has nothing much going on except for a pair of antenna bands and a pinhole microphone, but the bottom comprises of a single SIM tray, its USB-C port, and a speaker grille.

Turn it around and we have much more to talk about so let’s begin with its eye-catching design. I like the subtle shine that its back panel has since it exudes a more sophisticated and premium feel.

The phone is available in Moss Green and Rust Red and realme specifically went with these low saturation colors. They used an AG Glass or anti-glare glass coating that gives the back panel a subdued look with an added resistance to smudges.

We also see the slightly protruding camera module housing four sensors. Meanwhile, up front, we have two selfie cameras with a capsule-style setup.

Located towards the bottom of the screen is an in-display fingerprint sensor which I actually prefer more than the side-mounted ones as you can accidentally unlock the display just by holding the device.

So far, fingerprint recognition has been snappy and missing the scanning area has been noticeably minimized as compared to other phones.

Display and Multimedia

Its display is 6.44 inches big and uses a Super AMOLED display. The panel is made by Samsung which means vibrance should not be a problem and it comes with a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother movements.

With a Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080), you get a sharp picture quality for consuming content with good contrast for reading and browsing.

As expected, colors are punchy and brightness is sufficient even under direct sunlight. Its Eye Comfort feature is still present to help reduce blue light from the screen and prevent eye strain from prolonged phone usage.

For watching videos or playing games without headphones on, you’d be glad to know that the X50 Pro comes with dual linear speakers that uses the earpiece as the second speaker.

With these, you get stereo sound which is a big deal as having only the down-firing speaker is definitely not as immersive.

Camera

The four-piece camera setup mentioned earlier consists of a 64-megapixel main, 12-megapixel telephoto, 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle macro lens, and a B&W portrait lens.

Generic shots have good detail in them and reproduce the scene’s colors naturally. As usual, having a wide-angle lens came in handy to pack in more elements into one shot. Telephoto is also great to have around but I personally go only as far as 5x zoom to keep most of the details intact.

Having its HDR turned on and working side-by-side with the AI scene enhancement greatly helps in bringing out more color and detail to every scene. It’s just a bit easy to go overboard with colors with AI scene enhancement turned on.

Meanwhile, Nightscape 3.0 also proved to be useful in really dim situations. The photo you see of a cat sitting on a plant box was captured in really low light settings and it was still able to bring out detail without seeing a lot of noise and smudge. That’s impressive!

The X50 Pro supports 4K video at 30fps and comes with video stabilization. This makes it possible to record fairly smooth hand-held footage.

Flipping it again, we see the dual front cameras with 32MP Sony wide-angle sensor and an 8-megapixel super-wide-angle camera for your selfies.

realme said the cameras are equipped with Edge Deformity Correction since wide-angle shots tend to stretch the image. With this feature, it’s able to recognize faces and optimize face shape and contours so they appear more natural. AI, man.

Together, these sensors took decent selfies even when shooting against the light. Its portrait nightscape feature also made it possible to have decent shots when lights aren’t that bright.

Additionally, they also capture stabilized and slow-mo videos that should help when you’re into shooting vlog-style clips.

Performance

We’ve discussed a handful of features so far and powering those functionalities is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 — one of the leading mobile processors offered today. Joining the party are 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage which are the best combo you can get for the X50 Pro 5G. realme is also proud of the fact that it runs on Android 11 with realme UI 2.0 so it contributes to the overall efficiency and power offered by the phone.

Everyday tasks are done without breaking a sweat. Although this is not really surprising as the CPU has been tweaked for better performance. This is more evident when playing games. Even resource-heavy tasks are easily run by the device while keeping things cool.

Graphics performance is also at par with our expectations and together with its vibrant display and up to 90Hz refresh rate, spending hours on games like Genshin Impact was an enjoyable experience. Other games like Wild Rift or Call of Duty: Mobile were also rendered seamlessly.

It’s worth noting that gaming is immersive not just in visuals and performance, but also even through its tactile vibrations for every hit or cast of a spell in-game. That’s a nice touch for all the gamers out there.

According to realme, AI performance has also been increased 100% which somehow doesn’t sound great for the future of the human race. But kidding aside, it should better assist you with your entire experience with the phone.

One of the main selling points of the X50 Pro is its 5G connectivity. And with more and more 5G-capable towers being established around the metro, it really pays to invest in something that can harness this power. realme has partnered with Smart Communications to provide this high-speed connectivity and the company promises download and upload speeds up to 600Mbps and 60Mbps, respectively.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a Smart SIM available and was able to achieve a constant download speed of 291Mbps and upload speed of 28Mbps in our tests. Still, those are fairly impressive speeds, and streaming high-resolution videos online didn’t pause to buffer.

It’s also important to note that when talking about 5G connectivity, stability comes second to speed and the device was able to deliver stable connections as we browse the web even while using the X50 Pro as a hotspot with multiple devices. And during that time, we enjoyed its WiFi 6 with its extended range and Dual WiFi acceleration.

Battery

Packing a 4200mAh battery, the X50 Pro can last an entire day of usage even outdoors with 5G enabled. This may sound like an average performance for a smartphone but keep in mind that it needs a lot of juice for its apps and features that run continuously in the background. Being able to last more than 12 hours of usage is actually a testament to the efficiency of its internals.

When it comes to charging, its 65W SuperDart technology promises only 35 minutes to fully charge the device from 0-100%. Of course, we put it to the test and we’re happy to report that it proved true to its claims (almost) as we were at 99% after exactly 35 minutes of charging.

Just like before, it comes with battery-saving features to help conserve power when you need it most.

Creature Feature

As always, in our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to look for features in devices that make them unique. Something that makes a product stand out from its peers. For the realme X50 Pro, it would obviously have to be its 5G capability and affordability.

Having a 5G smartphone means you’re future-proofing your device in terms of connectivity. We are slowly transitioning to having steady access to 5G network and during times that you need a reliable connection for sending bulks of files, for example, you can definitely rely on this phone.

Conclusion

With the X50 Pro 5G, realme has definitely saved the best smartphone offering for last before officially closing 2020. It’s got a subdued yet attractive design, capable cameras front and back, a smooth Android 11 UI, great performance thanks to its top-shelf processor and internals, and quick charging.

We can also say that from the processor down to the antenna, realme made sure that the X50 Pro is ready to make the most out of 5G.

The realme X50 Pro 5G can be availed through Smart Signature Plan M for PhP 1,899 per month with a one-time cash-out of PhP 6,900. Those who will pre-order the device from the Smart Online Store and select Smart Stores from December 3 to 10 get a free realme Watch worth PhP 3,990. The promo is available to new subscribers and is available at a special discounted price for existing and re-contracting subscribers.

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