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The upcoming ASUS ROG Phone designed primarily for the mobile gaming scene will support DTS:X Ultra audio technology, according to an official announcement issued by DTS earlier this week. The feature will be introduced to the device through an OTA software update scheduled to arrive this fall following the smartphone’s market debut, but exact rollout dates have not been revealed. Nevertheless, the smartphone is expected to launch before the end of the month running Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, complete with ASUS’ ROG Gaming UI on top.
DTS:X Ultra will bring “console-quality audio” to the phone, according to the company, and the benefits of its implementation to the ASUS ROG Phone will be noticeable on both the on-board speakers as well as connected headphones. In a nutshell, DTS:X Ultra is an audio technology capable of reproducing sounds relative to the listener’s location in a 3D environment, which means that, in gaming terms, users will be able to pinpoint sound sources within the 3D space with greater accuracy. Since the ASUS ROG Phone is a device dedicated to mobile gamers, DTS:X Ultra is a very welcomed feature not only because it helps immersion but also due to its potential ability to give players a competitive edge. Moreover, according to DTS, the audio technology has been finely tuned specifically for ROG headphones and the smartphone’s speakers in order to offer enhanced loudness, bass response, and audio clarity.
The ASUS ROG Phone delivers 24-bit/192kHz audio out of the box and includes both a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack as well as a USB Type-C 1.0 connector. The unit is equipped with front-facing stereo speakers flanking a 6-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2,160 by 1,080 pixels spread across an 18:9 image format. The ROG Phone is expected to hit the shelves this month, and according to a recent tweet by ASUS North America, the unit should be officially introduced Stateside on October 18 during an event set to take place in New York. Pricing details remain unclear as of this writing, however, the smartphone should fit in the premium market segment given its internal specifications, and will likely carry an appropriate price tag of around $1,000.