realistix
Audiophiles should not go for ASUS phones, literally most other high end phones are better. Headphone jack will not be included as per every phone (not a big loss). Dual front facing speakers is something included in phones from 2017, and yes they should do that. ASUS is partnering with Tencent for this phone, not sure why that is a problem imo.....Every phone has their own bloatware/software, just ignore the apps you dont want and pause them. If every phone was pure Android, we will end up in a iPhone situation, no new development. ASUS phone department has nothing to do with their PC hardware development. It would be a big stretch to see PC specifics added to their phone, unless money value added. Imo, I see them selling their phone assets to Tencent or some other company at some point. They have never really been serious about hardware and software updates on phone, unlike the PC hardware they make. Phones are about making quick money off flashy features, dig deeper and you see they're not actually trying very hard.
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ASUS ROG actually has one of the best front-facing stereo speaker if I recall so I don't see why audiophiles should avoid this compared to others. ASUS also received praise for having a headphone jack in the older iterations and criticized for lacking one in the current iteration. The reason that Apple gave for starting the trend of ditching the headphone jack was also dumb because Sony had phones that featured waterproofing, dual front facing stereo speakers, and a headphone jack earlier in the decade.
Tencent is a big problem and there's a reason why I called it a spyware. Large mainland Chinese companies are controlled by the Chinese government and I wouldn't put it past them to take advantage of my data (I'm sure tech companies from America and other countries do this too but these companies aren't controlled by a communist regime at least). Tencent is also really infamous even among Chinese gamers and is even more hated than EA was during the "surprise mechanic" controversy according to a friend of mine from China (he might be exaggerating though).
Having pure Android has nothing to do with future innovation. There's a reason why Google Nexus and Pixel phones were so beloved by many tech consumers: it's clean, simple, and highly customizable. Apple is stagnant because those who are into Apple products stick with Apple products so there's no real competition. Android phones can still compete with each other through hardware innovation and minimal software features without resorting to Tencent's spyware. Besides, all future Android innovations go through Google by the end of the day.
Yes, PC and phone development are separate but they are shared under the same ROG brand marketing which also include peripherals and apparel. The Gundam collab I mentioned is part of a marketing promotion and has nothing to do with sharing hardware components between PC and phones (they're mostly skins on top of existing hardware). The ROG Gundam collab even extended to tumblers and t-shirts. I'd get a Gundam themed phone the same way I'd get a game-specific special edition of a console just saying.
