ROG Phone 3 finally gets Android 11 update

While we are looking forward to Android 12, ASUS has just only pushed out the Android 11 update for the ROG Phone 3. And even then, the currently available update package is only for Taiwanese version, with the global version yet to be released. The wait continues for those outside of Taiwan.

As usual for ASUS, they are bringing pretty much all the features that stock Android 11 offers, while slapping on their customization. It appears that ASUS will be using a revamped version of ZenUI for the ROG Phone 3, which might be refreshing to those who were stuck on Android 10 for so long.

The full changelog can be viewed below, and you can also check out the download yourself. Do note that this is for the Taiwanese ROG Phone 3 only:

1. Upgrade system to Android 11
2. Some 3rd party apps are not yet compatible with Android 11
3. Please back up your data before upgrading to Android 11. If you want to downgrade your device’s software version to Android 10 by official software package, it will erase all data from your device’s internal storage.
4. Introduced new ZenUI design
5. Revamped Mobile Manager, Contacts, Phone, File Manager, Calculator, Clock, Gallery, Weather, Sound recorder, Settings, Data Transfer, Local backup, Setup wizard, System update apps
6. Support one-time permissions, improved scoped storage, and auto revoke app permission
7. Support to keep Bluetooth connection when airplane mode is activated
8. Adjusted notification tray to Android 11 design. Support notification conversations
9. Classic style of power button menu supports device control and Google Pay in Android 11
10. Updated Style, Auto switch in System color scheme, advanced options for back gesture settings, and SIM card settings. Removed previous ASUS One-hand mode.
11. Added Notification history and Bubbles settings
12. Integrated PowerMaster features in Mobile Manager into Battery Settings
13. Added PowerMaster functions in battery settings, such as slow charging, select charging limit, custom battery mode, Hibernate apps settings, and so on.
14. Adjusted the Quick Settings panel design. Support media control function. Added Nearby Share tiles (Need to add manually).
15. Added lock task, screenshot, share options after long pressing the app icon of the task in recent apps screen.
16. Adjusted Calculator design to the latest Android style.
17. Added “Show blocked calls in call log” option in Call log Settings of ASUS Phone
18. Adjusted the size of status bar icons to keep visual consistency
19. Added setting alarm by date and group alarm features in Clock
20. Support new editing page in Gallery app
21. Adjusted to new screenshot and screen recorder folders to fulfill Android 11 requirement
22. Updated the default selection logic of data category in Data Transfer
23. Adjusted the pages in Setup wizard
24. Adjusted options and update mechanism in system update setting

ASUS has a record of being rather slow with their updates for the ROG Phone series, partly due to the deep customizations that ASUS applies. They also provide rather short-lived support, with the ROG Phone only getting one major update, from Android 8 to Android 9, without an Android 10 update on the way. So yeah, we aren’t sure if we will see Android 12 on the ROG Phone 3 either.

Hopefully with gaming phones becoming more mainstream, ASUS will improve on their updates, as it won’t be too long before the competition catches up in terms of hardware.

Pokdepinion: I honestly wonder why doesn’t ASUS ramp up their updates, since they don’t have that many models to update anyway.