It appears that ASUS will be releasing a Tencent version of the ROG Phone 5, carrying on from last year’s decision to release a Tencent version of the ROG Phone 3.
The company appears to have confirmed this phone release on the official ROG Weibo account. Stating that it will be continuing its partnership with Tencent in China for a special version of its upcoming ROG Phone 5.
In addition to confirming a Tencent version of the next device, ASUS is also confirming the official name of the phone itself – the ROG Phone 5. Up until now using the number 5 for the name was merely speculation and rumors.
The Tencent version of the ROG Phone 5 will likely release in March
ASUS’ post doesn’t mention any exact dates here, but it seems that March is mentioned in terms of a release month. So it won’t be that much longer before the new ROG Phone is available for consumers. At least in China where the Tencent version will be launching.
A teaser image shared with the post displays the number 3, which likely points to sometime next month as the arrival time for this phone.
Keeping this in mind, the timing of the launch would be much earlier than last year’s ROG Phone 3 release. Which didn’t come out until July. So ASUS appears to be speeding things up here. A rumor from earlier this year suggested that the phone would be releasing globally in April.
And if that date is accurate then it may be possible that a potential Tencent model will be released before the global version. This also wouldn’t be too different from the past couple of releases. Both the ROG Phone 3 and the ROG Phone II were released in China and other parts of Asia before the US/Global model was released.
So the same thing could be happening here.
The post refers to “six-finger power”
The translation is obviously a little bit off here, but the post mentions a reference to “six-finger power.” Which could very well be referencing some extra buttons somewhere on the device.
This could just be ASUS giving a nod to players who use more than two fingers for the touch-screen controls in games. But it could also be referencing the top Air Triggers, as well as two additional buttons that weren’t available on past ROG Phone devices.
If ASUS is indeed launching the Tencent model of the ROG Phone sometime next month, then the company will also likely announce the phone before that. At which point it may elaborate on what the six-finger power statement means.