[DISCUSSION] Shall we expect Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals?

[Mr_Mooncatt]

I was looking at possibly purchasing the ROG Phone II soon, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be right around the corner by the time I know for sure. This would be the first time I've considered Asus, so I'm wondering if I should hold off until those sales, or if any sale would be worth waiting for. I looked at some of last year's sales from them, and it looked like most prices were $50-100 off similar priced products, and I didn't see any that included the original ROG Phone.

Should we expect more of the same with sales that aren't all that special, or is there a chance they could surprise us with something worth waiting for?

 

[snake2332]

I'm keeping my eye on this while I wait for any surprise Black Friday sales. I don't know if this site is reputable though.

 

[Mr_Mooncatt]

I'm keeping my eye on this while I wait for any surprise Black Friday sales. I don't know if this site is reputable though.

From what I've read, that site is reputable in that you'll get your product, but understand what you're getting. They are falsely advertising that this is an international version. In reality, they are selling the spec limited China Tencent version that's been "unlocked" (their wording, which I'm assuming means had the global ROM flashed). You can tell by the lower 128 GB/8 GB specs and their sample photos even show the Tencent logo on the back. For us in the U.S, that means less frequency and carrier support than what little the true NA version has, and no warranty because it's a grey market item that's been tampered with.

I know a lot of U.S. users have the Tencent version, flashed it to the global ROM, and are happy with it despite its limitations, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. After learning more about the whole GSM/VoLTE issue since I made this thread, I'm having a hard time even recommending the NA version to anyone in the U.S. I've pretty much decided I'm not going to be getting it.

 

[stealthj]

I'm keeping my eye on this while I wait for any surprise Black Friday sales. I don't know if this site is reputable though.

Gear best seems pretty reputable.

Other user is right though. You would have to send it back to china for warranty (through your vendor) or just hope asus will take care of you (which in my case they usually have, I buy a lot from them)

If I was considering the 8GB version, I would definitely try to look for the indian 8gb/128gb model. I think It says ROG on the back instead of tencent and has an all glass back instead of metal and glass.

 

[uriii13]

Gear best seems pretty reputable.

Other user is right though. You would have to send it back to china for warranty (through your vendor) or just hope asus will take care of you (which in my case they usually have, I buy a lot from them)

If I was considering the 8GB version, I would definitely try to look for the indian 8gb/128gb model. I think It says ROG on the back instead of tencent and has an all glass back instead of metal and glass.

Something new? I want one for Europe... Spain, concretely. Where to buy?

 

[Mr_Mooncatt]

For what it's worth, they do have a couple black Friday deals now.

https://store.asus.com/us/category/blackfriday

It looks like they are offering the Tencent version in the U.S. Officially now? I guess instead of improving the offering, they want to sell us a worse product that is barely useable on our networks. I'm losing more and more respect for that company any time I look up info about this phone.

Plus it's sold out. Have they ever had any in stock? Lol

 

[Maczuga]

https://tradingshenzhen.com/en/vivo-etc/1879-asus-rog-phone-2-8gb-128gb.html

Pretty much the lowest price I have seen so far. Gearbest, AliExpress, banggood - all those stores have higher prices at this moment.

 

[Mr_Mooncatt]

https://tradingshenzhen.com/en/vivo-etc/1879-asus-rog-phone-2-8gb-128gb.html

Pretty much the lowest price I have seen so far. Gearbest, AliExpress, banggood - all those stores have higher prices at this moment.

That's the China Tencent version, which I wouldn't take even if it was free. The NA version is already obsolete by design with limited band support and no VoLTE or Wi-Fi calling, so why would I want something worse than that?

I do need to correct myself, though. The Asus black Friday page is selling the original ROG phone, not the ROG phone 2.

 

[Maczuga]

That's the China Tencent version, which I wouldn't take even if it was free. The NA version is already obsolete by design with limited band support and no VoLTE or Wi-Fi calling, so why would I want something worse than that?

I do need to correct myself, though. The Asus black Friday page is selling the original ROG phone, not the ROG phone 2.

I do not care about the design, both functions you have mentioned are not supported by my mobile provider and it supports all bands here, so I guess it's just up for personal preferences.

Most people I have contacted in EU are getting the Tencent version, it just gives us most of stuff we need.

 

[Mr_Mooncatt]

I do not care about the design, both functions you have mentioned are not supported by my mobile provider and it supports all bands here, so I guess it's just up for personal preferences.

Most people I have contacted in EU are getting the Tencent version, it just gives us most of stuff we need.

I see on your profile that you are in Poland. Black Friday is a U.S. retail event, so that's why this thread is focused on the North American version of the phone. I understand you have different priorities, but our GSM networks are scheduled to be shut down within the useable life of the phone. At that time, the ROG Phone 2 will no longer be able to make a phone call in the U.S. The only way to make calls would be through VoLTE, which Asus has said they don't intend to enable on the NA version. It's not a personal preference issue here, it's a basic usability problem.

 

[Maczuga]

I see on your profile that you are in Poland. Black Friday is a U.S. retail event, so that's why this thread is focused on the North American version of the phone. I understand you have different priorities, but our GSM networks are scheduled to be shut down within the useable life of the phone. At that time, the ROG Phone 2 will no longer be able to make a phone call in the U.S. The only way to make calls would be through VoLTE, which Asus has said they don't intend to enable on the NA version. It's not a personal preference issue here, it's a basic usability problem.

That's right. But the Black Friday is now much more popular in other countries (althrough the deals are not somehow interesting, mostly fake discounts), that surely wasn't a thing some years ago. However, there was 1 person from EU asking about Black Friday deals too, so I just wanted to point to some available discounts.

Didn't know about the scheduled network shutdown in US, that explains why US buyers avoid the Tencent version.

 

[Mr_Mooncatt]

That's right. But the Black Friday is now much more popular in other countries (althrough the deals are not somehow interesting, mostly fake discounts), that surely wasn't a thing some years ago. However, there was 1 person from EU asking about Black Friday deals too, so I just wanted to point to some available discounts.

Didn't know about the scheduled network shutdown in US, that explains why US buyers avoid the Tencent version.

And I didn't realize Black Friday was a thing elsewhere now. Hopefully it's not as violent as it sometimes is here in the states. XD