Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro evaluation: 2024’s best gaming phone

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro

MSRP $1,199.00

“The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is the best gaming smartphone you may get, with helpful, nicely designed options and a choice of enjoyable built-in video games the place you least anticipate them.”

Pros

• Useful gaming options and software program
• AniMe Vision video games are enjoyable
• Snapdragon 8 Elite chip
• Long battery life
• Fantastic audio

Cons

• Poor digicam
• Only two Android model updates
• Small replace over the ROG Phone 8 Pro

The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is a gaming smartphone from prime to backside, and as you’ll discover out, from entrance to again as nicely. But is it nonetheless a correct on a regular basis flagship machine along with having the ability to present all of the enjoyable gaming stuff once I need it?

This was the course Asus took with the ROG Phone 8 Pro, which ended up being surprisingly wise, no less than in comparison with the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. I’m very pleased to say the ROG Phone 9 Pro continues the pattern and has even introduced again slightly little bit of the insanity that outlined the sequence previously in a really surprising method.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: specs

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: design

Asus toned the look of the ROG Phone sequence down with the final era, and it has largely repeated the identical design for the newest mannequin. If you thought Samsung was unhealthy for barely refining however by no means actually altering the look of its telephones, then the ROG Phone 9 Pro will seemingly make you fairly mad. Thankfully, the corporate hasn’t solely deserted what made earlier ROG Phones enjoyable, as there’s a dual-color Mini-LED show on the again, which Asus calls the AniMe Vision show. It reveals phone standing data just like the battery cost, notifications, and the time. We’ll come again to what makes the AniMe show actually particular in a second.

The ROG Phone 9 Pro has the identical dimensions because the ROG Phone 8 Pro, however is a contact heavier at 227 grams, making it a heavyweight in your pocket, and up there with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Unlike these two telephones, the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s glass again panel has a silky matte texture, which, together with the fairly flat steel chassis, offers little or no pure grip. There’s one thing in regards to the ROG Phone 9 Pro that makes me use extra stress when holding it than I do with different gadgets, and fatigue steadily creeps in when shopping the online or utilizing apps like Reddit.

Leaving this apart, the ROG Phone 9 Pro continues the custom of being designed for gaming and together with neat options that improve gameplay. There are two USB-C charging ports — an offset one on the top and a central one on the facet — a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a pair of shoulder-mounted contact controls referred to as AirTriggers. This is among the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s best options, because the AirTriggers are tactile and exact, making them extremely usable. A welcome IP68 mud and water resistance score makes it suitably sturdy, too.

It’s arduous to name the ROG Phone 9 Pro enticing with its Brutalist-inspired shapes, arduous traces, slash cuts, and blacked-out colour scheme. It’s most undoubtedly practical, however it’s not fairly as comfy accurately, and also you must also anticipate to grip the phone arduous if you happen to use it with out a case.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: efficiency

The ROG Phone 9 Pro is among the first smartphones to launch with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside, and it’s a critical powerhouse with an immense 4.32Ghz clock velocity. It’s accompanied right here by 16GB of RAM. If you purchase the highest ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, it comes with a whopping 24GB of RAM. It’s ridiculously highly effective. Asus has up to date its cooling system to deal with the chip. There’s a fair bigger graphite cooling sheet, and the promise it’s going to hold warmth away out of your arms and hold body charges in video games greater for longer.

While extremely anticipated, there’s additionally some trepidation across the Snapdragon 8 Elite as a result of it working very hot inside the Realme 7 Pro we examined not too long ago. How does it carry out within the ROG Phone 9 Pro? I haven’t seen any warmth buildup throughout regular use, starting from app use to watching movies. Notably, throughout my time with the phone, a software program replace did arrive particularly addressing benchmark app efficiency. Running the 3DMark’s intensive 20-minute Solar Bay Stress Test confirmed that even with this replace and all of the phone’s inside cooling, the chip nonetheless generates loads of warmth.

It doesn’t overheat, however by the top of the check, I thought of the phone’s body nearly too sizzling to carry comfortably. The again of the phone can be hotter than I anticipated, definitely far past what we noticed with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The ROG Phone 9 Pro’s temperature reached 51 levels Centigrade (almost 124 levels Fahrenheit) throughout the check and took as much as 16% of the battery to run, making it clear that the phone was working arduous.

What’s the takeaway right here? The Snapdragon 8 Elite runs sizzling, however it doesn’t trigger the phone any operational issues. Benchmark assessments don’t mirror normal use, however can replicate the stresses of taking part in high-performance video games for lengthy durations. I’ve been utilizing the highest ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, which has a loopy 24GB of RAM. The chip’s mega clock velocity and the large quantity of RAM make the phone extra highly effective than my laptop computer, which is an insane assertion.

A facet of the phone’s efficiency that deserves particular reward is the audio. The stereo audio system have been tuned by Dirac to provide a implausible, full, well-rounded sound that’s excellent for gaming and video. Wear headphones, and there’s assist for Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Wireless, Snapdragon Sound, and each AptX resolution you’ll be able to title. There’s even a quantity splitter management for video games with a picture-in-picture display screen energetic. The audio functionality and efficiency of the ROG Phone 9 Pro is unmatched by one other present phone.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: taking part in video games

Remember I stated there was one thing very particular in regards to the AniMe Vision show on the again of the phone? Well, you’ll be able to play video games on it. Yes, actually. There are 4 completely different retro minigames, and also you management the “motion” utilizing the AirTriggers whereas holding the phone “backward.” These will not be superior video games within the slightest, however I admit I’ve had extra enjoyable taking part in them than I did taking part in many different big-name titles I take advantage of to check telephones. It’s the silliest function I’ve seen on a phone in ages, however I completely like it and adore that Asus has discovered a enjoyable and progressive strategy to convey a few of the gaming insanity again to the ROG Phone.

Asus has a number of particular software program options that make its gaming telephones distinctive. The major ones are X Mode, which maxes out efficiency, and Game Genie, which helps you to customise how the phone works when taking part in video games. New AI-based options embody X Sense, which makes use of picture recognition to auto-fast-forward dialogue, assist decide routes, and auto-upgrade expertise in sure video games, together with Genshin Impact, Arena of Valor, and Honkai: Star Rail. X Capture auto information key moments in your sport.

I’ve performed a number of 30-minute periods of Asphalt Legends: Unite and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and it’s a terrific gameplay expertise. There’s no warmth buildup in Asphalt, and reasonable warmth generated taking part in Mobile Legends, however nothing near the degrees within the benchmark assessments. The AirTriggers are simply personalized and may improve video games with advanced management techniques. The shoulder controls, together with the numerous particular gaming modes, set the ROG Phone 9 Pro aside from different flagship telephones when taking part in video games.

The 6.78-inch AMOLED display screen will get a refresh charge increase to 185Hz, however it’s utilized within the Game Genie settings and isn’t for normal use. I’ve performed video games at 165Hz — the utmost accessible generally use — and at 185Hz and may’t discover any distinction, because it’s clean and blur-free in each. Otherwise, the two,400 x 1,080 pixel decision, 720Hz contact sampling charge, and a couple of,500 nits peak brightness is all the identical because the ROG Phone 8 Pro.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: software program

Android 15 is put in, and as with different ROG Phone fashions, there’s a alternative of a flashy person interface or a typical Android one, with plenty of customization to make the system look and sound the way you need. As typical, you’ll be able to change the look of the icons, the colour schemes, ROG themes, and all of the completely different sounds. All are very well made, and though they gained’t be to everybody’s style, I like the quantity of alternative you get.

As you’d anticipate, Asus has added a choice of AI options to the software program. These embody Google’s Circle to Search, a semantic search, AI Transcripts, and an AI Call Translation that works no matter whether or not each events are utilizing an ROG Phone 9 Pro. All AI options work on the phone slightly than within the cloud and had been first seen on the Asus Zenfone 11.

I’ve discovered the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s software program to be dependable and pleasurable to make use of, and I’ve give you my very own tailor-made model that I like. Unfortunately, the continued replace assist falls behind the competitors, with Asus promising simply two main Android model updates and 5 years of safety updates. When Google, Samsung, and OnePlus all provide 5 years or extra of main model updates, this can be a disappointment, no matter how you’re feeling about whether or not you’d realistically nonetheless personal the phone in three years’ time or not.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: digicam

The ROG Phone 9 Pro isn’t the phone to purchase if you happen to take cellular images critically. The important digicam is a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia with Asus’ improved 6-axis gimbal, which now compensates for 5 levels of motion. It’s joined by a 32MP telephoto lens for 3x optical zoom and a 13MP wide-angle digicam. The {hardware} is actually the identical as on the ROG Phone 8 Pro, other than utilizing a distinct 50MP important sensor, which is disappointing, however considerably comprehensible contemplating the phone’s focus.

Photos taken with the primary digicam are respectable, however they will undergo from noise, and there’s apparent smoothing while you look rigorously. The pictures may also lack a few of the colourful punch delivered by the wide-angle digicam. It doesn’t appear to be a giant step ahead over the one used for the ROG Phone 8 Pro. While I desire the colours and distinction of the wide-angle digicam, the noise and sharpening are even worse. This theme continues while you use the 3x optical zoom.

On the software program facet, Asus has launched Photo Vibes, that are filters which are much like Apple’s Photographic Styles. Unlike the iPhone, they will solely be utilized while you take the picture, not after editing. No one can buy the ROG Phone 9 Pro for the digicam, and it’s unlucky that the software program has not been sufficiently improved or higher optimized for the brand new sensor. I do know from the ROG Phone 8 that the remainder of the {hardware} is competent.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: battery and charging

A 5,800mAh battery resides contained in the ROG Phone 9 Pro and has critical endurance. Expect six hours of screen-on normal use on a single cost, whereas a 40-minute YouTube video at 1440p makes use of up simply 3%, displaying wonderful effectivity from the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Asus says the battery will energy by means of four-and-a-half hours of a steady, heavy gaming session.

Recharging could be carried out wirelessly at 15 watts, however extra shortly utilizing the 65W wired charger within the field. It helps the USB PD 3 PPS commonplace so you need to use any suitable quick charger. The specs are the identical as these of the ROG Phone 8 Pro, and it takes round 45 minutes to cost the battery totally. The side-mounted USB-C port is made for powering the phone whereas nonetheless taking part in video games, and within the Game Genie menu, it may be switched to a bypass mode, so it solely powers slightly than expenses, lowering warmth and sustaining efficiency.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Which mannequin do you have to select?

I’ve been reviewing the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, which is the highest mannequin accessible from Asus this 12 months, however there are two different variations of the phone to contemplate. The vary begins with the ROG Phone 9, and it doesn’t have the AniMe Vision’s video games, however a less complicated model of the show with 85 LED dots in comparison with the 648 dots on the ROG Phone 9 Pro. It will get a 5MP macro digicam as an alternative of the telephoto digicam, and a most of 16GB of RAM and 512GB of cupboard space.

The ROG Phone 9 Pro and 9 Pro Edition are the identical other than the RAM and cupboard space increase, and the inclusion of the AeroCooler X Pro within the field of the 9 Pro Edition. Whether that is price it is dependent upon how lengthy you’re going to play video games for, and which video games you commonly play. If you’re taking part in prime, graphically intensive video games for greater than a few hours a day, then it could be price it.

Why? The AeroCooler X Pro connects utilizing the facet USB-C port on the phone, and has a built-in fan powered by it. Additionally it provides a subwoofer for the audio, a pair of bodily shoulder buttons, a kickstand, and one other 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s additionally an RGB panel as a result of it’s a gaming phone.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: worth and availability

Like earlier fashions, the Asus ROG Phone 9 sequence has a staggered launch schedule. At the time of writing, preorders for the Asus ROG Phone 9 sequence in Europe and the U.Okay. begin on November 19, with shipments starting in December. Asus plans to launch the ROG Phone 9 sequence within the U.S. in January 2025, with extra data coming quickly.

The commonplace ROG Phone 9 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of cupboard space will price $999, and the 16GB/512GB ROG Phone 9 Pro will likely be $1,199. The prime ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, which comes with the AeroCooler X Pro, with its insane 24GB of RAM and 1TB of cupboard space, will likely be $1,499. For reference, the ROG Phone 8 Pro was additionally $1,199 at launch.

The ROG Phone 8 Pro competes with the iPhone 16 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro. All are worthy alternate options, representing the best phones you should buy for the time being. However, none have the identical gaming-specific options and software program, however they will nonetheless play all the highest video games. As as to whether the ROG Phone 9 Pro is the best choice for you, it’ll be all the way down to how vital cellular gaming is to you.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Should you purchase it?

I’ve felt a twinge of disappointment utilizing the ROG Phone 9 Pro. Not as a result of it’s unhealthy (removed from it), however as a result of it’s extraordinarily much like the ROG Phone 8 Pro. From the general design, dimensions, and display screen to the digicam and charging, it’s the identical phone. The ROG Phone 8 Pro was a brand new starting for Asus and the ROG Phone line, and it’s a disgrace its alternative hasn’t moved issues ahead once more.

There’s no query it’s a superb phone for gaming. The AirTriggers are nonetheless the best of their variety that I’ve tried. The audio efficiency beats the competitors each time. The immensely highly effective Snapdragon 8 Elite — which can be all some want to contemplate by way of shopping for the phone — doesn’t appear to get too sizzling exterior of some benchmark assessments and is shaping as much as be very environment friendly. Add the AeroCooler X Pro accent, and also you’ve bought a novel gaming phone that will likely be somebody’s dream machine. If that’s you, and also you don’t personal the ROG Phone 8 Pro, you’re going to like it.

For everybody else, it’s a troublesome name. The ROG Phone 9 Pro is a mildly up to date ROG Phone 8 Pro, and if you happen to didn’t leap on that one, then this one gained’t be for you both. The one ultimate factor I’ll say is the foolish minigames on the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s AniMe Vision show are most likely my favourite factor about the entire phone, and probably make it price shopping for if you happen to miss the times when cellular video games had been easy affairs.