ASUS

ROG Phone 9 In The Flesh: Stunning Design With Snapdragon 8 Elite Firepower

Coinciding with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite unveil, a new flagship processor for Android devices, ASUS is teasing new high-end hardware of its own—the ROG Phone 9 for gamers. The two products are linked, as the next Android gaming handset from the ASUS Republic of Gamers division is confirmed to feature Qualcomm's top-end silicon, and we got to see (and hold) the device in the flesh.

ASUS is not sharing a ton of details at the moment, though in addition to revealing that the ROG Phone 9 will sport a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip inside, it announced a global release date—the ROG Phone 9 will make its global debut four weeks from today, on November 19, 2024.

"This latest addition to the ROG Phone family promises to elevate mobile gaming to new heights with cutting-edge technology and unmatched performance capabilities...With its signature gamer-centric design ethos, the ROG Phone 9 series is designed to offer an immersive, lag-free gaming experience, making it a must-have for serious gamers and technology lovers alike. " ASUS says.

ASUS also posted a handful of videos on its ROG Phone 9 landing page, which further hint at what to expect. Again, most of the details are still being kept under lock and key, but the videos collectively suggest the company's next gaming handset will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for better photos (something phones have been doing for a while, actually, but have ramped up recently), as well as a cool new ability to play retro games on the rear of the device.

How is that possible? As with the ROG Phone 8 we reviewed, there's an AniMe matrix display on the backside of the handset that's comprised of a whole bunch of mini LEDs. ASUS is teasing an upgraded AniMe experience on the ROG Phone 9, which among other things will enable playing rudimentary (by today's standards) games. The teaser video on the product page shows what Asteroids might have looked like if it was a top-down spaceship scroller. It's not, of course, but it's an example of what kind of classic gaming can be done on the back of the phone, to perhaps kill some time.

The big upgrade, of course, is to the chipset with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC on board. Qualcomm's new flagship chip features an updated 2nd generation Oryon architecture that's been enhanced and tweaked specifically for smartphone applications. It's a powerful slice of silicon that, according to Qualcomm, smokes an Intel Lunar Lake laptop when on battery power, at least in Geekbench.

We'll have to wait and see what else the ROG Phone 9 brings to the table, but we're expecting gobs of RAM, loads of storage, and both display and camera upgrades.

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