DOSSIER

ASUS

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review: Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Gaming Unleashed

Most modern phones can run most popular games fairly well, but if you're picky, flagship phones can often deliver superior visual fidelity. If, however, you demand the best mobile gaming experience possible, you need something purpose-built for gaming on the go. The latest Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro comes with the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, more RAM than a lot of computers, and configurable triggers buttons. There's even an optional cooling fan.

The ROG Phone 9 Pro is the fastest Android smartphone by any measure, but it also commands a premium. The base model ROG Phone 9 starts at $1,000, and the Pro starts at $1,199.99. The most capable version is a staggering $1,500 (the Pro Edition), but it comes with the cooling fan accessory. Is blazing performance worth such a substantial premium? Let's find out.

Asus has been making Android phones under its ROG brand for years, but last year marked a big change for the product line. Asus left behind the aggressive gamer aesthetic for a slightly more refined design. There are still gaming features galore, but like the ROG Phone 8, the ROG Phone 9 doesn't scream "gaming phone."

The ROG Phone 9 Pro cuts an imposing silhouette with its IP68 matte black body. It's also pretty heavy at 227g, which is only about 10g lighter than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable phone. The power and volume buttons are easy to find by feel, and they're very clicky. However, they're also wobbly enough that you can hear the aluminum rattle when you press them. This isn't a dealbreaker, but a $1,500 phone should not have loose buttons.

The ROG 9 Pro sports a big 6.78-inch OLED screen. It's only 1080p, but the density still looks good enough at that size. The panel is completely flat, but the glass cover curved just a bit at the edge to smooth the transition to the aluminum frame. Most phones have a single port and a couple of buttons, but the ROG Phone 9 Pro has a lot more going on.

There's an optical fingerprint scanner under the display, and it doesn't seem to have changed from last year. It works well enough, though it's slower than the sensors on similarly priced phones. It unlocks the phone on the first try most of the time, but it's noticeably slower than the ultrasonic sensors used in Samsung and Google phones now.

On the bottom edge, this phone has a USB-C port and a 3.5mm jack—a true rarity in 2024. This is also where you'll find the SIM tray, and there's no eSIM support in this phone stateside. On the right edge, you've got the power and volume buttons. This is also where Asus has added the Air Triggers, which are both easily mappable to in-game controls. On the left side is a second USB-C port that can charge the phone while gaming and also connect to the AeroActive Cooler X Pro, which is included with the Pro Edition we've been testing.

The back of the phone is almost identical to last year's device, a smooth expanse of lightly textured glass with a few brand marks and a racing stripe. The glass isn't very grippy, but we do like the interesting texture. The cameras again reside in a large squircle-shaped module. It stands out starkly from the back of the phone, ensuring this device will never lay flat on a table.

The AniMe Vision LEDs are back, too. Last year's phone dropped the LCD of older ROG Phones in favor of the illuminated dot matrix, and the ROG Phone 9 improves on it. The ROG 9's AniMe Vision has 648 LEDs under the back glass, twice as many as last year's phone. Most of them are white, but there's a bank of red LEDs below that. Asus has included numerous animations and status displays that you can toggle on and off in the settings, and you can add your own images too.

If you want this part of the phone flashing non-stop, that's an option. Alternatively, you can only use it for select purposes like previewing calls and checking charging status. The utility of AniMe Vision is questionable, but Asus is doing everything in its power to make the feature fun. It's kind of working, too. The ROG Phone 9 Pro includes a suite of simple retro-inspired games for AniMe Vision controlled with the shoulder buttons. There's an endless runner, an Asteroids knock-off, a Breakout clone, and snake. The games, which have online leaderboards, are surprisingly fun and work well. We'd like to see more games added in the future, though.

One of the main complaints with Asus' 2023 ROG redesign was the loss of front-facing speakers. The ROG Phone 9 doesn't change that—you still have one speaker in the earpiece and one bottom-firing—but the official cases now include a "cone" that redirects sound toward you from the bottom speaker. It's a thoughtful change, but we're happier to see the bottom speaker positioned in such a way that it's unlikely to be blocked by your hand in landscape orientation. The audio is generally fine for a phone but shouldn't it be more than that for such a premium device?

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Software, AI Experience And Update Support...The ROG Phone 9 Pro runs Android with  Asus optimized features and a ROG theme. The default ROG theme has a distinctively "gamer" aesthetic with angular app icons and fonts. The stock Android theme is an option though, if you prefer a more conventional look. We appreciate that Asus has separated its system optimizations from the theme, and you can toggle on individual UX improvements. For example, you can use one of Asus' quick settings layouts, which are denser than stock Android, or you can revert to Google's version. It's the same for the power menu, volume panel, and so on.

The ROG Phone 9 Pro runs Android 15 out of the box, which is a good thing because having the latest software is preferable. It's nice to see the latest version of Android because Asus only promises two major OS updates for this phone. That's not ideal when a phone costs this much, but at least you don't have to burn one of the scant updates just getting up-to-date.

Naturally, AI is a major focus of the ROG Phone 9. Qualcomm says its latest mobile chip reaches new heights in NPU throughput, which will theoretically make AI features more powerful. The phone has various AI tools we've seen on other devices, like phone call translation, and AI transcripts in the recorder app. You can also search for images in the gallery app with keywords.

Many of Asus' AI features are specific to gaming. For example, X Sense integrates with select games like Genshin Impact to automate picking up items, running long distances, and other tedious things. You can also record gameplay with the ROG Phone's pop-up in-game menu, and AI can be employed to automatically record and save important moments. Again, this requires a supported game. 

In short, this phone is overflowing with features—even Samsung can't touch the sheer number of toggles, buttons, and menus on the ROG Phone 9 Pro. It can be a little overwhelming, but this device is aimed at gamers. If you're deep into a mobile game to the point you'd consider buying an ultra-premium gaming phone, you probably want all those features so you can tune the phone's behavior to your preferences. The ROG Phone 9 definitely delivers for picky gamers.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Cameras, Sample Shots And Performance...The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro has a triple camera array very similar to last year's phone. There's a 13MP ultrawide camera, a 32MP 3x telephoto, and a 50MP primary. While the main shooter's resolution remains at 50MP, the sensor has been upgraded to a Sony Lytia 700 from the IMX890 of last year's model.

With the right lighting, the ROG Phone 9 Pro can take some nice photos. The colors are good, and exposure times are manageable even for action shots. However, the colors aren't consistent across the three shooters. The main and ultrawide cameras are roughly true-to-life, but the telephoto looks a bit muted. The ultrawide also keeps edge distortion to a minimum.

When lighting is poor, exposure times increase markedly compared to other phones in this price range. That makes it difficult to reliably capture movement. Night mode photos won't help with that, but you can get some nice shots with boosted detail if your subject is stationary. The phone also has fairly good stabilization—you can shoot longer Night Mode photos without worrying about minor jostling. Asus says it can eliminate 5 degrees of movement compensation, 2 degrees greater than last year's phone.

The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro has a triple camera array very similar to last year's phone. There's a 13MP ultrawide camera, a 32MP 3x telephoto, and a 50MP primary. While the main shooter's resolution remains at 50MP, the sensor has been upgraded to a Sony Lytia 700 from the IMX890 of last year's model.

With the right lighting, the ROG Phone 9 Pro can take some nice photos. The colors are good, and exposure times are manageable even for action shots. However, the colors aren't consistent across the three shooters. The main and ultrawide cameras are roughly true-to-life, but the telephoto looks a bit muted. The ultrawide also keeps edge distortion to a minimum.

When lighting is poor, exposure times increase markedly compared to other phones in this price range. That makes it difficult to reliably capture movement. Night mode photos won't help with that, but you can get some nice shots with boosted detail if your subject is stationary. The phone also has fairly good stabilization—you can shoot longer Night Mode photos without worrying about minor jostling. Asus says it can eliminate 5 degrees of movement compensation, 2 degrees greater than last year's phone.

mundophone