For years Asus ROG series has dedicated it smartphones to gamers. While still competing with many flagships phones like Samsung S series or iPhone, Asus ROG has proven to be a dedicated smartphone for mobile gamers. Unlike many other phones, the Asus ROG 9 series has a 648 mini LEDs on the back of the device that can light up to different patterns to bring animations such as " GAME ON" or you can use them to play arcade-inspired games such as Brick Smasher, Snake venture or Speedy Runners.
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This smartphone has special or specific gaming features you won't find in other gaming smartphones such as a second USB-C port on the side so you can play your games on landscape mode so the cable doesn't interrupt your gaming while charging. There are also haptic triggers on the side of the phones. And more surprisingly this phone has a headphone jack, which makes it one of the very few high end smartphones that comes with a headphone jack.
Quick Specs
| Specifications | ROG Phone 9 | ROG Phone 9 Pro | |
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| Display | 6.78", 2K AMOLED, 165Hz LTPO (185 Hz in Game Genie) |
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| Ram and Processor | 12GB RAM Snapdragon 8 Elite |
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| Storage | 256 GB, 512GB | 512 GB (Pro Edition comes with 1TB) | |
| Cameras | 50MP main, 5MP macro, 13MP ultrawide, 32MP selfie camera |
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| Battery | 5,800mAh, 65W wired and 15W wireless charging | 5,800mAH, 65W wired and 15 wireless charging | |
| Connectivity | WI-FI 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC | WI-FI 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC | |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
| OS | Android 15, 2 major updates and five years of security updates | Android 15, 2 major updates and five years of security updates | |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass), aluminum frame. IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Mini-LED (648 dots) programmable matrix (on the back) Pressure sensitive zones (Gaming triggers) |
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass), aluminum frame. IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Mini-LED (648 dots) programmable matrix (on the back) Pressure sensitive zones (Gaming triggers) |
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| Prices | Starts at $999 | Starts at $1200 ($1500 for Pro Edition) |
Style and Design
The basic design and hardware are mostly the same with slightly differences. The Volume rocker and power buttons are on the right side of the smartphone with a nice texture and clicky. There are 2 USB-C ports, one on the left edge and the other one on the bottom edge. The one on the left is a USB-C 3.2 which supports DisplayPort/HDMI and also works for charging and powering the external AeroActive Cooler X Pro. The second USB-C port rests on the bottom edge but it is a USB-C 2,0 which is limited for data transfer and power only. A SIM card tray, speaker, and 3.5 mm headphone jack are also on the bottom.
The front is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the back panel uses Gorilla Glass 3. The phone's matte frame design is made of recycled aluminum which has sleek, sturdy and comfortable feel. The phone is dust and water proof with an IP68 rating. The ROG 9 features an under-display fingerprint sensor which is quick and reliable. It also has face unlock which is bit less secure. Both the models come in Phantom Black or Storm White.
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The phones also ship with a separate cooler, the latest being called AeroActive Cooler X Pro which attaches to the back of the handset. This is a $120 separate purchase fan that allows you to cool the CPU allowing you to game even longer without running into thermal throttling issues. This way your phone doesn't have performance issues as it gets hotter.
Display
Both the models carry the same display from the ROG phone 8 with a slightly minor change. The models have a 6.78" AMOLES screen with a resolution of 2,400 X 1,080 pixels with up to 165 Hz of refresh rate. Using the Asus Game Genie Software the refresh rate can a little bit faster up to a maximum of 185Hz. The models can reach to 1,600 nits in high brightness mode and a maximum peak at 2500 nits.
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The ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition features a secondary display on the rear made up of 648 mini-LEDs called Anime Vision. The Anime Vision display has over 20 preset animations which can show time, battery level, and the Asus ROG eye logo. Asus has added red LEDs to the mini display this year comparing to last year which were all white.
Now you can play simple, low-res games on the Anime Display using the air triggers as controls. These games surprisingly work well and are great alternative to the display beyond notifications and animations. The Anime Display of the base ROG Phone 9 is limited to just 85 LEDs and cannot play games.
Camera and Photography
The ROG 9 Pro features 3 rear cameras: 50MP main Camera, 32 MP 3X telephoto camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), and a 13MP ultra wide camera with EIS. The base ROG 9 has the same main and ultra wide camera but replaces the telephoto camera with a 5MP macro instead. The ROG 9 series beats the myth that gaming phones do not have good cameras.
The main camera by default take 12MP pictures but you can always change it to take 50MP pictures which captures more details, particularly in faraway subjects. The telephoto lens take 8MP images by default but again you can change to take full-resolution 32MP pictures in settings. Images taken with the ultra wide camera look realistic and have a decent amount of detail.
The 32MP front-facing selfie camera takes pictures at 8MP with no settings to change that. But still the pictures are vibrant, colors look natural and you can see almost all details. Rear video capture can max out up to 8K30fps, but at this resolution, movement can cause background objects to appear blurry. Videos at 4K60fps look smoother with less blur and more detail. The stabilization is good but not that great. Front-facing video maxes out at 1080p at 30fps with colors looking a little bit darker.
Performance
The ROG phone 9 series are all powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. The base ROG Phone 9 comes with 12GB ram with 256 and 512 GB storage options, the ROG Phone 9 pro 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, and the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition 24GB RAM with 1TB storage. The ROG phone can virtually handle anything you throw at it. From app launches, multitasking to app switching which are pretty smooth and fast. Even playing some of the resource intensive games like Genshin Impact on the highest graphics settings at 60fps poses no issues for the ROG Phone 9 series as the gameplay is very smooth.
The screen is incredibly responsive to touch input, as are the air triggers and shoulder buttons on the external cooler. Asus says the screen's response rate reaches as high as 720Hz. The AeroActive Cooler X Pro connects to the phone's side USB-C port while the top of the cooler is pushed down to lock everything in place. Asus says the fan blades are 12.5% larger than the AeroActive Cooler X, which leads to 29% better cooling. During gameplay, the phone never felt hot to the touch, with or without the cooler. Gaming with the AeroActive Cooler X Pro attached to the phone worked well. You can comfortably place your index fingers on the Air Triggers and middle fingers atop the cooler's shoulder buttons. The Cooler X Pro also features its own USB-C port for power, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a flip-out stand.
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Battery and Charging
The ROG Phone 9 series comes with a 5,800 mAh battery bigger than last years ROG phone 8 series with 5,500 mAh. They also come up with an 65W included charger and can support wireless charging up to 15 W using the Qi 1.3 standard. The ROG 9 phone series can last up to 14 hours and 35 minutes while streaming a HD video with full brightness. Using the included charger, It can charge the phones up to 43% in 15 minutes, 75% in 30 minutes and a full charge up to 100% .
Connectivity and Network
The Asus ROG Phone 9 series supports sub-6GHz 5G network and is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile's networks. The devices can hold two physical SIM cards, but eSIM support is limited to Japan and Taiwan. Bluetooth 5.4 and WI-FI 7 are supported. The phone has two USB-C ports, one of the left side USB-C 3.2 that supports display port/HDMI and charging and the other one at the bottom USB-C 2.0 limited to data transfer and charging
Sounds and Speakers
There are two speakers for media playback: one on the earpiece and the other on the bottom edge. With AeroActive Cooler X Pro, which has its own woofer, the bass performance is great though it competes with the noise from the fans itself. The ROG 9 Phone series supports high-resolution audio both wired and wireless, including aptX Adaptive, aptX lossless, and Snapdragon sound. Dirac software is also installed to help tune the speakers in real time for surround sound content. Voice call quality is good—and even better with AI noise cancellation activated. In a test voicemail, audio sounds crisp and clear, with some background noise. With AI noise cancellation, audio sounds richer, and all background noise is eliminated.
Software
All the models ship with the latest Android 15 and will receive 2 years of major OS updates and five years of security patches. Considering it is a flagship phone and also pricey a longer support window would be nice. Google and Samsung are going a long way in the Android world with seven years of upgrades for their high end devices.
Asus customizes it's software heavily for gaming purpose. Armoury Crate serves as your home base with game library, a console showing system information like internal temperature, and a featured section highlighting games that take advantage of the phone's capabilities.
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When playing a game, swiping diagonally from the top left or right corner brings up the Game Genie. The Genie is an overlay that lets you choose between performance modes, pick the refresh rate, or activate X Sense if the game supports it. X Sense customizes how you interact within a game. For example, in Genshin Impact, you can use X Sense to automatically pick up items, automatically run, or speed up conversations. Game Genie also houses AI Grabber, which can be used to select text in games for a web search or to translate on-screen text.
There are also a handful of AI-powered features. The AI Call Translator allows you to have real-time conversations with people speaking another language. It supports 10 languages, including Chinese, English, and Spanish. The Recorder app features a beta version of AI Transcript, which transcribes text as the device records and creates a summary without needing to be online.
Prices
The base model Asus ROG 9 Phone starts from $999, Asus ROG 9 Pro starts at $1,200 and Asus ROG 9 Phone Pro Edition starts at $1,499. The phones are pricey to consider but they offer a better value when it comes to gaming.