Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review: The Ultimate Gaming Smartphone. ROG Phone 9 Pro – Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global.
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Android smartphone. Announced Nov 2024.
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Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review
Asus has always been a top contender in the gaming phone market. The company’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) series has consistently delivered powerful smartphones with exceptional performance. The ROG Phone 9 Pro is no exception. Released in late 2024, this phone promises an upgraded gaming experience with new features, hardware improvements, and a sleek design. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s take a detailed look at what the ROG Phone 9 Pro has to offer.
Design and Display: Premium Build with Stunning Visuals
The ROG Phone 9 Pro carries forward the signature ROG design language. It has sharp edges, glowing accents, and an overall bold look. The back of the phone features a striking RGB lighting logo, which adds to the gaming aesthetic. The rear panel is made from a combination of glass and metal, giving the phone a premium feel. While it’s a bit heavy compared to standard smartphones, this is expected in a gaming device that prioritizes performance.
The display is one of the standout features of the ROG Phone 9 Pro. It sports a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 165Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. The result is an incredibly smooth experience when gaming and scrolling. Colors are vibrant, and blacks are deep, making it a joy to watch content and play graphic-heavy games.
As for the resolution, the display offers Full HD+ (2448 x 1080) resolution. This is a sweet spot for gaming, as it offers sharp visuals without putting too much strain on the phone’s GPU. Whether you’re playing fast-paced action games or watching your favorite shows, the display is bright and crisp in any lighting condition.
Performance: A Beast for Gamers
The ROG Phone 9 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which is one of the fastest chipsets available in 2024. This makes the phone perfect for running the most demanding mobile games at high settings. Coupled with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, the phone handles multitasking and gaming sessions with ease.
For storage, you get options ranging from 256GB to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. This is more than enough for downloading large games and keeping your media files without worrying about running out of space. However, there’s no expandable storage, so you’ll have to make do with the built-in options.
The phone’s performance is also enhanced by the GameCool 5 cooling system. This feature uses a combination of vapor chambers, graphite sheets, and thermal gel to keep the device cool during long gaming sessions. As a result, the phone doesn’t overheat, even after several hours of gaming.
Battery Life: Long-Lasting Power for Extended Sessions
Gaming phones need to offer great battery life to handle extended gaming sessions. The ROG Phone 9 Pro comes with a massive 6,000mAh battery, which is quite impressive. With regular usage, the phone easily lasts an entire day, even with heavy gaming. On average, you can expect around 8-9 hours of continuous gameplay at medium settings.
What’s more, the ROG Phone 9 Pro supports 65W fast charging. In our tests, the phone charges from 0% to 50% in just 20 minutes, and a full charge takes just about 45 minutes. This is a big plus for gamers who need to quickly top up their device between sessions.
Cameras: Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review
While the ROG Phone 9 Pro is primarily focused on gaming, Asus has included a capable camera setup. The phone features a triple-camera system, consisting of a 50MP main sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro sensor. The main camera takes sharp and vibrant photos in well-lit conditions, and the ultra-wide lens offers a wider field of view for landscapes and group shots.
At night, the camera performance is decent but not groundbreaking. Low-light photos tend to be a bit noisy, especially in extreme darkness. However, it’s good enough for casual photography.
The front camera is a 32MP sensor, which is more than adequate for selfies and video calls. If you’re a content creator or love streaming your gaming sessions, this camera will serve you well.
Gaming Features: Built for Gamers
As expected, the ROG Phone 9 Pro comes with a range of features designed to enhance your gaming experience. One of the most notable is the AirTriggers 6, a set of touch-sensitive buttons on the side of the phone that act like shoulder buttons on a gaming controller. These are highly customizable and give you more control during intense gaming sessions.
The phone also has an enhanced gaming mode that optimizes performance by allocating more resources to the game you’re playing. This mode can be easily activated by swiping down the notification bar. Additionally, the phone supports a range of accessories, including the AeroActive Cooler 7, which helps with cooling and adds extra buttons for more control during games.
For streaming enthusiasts, the ROG Phone 9 Pro offers software optimizations that allow for smooth, lag-free game streaming. Whether you’re using platforms like Twitch or YouTube, you’ll get a solid performance without stuttering or frame drops.
Software: Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review
The ROG Phone 9 Pro runs on Android 14, with Asus’ ROG UI on top. The interface is clean, easy to navigate, and packed with customization options. You can tweak the phone’s settings for gaming performance, battery life, and even control the RGB lighting on the back.
Asus also provides a Game Genie feature, which gives you quick access to various gaming-related settings during your session. You can adjust the refresh rate, monitor CPU and GPU usage, and even block notifications to avoid distractions while playing.
Price: Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Review
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is available for purchase in several regions starting at around $1,299 for the base model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The price can go up to $1,499 for the 512GB variant.
| Specification | Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.78-inch AMOLED, 165Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Battery | 6,000mAh, 65W Fast Charging |
| Rear Camera | 50MP Main, 13MP Ultra-Wide, 5MP Macro |
| Front Camera | 32MP |
| Operating System | Android 14, ROG UI |
| Price | $1,299 (16GB/256GB) (about Rs 1,16,247.69) |