Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate

I even have to say that the ROG Telephone 9 doesn’t include the expanded “Anime” LED lights that you just get with the $1,200 ROG Telephone 9 Professional. This lets you play just a few arcade video games or run GIFs from the again of the telephone. Whereas that sounds enjoyable and pointless in equal measures, the bottom ROG Telephone 9 is actually the identical gadget.

I additionally must say upfront that I didn’t get to make use of final yr’s ROG Phone 8, however Asus itself famous a few of the complaints customers had about the earlier yr’s gamer telephone. Gamers complained in regards to the placement and specs of its audio system and the shortage of devoted amps. Followers felt miffed in regards to the meager promised two years of software program updates.

On that entrance, completely nothing has modified. The telephone solely affords two years of software program and 5 of safety updates. The Google Pixel 9 affords seven years of OS and safety updates. The sound on the ROG telephone can’t maintain a candle to different $1,000+ telephones just like the iPhone 16 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The sound is tinny and skinny. Even worse, it’s straightforward to dam the audio system together with your palm. That is the type of telephone that wants headphones. There’s no means you may get across the reality your telephone will likely be locked out of latest software program updates after simply two years.

The telephone’s efficiency has been boosted with the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which Asus places into nitro-fueled overdrive with on-board overclocking. Sure, this telephone can get sizzling even with its stable thermal programs. You haven’t lived the gamer telephone life-style till you’ve strapped a large exterior cooler unit to the again of your gadget, feeling like a health care provider desperately making an attempt to assist a fever-sick affected person obtain homeostasis.

Now that immediately’s telephones function chips that may rival some low-end PCs, the necessity for PC-level cooling feels all of the extra crucial. The ROG Telephone 9 doesn’t draw as a lot energy as anticipated. The battery life on the ROG Telephone 9 continues to be up there, and it has the perfect telephones accessible. I may use it for a full day, even after a morning spent gaming.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Construct High quality and Audio

Asus’ newest gamer telephone isn’t an enormous revolution from the ROG Telephone 8 Professional. The Non-pro Telephone 9 has a shrunken show on the telephone’s backside rear. You’ll be able to set this part to point out the time and battery or present an alert if anyone’s calling you. I don’t understand how many individuals set their telephone screen-side down on their desks, but it surely may sometimes be helpful. It’s as a lot of a novelty as Nothing’s units with rear LED lights, however these units promote nicely sufficient for the corporate to maintain making them.

On the very least, it is a good telephone to carry. The sloped sides give the ROG Telephone 9 a extra old-school Android high quality than the most recent Google Pixel 9 telephones. In comparison with your usual iPhone, Asus’ glass again and its vary of textures all assist remind you of the telephone you maintain in your hand, although inevitably, you’ll must discover a very particular case that gained’t cowl up all the underside LEDs.

The redesigned AeroActive Cooler X Pro is a standout accent, although it might value you $120 further. It slots instantly into the center of the telephone with out protecting up any audio system and nonetheless affords entry to the facility button. You’ll undoubtedly hear it going off, but it surely’s not so loud it’ll distract you from the in-game audio. The cooler provides two further triggers that, mixed with the AirTriggers (which you manually activate in Asus Armoury Crate), act as pseudo-R2 and L2 buttons.

You should use the built-in Armoury Crate software program to obtain game-specific management profiles. You should use the triggers for a sport like Diablo Immortal to select up gadgets or deliver up the map. This works comparatively nicely; you get drive suggestions and on-screen indicators when utilizing both AirTrigger.

Sadly, that audio is nowhere close to the place it’s your decision it for such an costly telephone. It’s someplace between tinny and shallow, even when it may possibly get loud. I in contrast it side-by-side with an iPhone 16 Pro and a Pixel 9 Pro, and Asus’ gadget was not something I might hearken to by itself.

And it appears a pair of headphones is strictly the place Asus desires you to go. The corporate promoted using Dirac Virtuo for spatial sound in headphones. The corporate claims its AeroCase and ChillCase redirect sound from the underside speaker to the entrance, however I don’t have both. The AeroActive Cooler X Professional is meant to combine a loudspeaker, which Asus says is equal to a subwoofer, to reinforce bass efficiency. I didn’t sense the audio was higher with the cooler hooked up.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Show

If you happen to’re paying this a lot for a telephone, you’d need a show that may hit the excessive framerates promised by its new CPU. The ROG Telephone 9 contains the identical 6.78-inch AMOLED show because the Telephone 8 Professional with a dynamic refresh price between 1 and 120 Hz. The one approach to get the fabled 185 Hz is by enabling it whereas in a sport via the Sport Genie UI. If the sport even helps such excessive body charges, that issues.

The ROG Telephone helps a really vibrant display screen, a lot so that I may play Genshin Impression beneath direct daylight with virtually no subject. I used to be total glad with the colours on the display screen, although I additionally need to level out that this isn’t packing the best decision display screen. It’s an FHD, 2400 by 1080 decision show. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely is packing a 1440 by 3120 show. A Pixel 9 Professional XL is 1344 by 2992.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Efficiency

If the ROG Telephone 9 is doing something, it’s spelling out good tidings for 2025’s premiere Android units from the likes of Samsung and extra. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite leads to a few of the finest cell efficiency we’ve seen. It’s been nice in benchmarking, and in-game efficiency is equally spectacular, managing to beat Apple’s newest. It’s adequate that we might lastly perceive why Qualcomm deserted its cell chips’ “Gen 3” monikers and known as it “Elite.”

Together with the brand new chip, my model of the Telephone 9 included 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, however if you happen to go for the “Professional Version” model, you’ll get 32 GB of LPDDR5x reminiscence. They each help an overclocked “X Mode” that enhances CPU and GPU efficiency (one of many causes Asus suggests you employ the exterior cooler).’

Benchmarks have been essentially the most spectacular a part of the ROG Telephone 9, particularly working on the overclocking X Mode. In Geekbench 6, I noticed CPU scores of greater than 200 factors extra in single-core settings and 1,200 factors extra in multi-core settings than the iPhone 16 Professional. If you need one thing extra apples to apples, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip scored 800 factors worse in single-core and a pair of,700 factors higher in multi-core beneath the overclocked mode.

In 3D Mark exams like Metal Nomade Lite, the ROG Telephone 9 outperformed an iPhone 16 Professional by 488 factors. It’s 661 factors higher beneath the identical check. That is all with out thermal throttling, due to the exterior cooling unit. If I flip off X Mode and run it beneath “Dynamic” CPU settings with a said 1.02 GHz clock pace, the telephone hits under Apple’s A18 Professional chip. You’ll wish to put it into X-Mode everytime you get right into a sport and be rewarded with some sturdy efficiency.

The telephone can simply hit the 60 FPS cap in a sport like Diablo Immortal. Taking part in Name of Responsibility Warzone: Cellular with all settings set to excessive, I obtained just below 60 FPS often with out hitting any thermal throttling and under 40 levels Celsius with out utilizing the exterior cooler.

The brand new 185 Hz refresh charges gained’t come into play except you discover a sport with none framerate caps and graphics that can let the ROG Telephone 9 hit these peaks. Video games like Useless Cells can stand up to the fabled 160 FPS and really feel a lot smoother than you may really feel on telephones sometimes, but it surely doesn’t actually change the expertise than if you happen to have been utilizing it at 60 FPS. The actual purpose you need excessive refresh charges is for aggressive video games.

Even after I decrease graphical settings in a sport like Warzone to maximise FPS, I can get wherever close to excessive sufficient for above 120 Hz refresh charges to matter. That being stated, it’s nonetheless a singular function for the telephone that might make a distinction to these delicate to buttery clean gameplay.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Software program

I must take a second to debate all of the little further software program touches particular to the ROG Telephone, a few of which work nicely, whereas others don’t. Armoury Crate is surprisingly helpful, not only for setting your efficiency settings but in addition for modifying the AirTriggers presets. It’s straightforward to make use of and reminds you of the remaining battery life.

I additionally discovered Sport Genie, which you entry by swiping off the highest left nook of the display screen, to be quick and responsive. It’s the one approach to activate the AirTriggers in-game or present real-time FPS or temperature knowledge, so it’s good that it really works so nicely proper out of the field.

There’s a lot further packed into the telephone that you just’ll ultimately discover one thing lower than helpful. The ROG Telephone 9 doesn’t fall asleep by default. It enters a “Lock contact” mode to darken the display screen and maintain the sport working within the background. You exit the mode by swiping two fingers, however the telephone by no means appears to acknowledge the gesture.

Whereas each different gadget maker is selling AI as the long run, even when it’s one we don’t need, Asus has as a substitute used AI to automate tedious in-game duties. Sadly, because it at present stands, most of those options solely work with Genshin Impression or Honkai: Star Rail. A few of these options allow you to mechanically choose up objects on the bottom or “pace up conversations.” To say that they’re ineffective can be lacking the mark. Asus is aware of what number of players have an edge towards the ROG Telephone, but it surely’s nonetheless lacking out on individuals like me, who’ve completely little interest in a sport the place a standout function is blowing previous half the content material.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Battery Life

ROG telephones often boast a few of the largest batteries on any cell gadget. The newest from Asus comprises a 5800mAh battery capability (greater than the 5500mAh from the ROG Telephone 8 Professional), however a whole lot of software program works on the again finish to maintain issues going even in-game.

Even with the cooler unit put in and working repeatedly for hours, then dipping out and in of a number of video games over a full workday, I solely reached 50% battery after 4 hours. That’s fairly spectacular, although, whereas working on the Dynamic settings to maintain up battery life in off intervals.

Working the telephone on X Mode saps the battery a lot quicker, much more so if you happen to’re utilizing the exterior cooler. Nonetheless, after almost an hour of fixed gaming one morning, I used to be solely right down to 70%. The battery is already huge, however the background software program is doing the work to take you out of X Mode when not in-game. If there’s every other purpose to get the ROG Telephone 9 past different units in the marketplace, it’s battery, perhaps it’s it.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Digicam

Asus opted for Sony’s Lytia 700 most important digital camera in comparison with final yr’s IMX890. The ROG Telephone 9 packs a 50 MP, 1/1.56-inch most important lens alongside a .7x 13 MP ultra-wide and a 5 MP Macro lens. Solely the Professional model will get the 32 MP 3x telephoto, however the huge innovation this yr is the 6-axis gimbal system that’s presupposed to make images and movies on the go look that significantly better.

Left: ROG Telephone 9; Proper: iPhone 16 Professional

I wasn’t in a position to check that stabilization exterior, simply strolling round with video, so I didn’t see something actually distinctive in comparison with different high-end telephones in the marketplace. The 2 different standout digital camera options are the “Portrait Video”, which retains a topic framed for a cinematic look, and “AI Panning” which might create a pace impact whereas protecting a shifting topic in body.

Left: iPhone 16 Professional; Proper: ROG Telephone 9

These are good distractions, however the precise images it may possibly take are good however not distinctive. I in contrast it instantly with an iPhone 16 Professional (which tends to shoot heat), and whereas they have been good and detailed sufficient for informal capturing, I discovered the ROG Telephone 9’s digital camera may end up in some haloing in direct gentle and nighttime pictures can look particularly unhealthy.

Asus ROG Telephone 9 Evaluate: Verdict

Asus continues to be complicated prospects with the ROG Telephone 9 Professional and ROG Telephone 9 Professional Version, the latter having higher RAM and comes with the cooling unit within the field. Nonetheless, because it stands, the Professional version actually takes gamer telephones excessive. It features a new “Anime” lighting setup with 648 LEDs in comparison with the ROG 8 Professional’s 341 and ROG Telephone 9’s 85. This could will let you add customized GIFs and even play 4 arcade-style video games. Sure, the Professional is a gamer telephone with video games you may play on the back and front of it.

In comparison with that, the common ROG Telephone 9 might initially look like a forgotten stepchild. Nonetheless, if you happen to actually don’t look after fancy LEDs, that is the higher telephone to purchase for its worth. It’s lacking out on 1 TB of storage, however 512 GB is nice sufficient for many cell video games except you wish to flip yours into an emulation station (during which case, you might be higher off with a mini PC or a stable gaming handheld).

The efficiency is so stable that I wish to give it a greater rating, however the lingering points maintain it again. This telephone has no proper to sound as unhealthy because it does at this worth. The digital camera is barely so-so, and the shortage of long-term promised software program updates makes it a tough promote for anyone who cares about protecting units out of the junk heap.

It’s a stable performer, and I’m excited to see the way forward for Android with Qualcomm chips. If you happen to merely need the best-performing Android telephone, that is the perfect in the marketplace. Simply know you’ll want to make use of headphones to get the perfect audio and likewise lower out the whirring fan jutting out of your gadget’s again finish.