Asus’ ROG Telephone 9 assessment: a gaming standout

One of many main boons within the smartphone house lately is gaming — and never the bloatware variety. As a substitute, it is the gradual adoption of higher-performance video games and cloud gaming. I’ve wished to be an avid supporter of cell gaming for years at this level, however there have been hurdles stopping this from turning into a platform I take advantage of extra typically. After I had the prospect to go hands-on with Asus‘ ROG Telephone 9, I felt as if this could possibly be a brand new lease on life as a cell gaming participant.

Asus’ ROG Phone 9 is developed to be a cutting-edge gaming-first smartphone. With all the trimmings of the ROG design philosophy, Asus packs in a collection of nice options to complement and energy the gaming experience. The ROG Telephone 9 sequence is complemented with a Professional lineup. Nevertheless, even the bottom mannequin has a noticeably strong battery and a show that begs for video games to be performed on it. Sadly, the ROG Telephone 9 underwhelms on the subject of day-to-day use, particularly concerning its digital camera.

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Asus ROG Telephone 9

Asus’ ROG Telephone 9 is a sturdy gaming-first smartphone with innovating {hardware} and software program perks made to play cell video games, together with AirTriggers and AI-driven options.

Professionals

• Beautiful AMOLED Show
• AirTriggers are a modern addition
• As much as 21 hours of battery

Cons

• Gamer-first design and UI is ugly
• Digicam high quality is subpar

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Value, availability, and specs

The Asus ROG Telephone 9 launches on Tuesday, November nineteenth. The bottom mannequin of the sequence is accessible for $1,000. The system comes with a stunningly crisp 6.78-inch AMOLED E6 show. This display options LTPO know-how, with a dynamic refresh price between 1 and 120Hz. Nevertheless, ROG Telephone 9 does supply as much as 185Hz when utilizing its Recreation Genie for a good smoother gameplay expertise. The show additionally helps a peak brightness of two,500 nits, serving to colours and distinction keep vivid even when open air within the daytime.

Wanting on the inside specs, the bottom ROG Telephone 9 helps as much as 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The digital camera array helps a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia f/1.9 important lens, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide Free-form lens, and a 5-megapixel macro shooter. The front-facing digital camera is a 32-megapixel ultra-wide lens. Powering the telephone is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which leverages a 5,800mAh battery.

All of that is wrapped in a 6.4 x 3 x 0.35-inches (163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm) type issue. Out there in storm white and phantom black, the ROG Telephone 9’s physique incorporates a crystallized nano-texture. Lastly, the system helps AirTrigger buttons on the fitting facet of the unit. These act as refined triggers that replicate the usage of a controller.

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Asus ROG Telephone 9

Model

Asus

Show

6.78-inch AMOLED

RAM

As much as 16GB LPDDR 5

Storage

512GB

Battery

5800mAh

Ports

USB-C

Working System

Android

Entrance digital camera

32-megapixel f/2.5 (ultrawide)

Rear digital camera

50-megapixel f/1.9, 1/1.56”(important), 32MP f/2.4 (telephoto) , 13-megapixel f/2.2 (ultrawide)

Dimensions

6.4 x 3 x .35-inches (163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9mm)

Colours

Storm White and Phantom Black

Launch

November 19

Develop

Asus additionally presents a number of AI-powered options throughout the ROG Telephone 9 sequence. Many of those, unsurprisingly, are designed for use whereas taking part in video games. These which can be out there for normal day-to-day use aren’t all that distinctive or thrilling. It is also odd that after spending the yr testing numerous Android telephones, the ROG Telephone 9 does not help Circle to Search at launch (although it’s being added throughout This autumn 2024).

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What I like in regards to the ROG Telephone 9

Asus’ ROG Telephone 9 bridges the hole between smartphones and the Steam Deck

Asus’ ROG suite is fairly well-known. The ROG Telephone, nonetheless, flies slightly below the radar. Nevertheless, it matches inside the Republic of Gamer household properly. A lot of the corporate’s experience in gaming {hardware} comes over into the cell market. Whether or not or not the design philosophy is your model, the ROG Telephone 9 was made to play video games on. The very first thing I did when testing the ROG Telephone 9 was set up a small assortment of titles.

In fact, the cell recreation on everybody’s thoughts proper now’s Pokémon TCG Pocket. It is a recreation that I’ve famous a number of body price dips when taking part in on iPhone 15 Pro, particularly whereas scrolling the Surprise Picks display. Actually, Pokémon TCG Pocket shouldn’t be setting benchmarks for the ROG Telephone 9. Nevertheless, it exhibits that the dynamic refresh price on the AMOLED show does wonders, even for extra passive video games and in-app experiences.

The place the ROG Telephone 9’s gaming capabilities start to shine is when approaching extra performance-intensive video games. Putting in titles like Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cell and Genshin Impression, I received an opportunity to see the ROG Telephone 9 shine below extra demanding circumstances. Based mostly on Geekbench 6 benchmarks, the ROG Telephone 9 garnered a 3,207 CPU score with a ten,186 GPU score. Because of the Snapdragon 8 Elite‘s efficiency, Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cell ran silky easy with no noticeable display tearing throughout on-line matches.

Utilizing the AirTriggers on the facet of the system, I used to be capable of mimic the usage of aiming down sight and taking pictures my weapon like I do when taking part in on Xbox or PlayStation. With Genshin Impression, Asus bakes in its X Sense AI options. Utilizing picture recognition know-how, objects had been mechanically picked up, and an auto-run skill was out there. I am unable to assist however attest that this use of AI is extremely progressive for the ROG Telephone 9. Sadly, the out there titles that use X Sense are few and much between.

Fortunately, given it invested a lot into its gaming suite, Asus additionally included a really respectable battery this yr. Based mostly on common use with intermittent video streaming and gaming, I squeezed round 21 hours of battery life out of the ROG Telephone 9. To no shock, the longevity of the battery life dwindles exceptionally whereas gaming. Even when I used to be utilizing Xbox Cloud Gaming to stream some video games whereas watching TV, I would sometimes run the battery dry for round 5 hours. Asus can also be optimizing the thermal cooling of the system. There’s the cumbersome ROG AeroActive Cooler offered individually to extend the cooling based mostly on the CPU temperature. Nevertheless, I am unable to think about utilizing this whereas on the go.

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What I do not like in regards to the ROG Telephone 9

The ROG Telephone 9 is a beast for gaming however performs it protected elsewhere

Asus does not draw back from this being a really ‘gamer’ smartphone for higher or worse. I am not an enormous fan of how the ROG design philosophy interprets as a smartphone. The rugged angular edges of the digital camera bump look gaudy to me. I perceive the attraction of getting a textured rear for a gaming telephone. Nevertheless, the ROG Telephone 9 feels slightly low cost in my hand.

Had I used this as my major system over an prolonged interval, I would in all probability spend money on a case to cowl it. The corporate set a precedent of the ROG Telephone 9 being a gaming system. That is very obvious within the inventory UI after establishing the system. The app icons for the Telephone, Digicam, and Gallery apps are removed from modern in comparison with different Android units.

I am additionally frankly underwhelmed by the digital camera array of the ROG Telephone 9. It is undoubtedly not Asus’ robust swimsuit. I am removed from a shutterbug however I might instantly see the disparity in images taken from my iPhone 15 Professional and the ROG Telephone 9. On the Asus-made telephone, images look crisp and vivid. Nevertheless, as quickly as I pulled them onto my PC, they appeared much more lifeless and washed out. I needed to edit and bump the distinction in every of them for this assessment simply to make them a bit extra interesting for me to have a look at.

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Do you have to purchase the ROG Telephone 9?

An amazing cell gaming rig should you ignore gaming handhelds

It is plain that Asus packed in spectacular {hardware} to assist refine the ROG Telephone 9. The smartphone options ample processing energy and a stellar battery to service on-the-go gaming. Sadly, I believe in doing so, the ROG Telephone 9 does not do a lot to face out as a smartphone. Throughout all of its telephone properties, Asus performs it fairly protected.

As a cell gaming smartphone, the ROG Telephone 9 will serve you effectively. When you’re grinding by Genshin Impression or need to play some video games by way of the cloud, you may probably benefit from the consumer expertise. My solely want is that the standard of its gaming efficiency was maintained throughout the board. When you’re within the ROG Telephone 9 for its gaming capabilities completely, I would nearly be extra compelled to recommend an ROG Ally or a Steam Deck as a substitute.

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