Asus’ ROG Cellphone 9 evaluate: a gaming standout

One of many main boons within the smartphone area in recent times is gaming — and never the bloatware form. 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 cellular gaming for years at this level, however there have been hurdles stopping this from turning into a platform I exploit extra typically. Once I had the possibility to go hands-on with Asus‘ ROG Cellphone 9, I felt as if this might be a brand new lease on life as a cellular 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 Cellphone 9 collection 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 Cellphone 9 underwhelms in the case of day-to-day use, particularly concerning its digicam.

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Asus ROG Cellphone 9

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

Professionals

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

Cons

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

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Worth, availability, and specs

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

Trying on the inside specs, the bottom ROG Cellphone 9 helps as much as 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The digicam array helps a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia f/1.9 essential lens, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide Free-form lens, and a 5-megapixel macro shooter. The front-facing digicam is a 32-megapixel ultra-wide lens. Powering the cellphone 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 Cellphone 9’s physique encompasses a crystallized nano-texture. Lastly, the machine helps AirTrigger buttons on the best aspect of the unit. These act as refined triggers that replicate using a controller.

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Asus ROG Cellphone 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 digicam

32-megapixel f/2.5 (ultrawide)

Rear digicam

50-megapixel f/1.9, 1/1.56”(essential), 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 couple of AI-powered options throughout the ROG Cellphone 9 collection. Many of those, unsurprisingly, are designed for use whereas enjoying video games. These which are out there for traditional day-to-day use aren’t all that distinctive or thrilling. It is also odd that after spending the 12 months testing varied Android telephones, the ROG Cellphone 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 Cellphone 9

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

Asus’ ROG suite is fairly well-known. The ROG Cellphone, nonetheless, flies slightly underneath 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 cellular market. Whether or not or not the design philosophy is your fashion, the ROG Cellphone 9 was made to play video games on. The very first thing I did when testing the ROG Cellphone 9 was set up a small assortment of titles.

In fact, the cellular sport on everybody’s thoughts proper now could be Pokémon TCG Pocket. It is a sport that I’ve famous a couple of body fee dips when enjoying on iPhone 15 Pro, particularly whereas scrolling the Surprise Picks display. Actually, Pokémon TCG Pocket just isn’t setting benchmarks for the ROG Cellphone 9. Nevertheless, it reveals that the dynamic refresh fee on the AMOLED show does wonders, even for extra passive video games and in-app experiences.

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

Utilizing the AirTriggers on the aspect of the machine, I used to be in a position to mimic using aiming down sight and taking pictures my weapon like I do when enjoying on Xbox or PlayStation. With Genshin Influence, Asus bakes in its X Sense AI options. Utilizing picture recognition know-how, gadgets have been routinely picked up, and an auto-run skill was out there. I can not assist however attest that this use of AI is extremely modern for the ROG Cellphone 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 12 months. Based mostly on common use with intermittent video streaming and gaming, I squeezed round 21 hours of battery life out of the ROG Cellphone 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 might usually run the battery dry for round 5 hours. Asus can also be optimizing the thermal cooling of the machine. There’s the cumbersome ROG AeroActive Cooler bought individually to extend the cooling based mostly on the CPU temperature. Nevertheless, I can not think about utilizing this whereas on the go.

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

The ROG Cellphone 9 is a beast for gaming however performs it secure elsewhere

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

Had I used this as my main machine over an prolonged interval, I might in all probability spend money on a case to cowl it. The corporate set a precedent of the ROG Cellphone 9 being a gaming machine. That is very obvious within the inventory UI after organising the machine. The app icons for the Cellphone, Digital camera, and Gallery apps are removed from smooth in comparison with different Android units.

I am additionally frankly underwhelmed by the digicam array of the ROG Cellphone 9. It is undoubtedly not Asus’ robust go well with. I am removed from a shutterbug however I may instantly see the disparity in images taken from my iPhone 15 Professional and the ROG Cellphone 9. On the Asus-made cellphone, images look crisp and vivid. Nevertheless, as quickly as I pulled them onto my PC, they appeared way more lifeless and washed out. I needed to edit and bump the distinction in every of them for this evaluate simply to make them a bit extra interesting for me to take a look at.

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Must you purchase the ROG Cellphone 9?

A fantastic cellular gaming rig in the event you ignore gaming handhelds

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

As a cellular gaming smartphone, the ROG Cellphone 9 will serve you properly. If you happen to’re grinding by way of Genshin Influence or wish to play some video games by way of the cloud, you may possible benefit from the person expertise. My solely want is that the standard of its gaming efficiency was maintained throughout the board. If you happen to’re within the ROG Cellphone 9 for its gaming capabilities completely, I might virtually be extra compelled to recommend an ROG Ally or a Steam Deck as an alternative.

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