Asus’ ROG Telephone 9 overview: the gaming powerhouse

One of many main boons within the smartphone house in recent times 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 needed to be an avid supporter of cell gaming for years at this level, however there was quite a lot of hurdles in the way in which. After I had the prospect to go hands-on with Asus‘ ROG Telephone 9, I felt as if this may very well be a brand new likelihood to get in on cell gaming.

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 set 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 stable battery and a show that begs for video games to be performed on it. Sadly, the ROG Telephone 9 underwhelms in relation to day-to-day use, particularly concerning its digital camera.

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Asus ROG Telephone 9

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

Execs

• Gorgeous AMOLED Show
• AirTriggers are a smooth 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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Worth, availability, and specs

The Asus ROG Telephone 9 launches on Tuesday, November nineteenth. The bottom mannequin of the sequence is on the market for $1,000. The machine comes with a stunningly crisp 6.78-inch AMOLED E6 show. This display options LTPO expertise, with a dynamic refresh charge between 1 and 120Hz. Nevertheless, ROG Telephone 9 does provide as much as 185Hz when utilizing its Sport 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.

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 essential 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 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. Accessible in storm white and phantom black, the ROG Telephone 9’s physique contains a crystallized nano-texture. Lastly, the machine helps AirTrigger buttons on the precise facet of the unit. These act as refined triggers that replicate the usage of a controller.

Asus additionally affords just a few AI-powered options throughout the ROG Telephone 9 sequence. Many of those, unsurprisingly, are designed for use whereas enjoying 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 12 months testing numerous Android telephones, the ROG Telephone 9 would not help Circle to Search at launch (although it’s being added throughout This fall 2024).

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What I like concerning 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 somewhat below the radar. Nevertheless, it suits throughout 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 fashion, 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 just a few body charge dips when enjoying on iPhone 15 Pro, particularly whereas scrolling the Surprise Picks display. Definitely, Pokémon TCG Pocket shouldn’t be setting benchmarks for the ROG Telephone 9. Nevertheless, it reveals that the dynamic refresh charge 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 Cellular 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 ranking with a ten,186 GPU ranking. Because of the Snapdragon 8 Elite‘s efficiency, Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cellular ran silky clean with no noticeable display tearing throughout on-line matches.

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Utilizing the AirTriggers on the facet of the machine, I used to be in a position to mimic the usage of aiming down sight and capturing my weapon like I do when enjoying on Xbox or PlayStation. With Genshin Impression, Asus bakes in its X Sense AI options. Utilizing picture recognition expertise, gadgets had been robotically picked up, and an auto-run capacity was out there. I am unable to assist however attest that this use of AI is extremely revolutionary 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 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 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 machine. There’s the cumbersome ROG AeroActive Cooler offered individually to extend the cooling primarily based 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 concerning the ROG Telephone 9

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

Asus would 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 cellphone. Nevertheless, the ROG Telephone 9 feels somewhat low cost in my hand.

Had I used this as my main machine over an prolonged interval, I would most likely spend money on a case to cowl it. The corporate set a precedent of the ROG Telephone 9 being a gaming machine. That is very obvious within the inventory UI after establishing the machine. The app icons for the Telephone, Digicam, and Gallery apps are removed from smooth 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’ sturdy 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 Telephone 9. On the Asus-made cellphone, images look crisp and vivid. Nevertheless, as quickly as I pulled them onto my PC, they regarded much more lifeless and washed out. I needed to edit and bump the distinction in every of them for this overview simply to make them a bit extra interesting for me to have a look at.

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Must you purchase the ROG Telephone 9?

An ideal 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 would not do a lot to face out as a smartphone. Throughout all of its cellphone properties, Asus performs it fairly secure.

As a cell gaming smartphone, the ROG Telephone 9 will serve you nicely. In the event you’re grinding by Genshin Impression or wish to play some video games through the cloud, you will seemingly benefit from the person expertise. My solely want is that the standard of its gaming efficiency was maintained throughout the board. In the event you’re within the ROG Telephone 9 for its gaming capabilities solely, I would nearly be extra compelled to recommend an ROG Ally or a Steam Deck as a substitute.

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Asus ROG Telephone 9

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