Introduction
It feels odd admitting this upfront. Carrying a gadget that seems designed for a space movie never caught my interest. Flashing LEDs and jagged edges? Not exactly subtle. That whole look always struck me as unnecessary theater. Overcharged novelties for players chasing an edge – that’s what they seemed like. My skepticism ran deep from the beginning
The ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro appeared on my desk
Okay, truth time – I misjudged this whole thing. Totally off track. That phone? It reshaped how I see devices built for games. Not stuck in one role at all. Actually stands tall among top-tier models, yet still brings serious power for gaming. Spent weeks letting it handle everything I throw at a regular day. Now feels right to talk about what showed up during that stretch
first impressions and unboxing
Open the package, then see how different it feels right away. Not at all like typical phone boxes. Built with attention equal to that put into high-end gaming hardware. Lift the top, spot the handset resting neatly – almost like display. Beneath it lie expected extras along with some items you might not anticipate
The package includes the handset, a 65-watt HyperCharge power brick, a durable USB-C to USB-C cord woven with fabric, a small pin for the SIM slot, and printed guides. Yet what stands out – if your model supports it – could easily be the AeroActive Cooler X Pro. Forget flimsy add-ons; this attaches firmly to the edge of the device, delivering actual cooling when games run for hours.
Right away, holding the phone changes your impression. At 227 grams, it sits above average in weight compared to others available today. Yet that extra heft doesn’t bring downsides. Instead, it adds a sense of quality – something lightweight models often lack. Built tough, the phone sports Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both sides. That kind of strength means it can keep up.
How It’s Made and What It Feels Like
Now comes the twist. This time, the ROG Phone 9 Pro skips the usual gamer aesthetic. Sure, you can spot the Republic of Gamers logo at the rear. True, it packs that AniMe Vision screen – more on that soon. Still, the look feels oddly quiet when set beside past versions. ASUS seems to have wanted something that doesn’t scream “game on” at every turn.
A smooth texture covers the rear, repelling marks left by touch – this suits individuals annoyed by visible traces. Positioned at the top edge on one side, the lens block extends outward just enough to notice yet stays stable when laid down. Along the frame, subtle curves appear, improving grip even though the device measures large.
At roughly 163.8 mm tall, the unit spans 76.8 mm across and clocks in at 8.9 mm thick. Large? Certainly – yet somehow never clumsy. Because of its curved frame and balanced shape, holding it feels natural over time. During long stretches of video playback or gaming sessions, my grip stayed comfortable. That level of ease isn’t something every big smartphone delivers.
On the right edge, controls sit where they make sense. Volume and power respond well to thumb movement from that position. Hidden within the top section, ultrasonic sensors act as extra inputs without moving parts. Sensing touch through pressure alone, these zones confirm activation with slight vibration. Though invisible, their response mimics mechanical switches closely. Especially useful in shooter titles, their effect shifts how gameplay feels entirely. Later sections will explore this impact further.
Here begins with something different: the rear’s AniMe Vision screen. A grid made up of 648 tiny LEDs forms this surface, capable of showing personalized motion patterns, alert signals, remaining power levels – occasionally basic interactive diversions too. Flashy? Certainly. Yet practicality exists alongside spectacle. Usefulness hides behind brightness. Should the phone rest screen-down on a surface, notifications appear visible at a glance. Without lifting the device, one notices missed calls or messages. Personal touches emerge through custom animations, built simply into settings. A quiet method exists to reflect individual style.
Worth noting is the IP68 classification for protection against water and dust. Sealing components often impacts thermal management, which leads many gaming-focused devices to leave this out. Despite that challenge, ASUS integrated the shielding while preserving efficient heat dissipation. Exposure to splashes near swimming areas or sudden downpours becomes less of a concern. Protection remains intact even under demanding usage conditions.
. A 6.78-inch Samsung Flexible AMOLED with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. “Why not 1440p?”, some of you might be asking? Well performance, and by that I mean that by going with 1080p ASUS ensures that it can hit high frame rates without absolutely draining the GPU and frankly, this is all that you would need on a screen this size. It just makes for a really clean and smooth look.
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And it’s here, that the display truly shines. While on paper it only features a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz that is only the case in certain applications, ASUS allows the display to automatically scale its refresh rate from 1Hz all the way up to a mind blowing 185Hz when you get into some games. “185Hz on a smartphone?” I hear you ask. It sounds like absolute madness and it most likely is, however, there are a number of games that can support this extremely high refresh rate and when they do, they are truly a sight to behold. When it comes to scrolling, swiping, or gameplay, this phone is as smooth as it gets and when combined with a 720Hz touch sampling rate, there is zero input lag so that you won’t be getting caught in those critical situations during gaming sessions. Asides from the fact that this screen is capable of achieving this insane refresh rate, it’s also certified by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, comes with support for HDR10+ so that movies are an absolute treat to watch, and you can even push this screen all the way up to 2,500 nits of peak brightness so that you don’t have to struggle in direct sunlight. The always on display is also a neat feature that I found useful.
Performance and Raw Power As you already probably guessed, this phone is fast, I’d actually go as far as to say this is the fastest phone that I’ve ever used. It’s built on Qualcomm’s latest 3-nanometer Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform. Qualcomm claims that this platform boasts a 45 percent boost in CPU performance over the previous generation, with a 40 percent increase in GPU performance, and a 40 percent jump in the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) of the phone as well, which all contribute to an absolutely killer performance.Even basic stuff like scrolling through social media, opening apps and multitasking, and other daily routines are an absolute breeze. The device never slows down or freezes up regardless of the task I give it. Where this phone truly shines though is during gaming and this is where it completely obliterates the competition. I tried several titles like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Asphalt 9 and not even one faltered. Genshin Impact was running smooth at a stable 60 frames per second even with the highest settings on, and CoD Mobile and PUBG Mobile had amazing high refresh rates which led to an exceptionally smooth and responsive experience. It can even run emulators like those of the GameCube and PlayStation 2 without breaking a sweat which previously lagged and had some issues even on other premium devices thanks to the raw processing power and excellent cooling. The GameCool 9 cooling solution (which uses vapor chamber cooling, graphite sheets, and boron nitride thermal paste) is an absolute godsend. Even when put under intense load for long gaming sessions the phone only gets moderately warm and it was never uncomfortably hot and heat distribution was great. Plus, they even threw in the AeroActive Cooler X Pro, which you can clip on the side of the phone and it helps reduce the temperature by up to 15 Celsius. This is not a gimmick – the performance will improve if you use this. With the fan, I can game for hours without any thermal throttling. It is a battery life monster – the ROG Phone 9 Pro comes equipped with a massive 5,800mAh dual-cell battery. I can get two days of moderate use out of this phone including browsing social media, checking emails, watching videos and even some light gaming. If I play games intensely I can get four-and-a-half hours out of Genshin Impact. Charging isn’t an issue either as it supports 65-watt wired charging, taking the phone from 0 to 100 in about 46 minutes, and 15-watt wireless charging is also available.
But perhaps my favorite is that bypass charging functionality. While gaming with the phone connected, you are bypassing the battery entirely and just sending power through your charger. That’s really nice for keeping the phone from getting too hot and generally prolonging the life of the battery for those who game with it charged on a regular basis. That kind of forward thinking on behalf of serious mobile gamers is something that really stands out on this phone.
Oh yeah, it has reverse wireless charging as well if you need to juice up your earbuds or smartwatch in a pinch. I used it to top up a pair of earbud case a couple of times and it worked well.
Software and AI Integration
The ROG Phone 9 Pro ships with Android 15 and ASUS’s very own flavor of software, ROG UI, overlaid on top. The software is pretty much everything we’ve come to expect from ROG. It’s clean, snappy, and stuffed full of gamer-specific features that you wouldn’t see on any other device. From within any game, you’ll find the Game Genie software that pulls down by swiping from the side of the screen. This gives you quick toggles to adjust your performance settings, refresh rates, and keep an eye on the system. There is also Armoury Crate, an app that functions as the main dashboard and hub for anything and everything that has to do with your games. Here you can tweak game-specific settings, monitor systems, adjust performance profiles, and a lot more.
Now the big talking point of the ROG Phone 9 Pro has to be the AI that it packs. The AI is not just some gimmick; in fact, it’s quite well implemented throughout the phone, both in and out of gaming use.
I was personally impressed with the X Sense 3.0 AI that can utilize machine learning and image recognition in supported games. Take MOBA like League of Legends: Wild Rift for instance. In this game, the AI can automatically collect items for you, level up your abilities, and even inform you when enemies appear on the map without any input from you whatsoever. It’s not an automation AI but instead an assistive AI that can genuinely give you an edge over your opponents.
The X Capture 2.0 AI is another of my favorite features and a really unique addition to the phone. If your game performance in titles such as shooters with multiplayer like Call of Duty: Mobile or fighting games like Mortal Kombat mobile reach a point of impressive display, this AI can automatically record and clip those special moments. If you go for a multi-kill or unleash a sick combo, the AI can record it for you without you ever lifting a finger. No more furiously mashing record during intense matches, yay!
The AI Grabber 2.0 is also a neat little feature. It will analyze the content on your screen and grab key info such as game items, information about characters you encounter in games, or even helpful game tips. It can even translate any language within the screen in real time. This comes really handy when trying to play games that aren’t in your native language.
There’s also an AI Voice feature which enhances the audio you’ll hear coming from your team in games. The AI filters out background noises to ensure your teammates can understand your voice even when you’re playing in a loud environment.
Outside of the gaming aspects, there is still plenty of use out of ASUS’s AI technologies. The cameras are packed with a host of new AI features, including AI Night Vision for much better video in low light, AI Portrait Video that allows for a cinema-like background blur for any video you take, and AI Object Sense for smarter analysis of scenes to improve colour accuracy and exposure for every shot.
In addition, the ROG Phone 9 Pro boasts an AI wallpaper generator that can create custom, unique images for your device based on your preferred style or topic. I must confess I had too much fun with this, creating everything from abstracto landscapes to futuristic cityscapes for my home screen and always-on display. It adds a real personalized touch to the ROG Phone 9 Pro.
Camera System and Photography
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For years, gaming phones have almost exclusively put camera capabilities by the wayside with the manufacturer expecting consumers would only care about performance. Thankfully, ASUS is looking to change that with the ROG Phone 9 Pro and gives us not only the usual performance, but a versatile and fully capable camera system that can rival that of traditional, non-gaming phones. The ROG Phone 9 Pro’s main camera is a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 700 sensor, which is larger than many competitor’s at 1/1.56 inches to capture better light in any setting. The lens has a rather quick f/1.9 aperture for more impressive night photography, and best of all, a 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer for extremely steady photos and video footage even while you are on the move, so you no longer need a gimbal for that slick footage. The secondary telephoto lens is a 32-megapixel lens with 3x optical zoom and a stabilizing lens to provide excellent photos even when zoomed in, as well as producing natural compressed look to portrait shots. As you can see the ROG Phone 9 Pro really has the performance you would want from a top-tier gaming device but it can also compete with even the best flagships in terms of camera technology. The 13-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 120° field of view and Free Form lens also makes this an ideal smartphone for any budding mobile photographers.
The front camera is 32 megapixels and it utilizes an RGBW sensor in order to help the camera capture more light so your selfies come out clearer and sharper in any situation. It can record videos at 4K and 30 frames per second.
The software is also quite robust for these cameras. You have a Pro mode which gives you full control of aperature, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and the focus systems. Other modes include Night, Portrait, Panorama, Time-Lapse, and many others.
The AirTrigger buttons are also cameras shutter buttons, so they let you snap a photo in landscape mode just by pressing your shoulder trigger while holding the device which allows for more natural handling, or let you start recording a video with it too.
I was most pleased with the images captured throughout a weekend trip. While the camera is decent, it was far better in some situations than I would expect from a phone camera, I felt as though I was given quality pics from each occasion. During the day this camera performed with crisp colorful and true to life images, Day mode camera in fact performed quite well by capture decent detail, and true color that were both fairly realistic in contrast as well, The camera at night performed wonderfully, with good enough lighting that the detail wasn’t compromised, there was little to no noise in images that were taken in low light, Night Mode pics were a bit clearer yet were far from ‘unnatural’.
Video is also capable up to 8k/30fps, up to 4k/60fps and 1080p/240fps for slow motion. The videos produce good color and also decent enough stabilisation for moving.
Audio quality and Connectivity
The audio on the ROG Phone 9 Pro are spectacular. Its comes with dual stereo speakers found on each sides, both on top and bottom of multiple stumps, the sound from them is crisp, clean and incredibly loud for a phone,. Whether watching movies, listening to music or playing games it’s a quality sound experience and it comes with Hi-Res Audio support and Dirac tuning. You will still get that classic 3.5mm audio jack on the phone for a familiar experience for music and it’sHi-Res audio up to 384kHz 32bit and Bluetooth 5.4with good codecs ( aptX adaptive & LDAC).
The vibration motor in the ROG Phone 9 Pro is truly excellent. Responsive and delivers great tactile feedbackWhether playing, typing, or using navigation through out the device, The vibrational feedback also provides immersion for games, like gunshots and impacts feel realistic in your hands thanks to its fantastic haptic engine. With a brand new WiFi 7 supporting even better speeds and lower latency compared to previous WiFi generations you will always be ready. 5G and dual sim cards are included here as well. On top of this, the phone has not just one but TWO USB-Cports on it! One on the bottom for you power cable and an second on the right-side so you can still have your accessories plugged in while charging or playing your favorite game on the ROG Phone 9 Pro.
Gaming Features and Unique capabilities
ASUS hasn’t shyed away from packing all the amazing gaming oriented features into the ROG Phone 9 Pro, and to make them all a useful part of the device for gaming and every-day usage. The AirTrigger Ultrasonic Shoulder buttons have become even better, programmed to control pretty much every in-game function I could think of for many of the games I played this past weekend, which gave me a huge edge over other mobile gamers playing with only on screen controls. They are incredibly precise, accurate, and have a satisfying feel on click. AeroActive Cooler X Pro- It’s a clamp-on cooling accessory that attaches to your ROG Phone 9 Pro and helps to reduce the phone’s temperatures down by 15 degrees which means you’ll experience no lag,even after long gaming sessions. It has two added AirTriggers to enhance the experience as well! The Game Genie software can be used for locking in the display refresh rate and other gaming settings and it lets you perform instant actions. On the Game Genie software overlay, you have access to performance modes, you can also lock your refresh rate to prevent lag, you can prevent any notifications from popping up so nothing distracts you and you can even recording screen capture of your games at any time. Game Genie also gives you access to X Mode which allows all the system’s resources to focus on just the game you’re playing, disable background applications and configure network settings, there’s even different options of X Mode you can select to suite your game. Finally we have the Game Space feature which acts as a hub for all your mobile games – the best place to start any of your favorite games from, select what games show up here, and organize everything before you start gaming, or even launch with ready made or customisable game specific setting pre-selected. 4k 60fps gameplay can be recorded via this Game Space software. Other useful accessories for the ROG Phone 9 Pro that are also sold by Asus include the Kunai Gamepad and the TwinView Dock for transforming theROG Phone 9 Pro into a double-screen gaming device.
Everyday usability Even though the ROG Phone 9 Pro is a gamer’s dream, it’s more than capable as a day-to-day driver. It has a clean and intuitive software experience, and handles the tasks that you’d expect from a top-tier phone. Call quality is great – voice clarity is excellent on both ends of the line, the device also supports VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. The loud speakerphone made conference calls a breeze. We had no issue with sending and receiving messages, and emailing. Keyboards on the device are snappy with a great haptic feedback, that makes typing more enjoyable. We are happy to report that web browsing speed is really fast thanks to the robust processor and its speedy connectivity, the screen makes for easy browsing, of articles or any kind of social network media that you use. The multi-tasking aspect is of no issue to the Phone 9 Pro with 24 gigs of RAM it’s able to run over a dozen apps simultaneously without even skipping a beat. The device can be considered a workstation as well for those people that do productivity, editing spreadsheets, documents or even some light video editing on a smart phone. Everything is easier on a bigger screen, with this robust processor and plenty of RAM to spare, also the Google drive integration, makes for easy to navigate, organized files on the phone. The phone is pretty big, and hefty, so that might not suit every user out there. If you prefer small phones, this one may not be for you. Price and value proposition The ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro isn’t a cheap phone by any stretch of the imagination, retailing for around $1,200 for a 12GB / 256GB configuration to $1,500 for a 24GB RAM / 1TB model. This pricing is on par with Samsung’s ultra-series Galaxy phones, and iPhone Pro devices. But it’s a different value proposal. The question here really is ‘Is the phone worth it?’ If you are a serious mobile gamer, who takes competitive gaming seriously the answer is unequivocally yes. There is no other phone on the market with the processing power and features as the ROG Phone 9 Pro. The price will not be a problem when it comes to this sort of user as this device provides top tier gaming performance with the ability to not only keep things cool but improve on game play too. As for normal users, it may be harder to justify the investment in this phone because there are plenty of less expensive phones that could do about 90% of the gaming, not with all of the bells and whistle’s but that is just the nature of the beasts. But then again the ROG Phone 9 Pro could be considered so much more than just a phone, it is also capable of a ton of other great things thanks to the huge screen and powerful internals, so I believe that it’s still an amazing device worth your money even though it’s a gaming phone by nature. Pros and Cons Let me summarize the positives and negatives in the following points to help you make an educated purchase.
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Pros Unmatched gaming performance thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip Stunning 185Hz AMOLED display with exceptional brightness Huge 5,800mAh battery with 65W charging and bypass charging Top-tier cooling system with an optional active cooler Multi-lens camera with gimbal stabilization Truly effective and well-implemented AI features IP68 water and dust resistance 3.5mm headphone jack with Hi-Res Audio support Clean and feature-rich software Experience Dual USB-C ports for easy charging and accessories Cons High price tag, especially for the top-end model Thicker and heavier than most phones Design may still be too gaming-focused for some camera’s a bit weak when put next to a dedicated flagship device 185Hz refresh rate is overkill and will likely impact battery life to a greater extent Available only in select markets Limited software updates in comparison to major brands such as Samsung and Google Conclusion & Final Thoughts The ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is an absolutely fantastic engineering feat, a much-needed refinement of an already great series. What ASUS has managed to do with this new model is simply amazing: it has combined all the elements that made us love the ROG phones, improved them further, and integrated them into a sleek, modern-looking device that can also serve as a daily driver. It all works so well, and what has to be admired more than any other feature, it’s how ASUS balanced the power required for a true gaming powerhouse and the versatility required to use it on a daily basis, for social media and for taking pictures. From social media browsing to video conferencing, this phone can be perfectly useful on the day to day. It’s so versatile that you might not be surprised if it ended up being the only device that you will use throughout your week. I was more than surprised to experience just how truly well these AI features are actually put into work. These aren’t some gimmick you’ll quickly lose interest in; they are a set of tools which enhance the user’s gaming experience in truly interesting ways. X Sense will help you improve your aim and accuracy; X Capture will make you automatically re-record the last 10 seconds of gameplay in high-res, in the instance something interesting happens; and AI Grabber can pull the text or any object out of a game screen, just in the case you want to share something specific. As an added bonus, they will also boost your photography. Night Shot mode with AI will give your photos a new look during the night, while AI Portrait Video will bring those blurred backgrounds in the video. And when it comes to your camera’s overall quality? The camera is decent enough for all your day to day needs. I’m not saying this will beat any of the flagships on the market like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but when we take the phone’s gaming-centric niche into account, it will certainly provide you with great quality shots and crisp, well-detailed videos. If you consider the fact that it comes with its very own built-in, 6-axis gimbal camera system, you can understand why I’m so pleased. The phone looks stunning. The refresh rate on this thing is a bit overboard for normal use cases, and some might argue that you’re draining unnecessary battery power for little gains. That is fair and for the most part true, but for those hardcore gaming enthusiasts out there who crave every single millisecond of an advantage this may well be something that you’ll enjoy. The screen looks incredibly bright even in direct daylight and colors are vibrant. If all you did was play games all day, with this massive 5,800mAh battery, you can still expect to get all the day and beyond, depending on your game. Plus, with a 65W charging brick thrown in the box, you’re not going to have to wait long for it to power up, and bypass charging, as I mentioned earlier, can extend your battery’s life. If you’re playing demanding titles then having such good speakers with Hi-Res support will give you that boost you need. And if it wasn’t enough the phone still comes with an excellent headphone jack. This phone is undeniably expensive. It also won’t fit the pocket as easily as the average flagship device. However, if you’re going to compromise on a few of these things for unparalleled gaming power and functionality, you absolutely should. To wrap things up, I think it’s fair to say that the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is not only the best gaming phone money can buy, but also one of the very best Android flagships out there in general.
