Asus ROG Phone 9/9 Pro review

The competition

If you are looking for a cheap device, the ROG Phone 9 family isn't that. It is, however, quite reasonably priced, given its proper flagship status. At the time of writing, a base 12GB/256GB ROG Phone 9 starts at an MSRP of €1,099. The higher tier 16GB/512GB model has an MSRP of €1,299, and if you want the best of the best - the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, it will set you back €1,499. That does include the AetroActive Cooler X Pro, though.

The main gaming-focused competitor to the ROG Phone 9 family is currently the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro. With a starting price of around €750, it is currently a lot more affordable than the ROG Phone. However, arguably, Red Magic phones, despite some progress in recent years, are still not quite as refined as Asus' offers and not as Western-friendly, with plenty of broken Chinese translations in the UI. We were also not overly thrilled with the performance of the built-in cooling solution this generation. Plus, the speakers seem to have been downgraded, and the display is still not the brightest and does not support HDR. Oh, and let's not forget that the Red Magic 9S Pro still uses the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. You don't get a telephoto camera with this one, not even with the Pro+ model. Other than that, the Red Magic 9S Pro is an excellent flagship. It is chuck full of gaming features and also has a large battery, excellent battery life and fast charging.

Alternatively, you can go for the just-announced Red Magic 10 Pro or Pro+. We still haven’t tested them personally, but the specs sheet sure sound promising. For one, you get the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.

ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro • Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra • Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

There might not be a whole lot of choices when it comes to gaming-focused smartphones, but that doesn't mean you can't just go with an excellent all-around flagship and get an amazing gaming experience out of it. Something like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. You will have to live with certain concessions like a 120Hz refresh rate and the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. On the flip side, you get a more premium build with better durability and a much more potent and versatile camera setup, including things like an autofocusing selfie.

You know who else offers an excellent mobile gaming experience - Apple. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is undoubtedly an all-around premium device. Apple even offers some exclusive gaming titles. Apart from that, we can't fault the iPhone in any particular area. It is a well-rounded phone with all of the bells and whistles.

Our verdict

If you want nothing short of the best mobile gaming experience, we believe that the ROG Phone line is still the way to go. The ROG Phone 9 family has the most in-depth and comprehensive set of gaming features on top of excellent and, in many ways, specifically crafted hardware.

The ROG Phone 9 generation is all about refinement. Last year, the family saw a major redesign, and now Asus is ironing out any issues and grievances users might have had.

The latest and greatest Snapdragon chipset is sort of a given, but we still have to admire how well the ROG Phone 9 handles cooling on the beastly chipset and how efficient it is.

The boost in the display refresh rate is also appreciated. Even if it is applicable only to a small subset of games, it still offers a visual upgrade to players.

We also welcome the slightly but thoughtfully upgraded camera setup on the Pro model. That and the new AeroActive Cooler X Pro, which has its subwoofer back.

The excellent battery life is the cherry on top of it all.

As we said, it's all about refinement in this generation, and we are here for it. While the ROG Phone 9 and 9 Pro hold more mainstream appeal than ever, we still believe that Asus is rightfully targeting the underserviced hardcore mobile gaming niche. If you want the best mobile gaming experience with no compromise, you've come to the right place.

Pros

• Toned-down gamers' aesthetics are cool yet provide a wider appeal.
• Gorgeous AMOLED screen slim bezels and 185Hz max refresh rate.
• Flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with great options for performance tuning.
• Awesome battery life.
• Fast charging with various battery care features and a passthrough option.
• Android 15 out of the box, 5 years of security updates promised.
• Feature-rich software with unsurpassed control mapping, performance options, practical AI features for specific game titles.
• Programmable gaming Air Triggers built into the side frame.
• Solid daylight photo quality; impressive selfies.
• Very good video quality, impressive video stabilization.
• Wi-Fi 7, 3.5mm audio jack, two USB-C ports.

Cons

• Only two major OS upgrades are planned for now.
• Selfie and telephoto video capture capped at 1080p.
• No eSIM support on most markets.
• AeroActive Cooler X/ X Pro is required to make the most of the available hardware, as the CPU is quick to throttle without it.