Asus ROG Phone 9 Unleashed: A Cutting-Edge Gaming Powerhouse Review
Asus ROG Phone 9 Review: A Gaming Powerhouse with Some Drawbacks
If I had to choose an Android phone without worrying about the price tag, I’d go for the $1,000 Asus ROG Phone 9, set to launch in January. It’s not just the performance or the multi-textured glass back with embedded LEDs and touch-sensitive "Air Triggers" that impress – it’s the combination of all these features that makes it stand out. It’s excessive, but in all the right ways.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Excellent performance with overclocking X Mode on the new chip
- Battery life that can survive hours of gaming and still have some juice left over
- AeroActive Cooler X slots in nicely and doesn’t drain too much battery
Cons:
- Awful sound quality
- Display looks alright, but too low resolution for its price
- Many AI features are game-specific
Build Quality and Audio
The ROG Phone 9 boasts a 5800mAh battery capacity, which is impressive considering the phone’s size. Even with the cooler unit installed and running continuously for hours, I only reached 50% battery after four hours. The phone’s performance has been boosted with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which Asus puts into nitro-fueled overdrive with on-board overclocking.
Camera
The ROG Phone 9 packs a 50 MP, 1/1.56-inch main lens alongside a.7x 13 MP ultra-wide and a 5 MP Macro lens. The camera features a 6-axis gimbal system, which is supposed to make photos and videos on the go look better. However, I wasn’t able to test this feature outside, and the actual photos it can take are good but not exceptional.
Verdict
The ROG Phone 9 is a solid performer, and I’m excited to see the future of Android with Qualcomm chips. If you simply want the best-performing Android phone, this is the best on the market. However, the phone’s poor audio quality, low display resolution, and lack of long-term promised software updates make it a hard sell for anyone who cares about keeping devices out of the junk heap.
