ROG Phone 9 Series In-Depth Review: The Performance King Returns, Gaming Experience Upgraded

ROG Phone 9 Series In-Depth Review: The Performance King Returns, Gaming Experience UpgradedUnexpectedly, following the release of the Red Magic 10 Pro series, another "true" gaming phone has made a strong debut! It's the ROG Phone 9 series, the latest iteration of gaming flagship phones from ASUS ROG. Unlike competitors who clustered their releases at the end of October, the ROG Phone 9 series seemed to slow down its publicity, but this ironically allowed its unique AnimeVision light matrix screen and industry-rare AI game assistance innovations to shine, making it one of the most comprehensively experienced gaming phones to date

ROG Phone 9 Series In-Depth Review: The Performance King Returns, Gaming Experience Upgraded

Unexpectedly, following the release of the Red Magic 10 Pro series, another "true" gaming phone has made a strong debut! It's the ROG Phone 9 series, the latest iteration of gaming flagship phones from ASUS ROG. Unlike competitors who clustered their releases at the end of October, the ROG Phone 9 series seemed to slow down its publicity, but this ironically allowed its unique AnimeVision light matrix screen and industry-rare AI game assistance innovations to shine, making it one of the most comprehensively experienced gaming phones to date. (Source: ROG) Although the Chinese version has just been released, the ROG Phone 9 series made a stunning appearance at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit 2024. Today, we were fortunate enough to get our hands on a real device for an in-depth experience. The current gaming phone market is no longer as glorious as it once was; many PC giants and other brands have abandoned the mobile phone business. Seeing so many new gaming phone models in such a short period is truly rare. Let's seize this opportunity to delve into this historic performance king and see if it can once again amaze the market.

Subtle Yet Cool

Let's start with the packaging. The ROG Phone 9 series abandons the iconic hexagonal prism design and adopts a more conventional square box. The box features the iconic "big eye" logo and the ROG letter logo, both designed with dot matrix patterns, seemingly foreshadowing the phone's unique personalized design. (Source: Lei Technology) Opening the box, ROG's attention to detail is evident. The side of the box is printed with "09" and "ROG Phone," and gently lifting the lid, an internal mechanism elevates the ROG Phone 9 Pro, creating a stark contrast to mainstream manufacturers who pursue minimalist packaging. (Source: Lei Technology) The accessories are still incredibly abundant; the entire box is packed to the brim. Besides the phone itself, there's a 65W dual-C port fast charging adapter, a dual-C port nylon braided data cable, a black openwork phone case, a custom metal SIM ejector pin, a new cooling fan, and a storage bag for the fan. The unboxing experience alone is full of surprises.

Next is the phone itself. The ROG Phone 9 Pro's design largely continues the design language of its predecessor. The reviewer received the Shadow Black version; clean lines, a steady, understated black AG glass panel, and a polygonal camera decoration make up the entire design of the ROG Phone 9 Pro's back, abandoning the previous running lights, RGB, and other flashy designs. (Source: Lei Technology) In terms of grip, the 8.9mm thickness and 227g weight, combined with the smooth "silk glass" back cover, provide a surprisingly good feel. To compensate for the abruptness of the metal right-angled frame, ROG has also added a tapered transition to the left and right sides of the back cover.

Despite its simplicity, the ROG Phone 9 Pro retains the well-received AnimeVision light matrix screen, and the number of LEDs has been further increased. (Source: Lei Technology) Through the on/off changes of the LEDs, the ROG Phone 9 Pro can display corresponding animation effects according to different scenarios, such as screen lighting, opening games, or charging. As long as the user is using the phone, the back screen will display animations, which can also be adjusted according to personal preferences. The front is a complete 6.78-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED flexible screen; the size, material, and resolution are exactly the same as the ROG Phone 8 Pro, but the refresh rate has reached an unprecedented 185Hz. (Source: Lei Technology)

The camera module uses an irregular rectangular design, divided into two layers. The main camera lens is larger; the right side has an ultrawide-angle lens and a telephoto lens, and a red decorative ribbon has been added. (Source: Lei Technology) It's worth mentioning that a Type-C port has been added to the side of the body, convenient for charging while playing games in landscape mode and connecting the dedicated cooling fan. (Source: Lei Technology) The attention to detail is truly impressive.

Flagship Chip, Maximum Performance

As a gaming phone, the performance of the ROG Phone 9 Pro must be impeccable. It's equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor, using the first "2+6" self-developed all-large-core CPU architecture, including two super-large cores with a frequency of up to 4.32GHz and six large cores with a frequency of up to 3.53GHz. Compared to the 3.3GHz peak frequency of the previous generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, this is a huge improvement. (Source: Qualcomm)

It comes standard with LPDDR5X RAM with a frequency of 9600Mbps and UFS4.0 ROM; the core specifications are fully maxed out. Coupled with the unique centrally located CPU architecture and Matrix Liquid Cooling System 9.0, it boasts the strongest performance configuration in ROG history. At a room temperature of 24C, without any additional cooling, the ROG Phone 9 Pro achieved a score of 2.91 million in AnTuTu. (Source: Lei Technology)

The ROG Phone 9 Pro still comes standard with an AeroActive Cooler, upgraded to the AeroActive Cooler X Pro version. While retaining the classic functions of previous generations, it also adds an AI temperature control cooling system, which can dynamically adjust the cooling intensity according to the CPU temperature, resulting in a better gaming experience.

In Genshin Impact testing, at the original picture settings + high quality 60fps, a 30-minute run-and-battle test resulted in an average frame rate of 60.7FPS, stable game operation, a screen resolution of 864P, and power consumption controlled around 4.14W. (Source: Lei Technology) In Honor of Kings at the highest quality 120fps, a 30-minute actual game resulted in an average frame rate of 119.9FPS, stable game operation, and power consumption controlled around 2.98W. (Source: Lei Technology) In CrossFire, a 30-minute actual game resulted in an average frame rate of 186FPS. (Source: Lei Technology) Undoubtedly, the gaming experience of the ROG Phone 9 Pro is currently leading the pack.

Peripheral Configuration, Comprehensive Balance

Previously, the reviewer analyzed the reasons for the unpopularity of gaming phones. Besides the overly flashy appearance design in the early days, it was also related to their overly specialized nature. In pursuit of the ultimate gaming experience, some gaming phones sacrificed many important parameters, such as imaging capabilities. Although the target user group of gaming phones may not pay much attention to imaging capabilities, today's consumers generally adhere to the principle of "I may not use it, but you can't not have it," and their requirements for mobile phones are getting higher and higher, and gaming phones are no exception.

The imaging configuration of the ROG Phone 9 Pro may not be top-of-the-line, but it's sufficiently comprehensive. (Source: Lei Technology) It uses a mainstream triple-camera setup: a 50-megapixel LYT-700 sensor main camera, a 1/1.56-inch large sensor supporting 6-axis anti-shake Hybrid Gimbal 4.0 technology; a 13-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens; and a 32-megapixel telephoto lens supporting 3x optical zoom. Actual imaging is slightly plain, without particularly eye-catching post-processing effects, but the photo colors are pleasing, sufficient for daily shooting, and the addition of a telephoto lens has also enhanced the ability to shoot distant scenes. The conventional optical fingerprint recognition experience is also very good. (Source: Lei Technology)

In terms of battery life, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is equipped with a 5800mAh battery supporting 65W wired fast charging + 15W wireless fast charging, which is a standard configuration this year. It's worth mentioning that the ROG Phone 9 Pro retains a 3.5mm headphone jack, meeting the needs of many users.

Summary

Based on the Lei Technology review template, here's a summary of the ROG Phone 9 Pro experience:

Pros:

1. Strong performance release, excellent gaming experience;

2. Excellent overall feel and grip.

Cons:

1. Imaging capabilities have room for improvement;

2. Slightly large body.

In terms of price, the ROG Phone 9 12+256GB version is priced at 4999, and the 12+512GB version is priced at 5499; the ROG Phone 9 Pro 16+512GB version is priced at 6299, and the 24+1TB version is priced at 8499 (with a free AeroActive Cooler X Pro worth 599). (Source: ROG)

After a period of experience, the reviewer's evaluation of the ROG Phone 9 Pro is simple: it is a flagship gaming phone with a lighter and