A gaming cellphone that appears like a cut-rate flagship

Very like final yr, Asus is courting the mainstream cellphone purchaser this yr, positioning the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional as flagship materials. Nonetheless, it lacks a number of the accouterments you’d anticipate at this worth, like a 4K display screen, OS updates past two years, and mmWave 5G help, which provides as much as an odd amalgamation of gaming cellphone and flagship that does not gel with the gamer in me. I miss the front-firing audio system, and I can not stand the digicam gap on the display screen. This cellphone desires to be desired by selfie-taking fashionistas as a lot because it desires to be lauded by hardcore avid gamers. Nonetheless, at $1,200+, it would not really feel like a cellphone that can make both crowd completely happy.

Worth, availability, community, and specs

You should buy the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional and 9 Professional Version from Asus. It’s essential to purchase both model outright. There aren’t any service plans or something like that. The ROG Cellphone 9 Professional retails for $1,200, and the Professional Version is $1,500. Each variations are available one shade, Phantom Black, and the one distinction is the quantity of RAM and storage.

You will not discover a ROG Cellphone at a service as a result of they will not certify the cellphone, and it would not have mmWave 5G. Asus feels snug promoting the cellphone within the US as a result of it really works with sufficient bands that you simply will not discover lacking bands. My name high quality was at all times clear, and my knowledge was speedy, receiving the protection I might anticipate from any cellphone I exploit day by day on T-Cell. That is the one service I examined, so your mileage might fluctuate.

Design and show

Too many compromises

I do not like the present design of the ROG Cellphone. The digicam bump is bordering on ridiculous. It juts out too far and is just too massive. It is also off-center, inflicting the cellphone to rock on the desk. This permits the remainder of the cellphone to be svelter than if the rear cameras had been flush. I do not purchase gaming telephones that participate in some nonsensical race to be the slimmest. I purchase them as a result of I would like them to recreation higher than different telephones.

I do not see how a clumsy digicam bump for feigned thinness performs into that. Maybe it could possibly be excused if the cameras had been well worth the inconvenience, however no one will purchase this cellphone for its digicam high quality.

The body is barely curved on its edges. The display screen is flat, with no curved glass edges, solely a curved body. Some might discover it snug to carry, and others might dislike how slippery curved frames will be when mixed with glass fronts and rears. I am within the latter camp. Holding the ROG Cellphone with out a case is like holding a bar of slippery cleaning soap.

I respect that the gamer aesthetic is not excessive. The LEDs within the again can be utilized to play mini-games, however you do not have to show them on. Asus permits full management of such options. In the event you do not need to see the LEDs gentle up, flip them off.

The gamer aesthetic would not cease with the goofy LEDs. The cellphone gives passthrough charging, so you possibly can depart it plugged in for the extra demanding video games that chew by way of the battery. Since there are two USB-C ports, the wire will not be in the best way whether or not you play in portrait or panorama. Due to Armoury Crate, the ultrasonic air triggers on the higher corners of the system (when held in panorama) can be utilized with any recreation.

The headphone jack remains to be there, however solely one of many stereo audio system is front-facing, with the opposite capturing sound out the aspect of the body. Asus acknowledged the side-firing speaker is not superb, so the included instances within the field have slightly lip in entrance of the side-firing speaker to shoot the sound towards the consumer. This was once constructed into the cellphone however is now lacking due to Asus chasing skinny bezels, which compelled the entrance digicam into the display screen, bringing me to my subsequent concern with the design.

There’s a gap within the display screen of this gaming cellphone that’s made for taking part in video video games at their highest attainable efficiency. The design of this cellphone is meant to be centered round enjoying video games at their greatest. A gap within the display screen would not scream greatest. You possibly can black out the display screen edge that homes the digicam to make it seem you could have one massive bezel, permitting video games to be performed with out a disruptive gap in them. However why did Asus skinny the bezels within the first place?

Why would I purchase a bezel-less all-screen cellphone if I needed to play video games with out utilizing the whole display screen? The choice to make the bezels too small to carry the digicam (or the stereo front-firing audio system) did not resolve something. As an alternative, it created extra points, which lessens the gaming expertise. Why? Is that this cellphone made for avid gamers or not? I can not inform with the present design, which can have one thing to do with the Zenfone line now sharing an identical design for 2 years in a row.

The excellent news is that the OLED display screen is nice, though it is solely 1080p. Colours pop, blacks are black, and video games carry out reliably because the cellphone solely has to push gaming graphics at 1080p.

0 Dependable efficiency is value the price of dropping out on a display screen with a better decision, very like how the Steam Deck is barely 720p. The decrease the res, the higher the video games carry out. I additionally like that Asus bumped up the refresh fee this yr to a blazing 185Hz. Whereas many video games don’t help a excessive refresh fee, Asus did the tougher work by itemizing supported titles inside its Armoury Crate software program.

Different {hardware} and what’s within the field

A quick charger and a fan

For such an costly cellphone, it is good that Asus included a number of extras. Two instances are within the field, and each supply a lip to direct the side-firing speaker in the direction of the consumer. One is a typical low cost plastic case that covers many of the cellphone. The opposite has a big gap within the again to suit the exterior cooling fan, which is included. You additionally get slightly fabric case for the fan, so you possibly can simply carry it round.

As an alternative of providing an elective proprietary controller designed for the off-center USB-C port on the underside of the cellphone like in years previous, the corporate has supplied a controller that matches numerous units for the final couple of generations. You should purchase the ROG Tessen to pair along with your ROG Cellphone, however you can even slap a Razer Kishi V2 or Spine One on the cellphone simply as simply.

Though choosing up a controller for the ROG Cellphone is an additional expense, I like to recommend buying any of the controllers talked about. Nothing is best than tactile controls when enjoying video games, particularly when a lot of Android’s greatest video games are console ports designed for controllers.

There’s additionally a USB-C wire within the field, together with a 65w energy brick, which is a pleasant contact when many corporations need to promote you their fast-charging brick as an elective accent.

Software program and efficiency

No issues right here

The ROG Cellphone 9 Professional ships with Android 15 put in, although Asus solely guarantees two OS updates with 5 years of safety updates. This is not aggressive in comparison with similarly-priced telephones. Though Asus desires to model the ROG Cellphone as a flagship, it lacks a number of the perks you’d discover with the competitors, equivalent to lengthier help.

I discover this yardstick of help slightly foolish when few of us will use our telephones for seven years. Many customers now anticipate producers to match Samsung and Google regardless of the excessive prices such help may deliver to smaller corporations.

Worse than the minimal help, Asus has stopped providing a solution to unlock the bootloader of its units. Regardless of guarantees it might replace its unlocking instrument, this by no means got here to be. It silently determined it would not supply the flexibility for future units, solely letting prospects know after they requested for help. I’m not happy to see the corporate behave this manner, leaving customers hanging. Some purchased their telephones for the precise purpose of unlocking after help was over, which is short-lived.

This makes buying an Asus cellphone extra of a compromise than different manufacturers as a result of, after 5 years of safety updates, you possibly can’t sideload a ROM to get extra use out of your system. Let’s not get into how ungreen that is, sending units to the trash bin after 5 years. Deliberate obsolescence are the phrases that come to thoughts in such conditions. I’m not a fan.

I’m a fan of how Asus handles the software program theming of the system. Customers select whether or not they need issues to look largely inventory or use Asus’s theming and tweaks for the advantages they might deliver. I are inclined to lean in the direction of inventory. Nonetheless, I tweak the notification drawer to make use of Asus’s theming as a result of it locations the display screen brightness slider the place it belongs, beneath the fast settings tiles. I can use my system nonetheless I select, with neither locked into Google’s nor Asus’s UI designs. I can not applaud Asus sufficient for giving us a selection. Extra carriers ought to do that.

I additionally like Armoury Crate. I am not massive on utilizing launchers for my video games, however I respect that I can launch all my video games with Armoury Crate. It permits me to cover my video games within the app drawer to maintain issues wanting clear. What attracts me to Armoury Crate is that it contains all of the settings it’s worthwhile to dial in your gaming efficiency, from adjusting the framerate and blocking notifications to efficiency profiles, display screen recording, and a widget that exhibits stats, excellent for recording how a recreation performs.

These instruments are instrumental to my work masking Android video games at AP, and I think about streamers and YouTubers additionally discover them helpful. In the event you report or stream cellular video games, ROG’s Armoury Crate is a blessing.

You may as well use Armoury Crate to regulate the cellphone’s air triggers, that are ultrasonic sensors that operate just like the triggers on a controller. Simply faucet the corners and carry out an motion. Since you possibly can manually program what the triggers do, you need to use them with any recreation by putting the corresponding software program sensor above any onscreen management. It is a well-thought-out design that’s straightforward to arrange and use.

In the case of efficiency, you will not discover a lot in the marketplace that outperforms this system. The Snapdragon 8 Elite pulls its weight after which some. Since there’s a minimal of 16GB of RAM (as much as 24GB for the Professional Version), you will not run out of reminiscence simply. Video games carry out properly, with few that buckle the chip (except you might be emulating).

Genshin held 60FPS with no issues, just like the final two years, and newer video games, just like the current CIV VI launch from Netflix and the open-world gacha Infinity Nikki, carry out exceptionally properly. Plus, if a recreation is just too demanding for the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional, put the included fan on the again to eke out a number of extra frames on the expense of battery (the fan plugs into the cellphone’s USB for energy).

Cameras

About what you’d anticipate

Final yr, Asus ditched its macro digicam within the ROG Cellphone line for a devoted telephoto. This yr, issues are comparable, with no macro accessible. As an alternative, we get a 32MP Telephoto Digital camera and a 13MP 120° ultrawide angle digicam. The Gimbal OIS launched with the Asus Zenfone 10 is right here (which rattles slightly whenever you shake the cellphone), paired with the principle Sony Lytia 700 sensor at 50MP. Lastly, you get a 32MP RGBW front-facing digicam, which is embedded within the display screen of this gaming cellphone.

Asus has stable digicam tech within the ROG Cellphone. Nonetheless, software program processing is the important thing to nice photographs, which is why Asus added AI this yr. Nonetheless, it would not add a lot to the expertise or enhance photographs to the extent of a Pixel Cellphone.

Like in earlier years, the lighting determines how good your photographs are with the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional. If the lighting is nice, you possibly can take nice photographs, however issues just like the paintbrush impact and washed-out particulars are the norm when the lighting is dangerous. I in contrast comparable photographs between my Pixel and my ROG, and the Pixel dominated darkish photographs each time.

Selfies come out clear, particularly if the lighting is nice, which appears like a function that is bleeding over from the Zenfone line relatively than one thing that exists for avid gamers. Nonetheless, for those who plan to stream your cellular video games from the system, a transparent selfie cam is useful to make sure issues look as skilled as attainable.

The cameras have improved through the years, and I stated as a lot in my ROG Cellphone 8 Professional evaluate. Nonetheless, with this effort, time, cash, and {hardware} that goes in the direction of cameras that do not outpace many high-end telephones (regardless of Asus charging a high-end worth for the cellphone), the excessive worth of the ROG Cellphone Professional could possibly be decrease if Asus targeting what issues to avid gamers as a substitute of a world market. That is the draw back of growing two units that share the identical design however goal completely different demographics, because the ROG Cellphone and Zenfone strains and Asus won’t please both, which occurred final yr.

Most of my photographs got here out acceptable on the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional, however decide issues your self and comb by way of my examples.

Battery life and charging

Completely phenomenal

The claims that the Snapdragon 8 Elite gives distinctive battery life aren’t unfounded. I charged the system the day I received it and left it on my desk for six days. It nonetheless had one other day of battery left once I plopped it on a charger. The standby time is phenomenal, merely excellent. Common use will get me two days simply. Plus, you get passthrough charging, two USB-C ports, and a 65W charger within the field, so protecting the cellphone charged is never a fear.

The battery life is great, and you may absolutely cost the 5,800mAh battery in underneath two hours. Whereas I’ve heard complaints that the battery could possibly be greater, Qualcomm’s enhancements to battery life on the Snapdragon 8 Elite are nothing to sneeze at.

I am happy with the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional’s battery life in my day by day life, which is a development for the cellphone line. I exploit gaming telephones just like the ROG Cellphone 9 as a result of I by no means fear about battery life. Distinctive battery life is a perk of proudly owning a gaming cellphone. Asus as soon as once more knocks issues out of the park with the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional.

Competitors

Redmagic is the cheaper selection

There aren’t many gaming telephones, however one firm nonetheless plugging alongside is Redmagic. The Redmagic 10 Professional gives comparable specs however at a cheaper price, beginning at $650. Plus, Redmagic gaming telephones have a built-in fan, no want for attachments, no ugly digicam bump, and no gap within the display screen. Redmagic units are telephones designed for avid gamers. If you wish to avoid wasting money whereas getting an identical efficiency, if not higher efficiency (due to the inner fan), the Redmagic 10 Professional must be in your radar.

Do you have to purchase it?

You probably have cash to burn and need a polished gaming-adjacent cellphone, the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional is that cellphone. It is not a flagship competitor because of its weak cameras, quick help, and a scarcity of mmWave 5G. I am befuddled in regards to the lack of the twin front-firing audio system and the egregious digicam gap within the display screen a technology in the past. It appears like Asus would not know who it’s designing this cellphone for, providing a mishmash of flagship and gaming options that by no means really feel targeted.

This drawback began final yr and continues into 2025 with the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional, probably because of the Zenfone now sharing an identical design. This retains prices down for Asus, but it surely muddies the branding of every cellphone, the place each share many options of the opposite, culminating right into a hodgepodge that does not really feel targeted for both viewers. I miss the small dimension of the OG Zenfone and the gamer-centric options of the ROG Cellphone.

I might by no means buy a gaming cellphone with a digicam gap within the display screen. This tells me the producer did not design the cellphone’s core for gaming, which is why I might splash out on a gaming cellphone as a lifelong gamer. It could be a typical compromise for a lot of Android flagships. Nonetheless, these flagships supply higher help and cameras at costs just like Asus’s ROG Cellphone Professional. In the event you’re available in the market for a flagship, spend your cash elsewhere. In the event you’re set on buying a gaming cellphone, you will discover cheaper {hardware} with comparable specs however higher core-gamer options.

For this reason I’ve problem recommending the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional. It is a nice sufficient system that provides a number of the greatest specs (24GB of RAM will be troublesome to search out within the US). Nonetheless, when evaluating the ROG Cellphone 9 to the likes of Samsung, OnePlus, and Redmagic, you get much less to your cash for those who go together with Asus. Because the firm would not permit its customers to unlock their bootloaders, you possibly can’t take issues into your individual arms when your 5 years of safety updates are over, making certain your cellphone will turn into e-waste.

The ROG Cellphone 9 Professional is just too costly, at $1,200 to $1400, for what you get. Asus must make its gaming cellphone line for avid gamers as a substitute of no matter it is doing now by combining the ROG Cellphone and Zenfone strains right into a boring pile of compromises.