Asus announced its ROG Phone 9 gaming phone using the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip

Asus has presented a new one at the release event it organized today Its ROG Phone 9 gaming phone. The device will be available in three versions – a basic model, a better-equipped Pro model and a top-of-the-range Pro Edition model with an accessory package. Renovations and changes have been made, e.g. to the matrix display on the back cover, the refresh rate of the screen, the system circuit, the implementation of the rear camera and the size of the battery.

The appearance of the novelty has remained very similar to that of the ROG Phone 8 released in January, where the structure was clearly shaped in a slimmer and lighter direction than before. The back cover of the Pro models has a new AniMe Pixel matrix screen consisting of 648 mini-LEDs, which shows animations related to the functions of the phone and it is also possible to play simple retro games using the shoulder buttons. Now the ROG Phone 9 also has an AniMe Vision screen, but in a smaller size of 85 pixels.

The main features of the 6.78-inch AMOLED screen have not been changed, but its refresh rate has been increased to 185 hertz in Game Genie mode. Inside, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite flagship chip, manufactured with a 3 nanometer process, has been updated, which is cooled by the GameCool 9 cooling solution, which utilizes a larger graphite sheet, a large vapor chamber and a copper element placed on top of the circuit. To enhance the cooling of the phone, there is a renewed Aeroactive Cooler X Pro additional cooler that utilizes a peltier element and a fan, praised as 29% more efficient, which also has integrated trigger buttons and a low-frequency bass speaker. The system chip is paired with no less than 24 GB of RAM and a terabyte of storage space in the Pro Edition top model.

As usual, the battery is divided into two parts and its total capacity has been increased to 300 mAh. Compared to the predecessor model, both the wired and wireless charging power have remained the same – the battery is promised to be charged by wire from empty to full in 46 minutes. As a special feature aimed at gaming, on the side of the phone there are, as usual, shoulder buttons based on ultrasound technology, stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm audio connection.

The 50-megapixel main camera has been updated to use Sony’s Lytia 700 camera sensor and is now paired with an improved 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer that allows up to five degrees of correction angle and 66% better stabilization than the previous generation. The second rear camera is the familiar fixed-focus 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle from the predecessor model. In the basic model, the third rear camera has been weakened, as the telephoto camera has been replaced by a 5 megapixel macro camera. The Pro models still have a 32 megapixel optically stabilized 3x telephoto camera in its place.

On the software side, Asus advertises that it has utilized artificial intelligence, especially in gaming features. With the help of artificial intelligence features, games can e.g. automatically recognizes situations in games, automatically collects objects, automatically updates character attributes, automatically saves game highlights and wins, recognizes and translates texts appearing in the game, and suppresses background noise while playing in headphones. However, the features only work in limited games for now. Artificial intelligence is also used in the translation of phone calls and voice recordings, the creation of background images and search functions. Like the predecessor model, there is still the old Android 14 version inside, and updates are promised for a phone of this price range for a weak 2 & 4 years.

ROG Phone 9 technical features:

• External dimensions: 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9 mm
• Protection: IP68
• Materials: aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• Weight: 227 grams
• 6.78” Samsung E6 LTPO AMOLED display, 2400×1080, 1-120 Hz & 185 Hz refresh rate, 720 Hz touch detection, HDR10, 1600 nits HBM, 2500 nits dot
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• Memory and storage space:
  • ROG Phone 9: 12 Gt LPDDR5X, 256 tai 512 Gt UFS 4.0
  • ROG Phone 9 Pro: 16 Gt LPDDR5X, 512 Gt UFS 4.0
  • ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition: 24 Gt LPDDR5X, 1 Tt UFS 4.0
• Camera:
  • 50 megapixel main camera, Sony Lytia 700 1/1.56″ sensor, 1.0 µm pixel size, f1.9, 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal 4.0 stabilization
  • 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle, 120-degree field of view, f2.2
  • ROG Phone 9: 5 megapixel macro camera,
  • ROG Phone 9 Pro & Pro Edition: 32 megapikselin telekamera (1/3″), Quad Bayer, 0,7 um pikselikoko, f2.0, 3x, OIS
• Front camera: 32 megapixels, RGBW sensor, 0.7 um pixel size, 90 degree viewing angle, 22 mm cine-equivalent focal length
• 5G SA&NSA (n1 / n2 / n3 / n5 / n7 / n8 / n12 / n18 / n20 / n25 / n26 / n28 / n38 / n40 / n41 / n48 / n66 / n77 / n78 / n79)
• Wi-Fi 7 ready, Bluetooth 5.3 (aptX Lossless & Adaptive), NFC
• GPS(L1/ L5), Glonass(G1), Galileo(E1/E5a), BeiDou(B1i/B1c/B2a), QZSS(L1/L5), NavIC(=IRNSS)
• stereo speakers, 3.5 mm audio connection, AirTrigger shoulder buttons
• 5800 mAh battery, 65 W fast charging, 15 W wireless Qi 1.3 charging
• Android 14, 2 Android version updates & 4 years of security patches

The starting price of the ROG Phone 9 has remained the same as in the predecessor model, i.e. the prices start at 1149 euros for the basic model equipped with a 12 & 256 GB memory combination. Double storage space is available for 1199 euros. The recommended price of the ROG Phone 9 Pro (16 & 512 GB) is 1349 euros and a 65 watt HyperCharge fast charger is also delivered. The ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition top model (24 GB & 1 TB) has a recommended price of 1,549 euros and is supplied with the AeroActive Cooler X Pro cooling unit along with the 65 W charger. The ROG Phone 9 lineup is available for pre-order immediately and will be available in mid-December.

Source: email bulletin, product pages, YouTube