Asus revealed its newest gaming cellphone at the moment, the predictably named ROG Telephone 9 and ROG Telephone 9 Professional. These units are the primary retail units to run the brand-new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and you’ll eke each little bit of efficiency from that chip with the performance-tuned ROG Telephone 9. You’ll be able to even connect a cooling fan to maintain the machine frosty throughout lengthy gaming classes, however neither the fan nor the cellphone are low cost.
The brand new ROG Telephones look rather a lot like final yr’s massive redesign—they’re each flat aluminum and glass sandwiches constructed round a 6.78-inch OLED display. The panel is simply 1080p, however the refresh price goes as excessive as 185Hz. The AniMe Imaginative and prescient gentle present is once more current on the again, however there are extra LEDs now. The Professional cellphone has an array of 648 LEDs that may show standing, notifications, and even play easy video games. The non-Professional cellphone has a smaller 85-LED setup.
These telephones stress gaming prowess even when they do not have the aggressive gamer aesthetic of older ROG Telephones. There are configurable shoulder buttons you can map to nearly any sport management, and there are built-in instruments for recording gameplay and filtering background noise for higher voice chat. The telephones may even automate repetitive duties in sure video games, like upgrading stats and choosing up objects.
Whereas the physique of the cellphone is unchanged from final yr, Asus managed to spice up the battery capability, including 300mAh to achieve 5800mAh. It additionally expenses at 65W, a lot quicker than nearly all of telephones we see within the US. Asus presents in depth efficiency tuning, so you may make that battery final a number of days if gaming is not on the agenda. Nonetheless, the cellphone will change to the high-performance “X-mode” as quickly as you open a sport to get you the very best efficiency.
This can be a gaming cellphone, so the cameras do not get as a lot consideration as the remainder of the specs. There’s nothing unsuitable with the sensors, however do not anticipate it to compete with Google or Samsung. There is a 50MP main digital camera, together with a 13MP ultrawide. The non-Professional cellphone has a 5MP macro digital camera, however the Professional will get a extra helpful 32MP 3x telephoto shooter. The selfie digital camera is 32MP.
With the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside, this cellphone can get toasty when working at full pace. Asus says it improved the cooling setup (often known as GameCool 9) to maintain the cellphone from getting uncomfortably heat. There’s additionally a “cooling case” that may assist to dissipate warmth. After which there’s the ostentatious fan that connects to the secondary side-mounted USB-C port. The AeroActive Cooler X Professional comes bundled with the costliest model of the cellphone, however in any other case, it’s going to value you $120 further.
The ROG Telephone 9 begins at $1,000 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The ROG Telephone 9 Professional with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is $1,200. For $1,500, you get a whopping 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, plus the cooling fan. The telephones will launch in Europe late this yr, increasing to the US in January 2025.
