Its not just the performance or the multi-textured glass back with embedded LEDs and the touch-sensitive Air Triggers.
Its all that combined.
Its excessive but in all the right ways.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
This allows you to play a few arcade games or run GIFs from the back of the phone.
Players complained about the placement and specs of its speakers and the lack of dedicated amps.
Fans felt miffed about the meager promised two years of software updates.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
On that front, absolutely nothing has changed.
The phone only offers two years of software and five of security updates.
TheGoogle Pixel 9offers seven years of OS and security updates.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The sound is tinny and thin.
Even worse, its easy to block the speakers with your palm.
This is the kind of phone that needs headphones.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Yes, this phone can get hot even with its solid thermal systems.
The ROG Phone 9 doesnt draw as much power as expected.
I could use it for a full day, even after a morning spent gaming.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The Non-pro Phone 9 has a shrunken display at the phones bottom rear.
At the very least, this is a nice phone to hold.
The redesignedAeroActive Cooler X Prois a standout accessory, though it may cost you $120 extra.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
you might use the built-in Armoury Crate software to download game-specific control profiles.
This works relatively well; you get force feedback and on-screen signals when using either AirTrigger.
Unfortunately, that audio is nowhere near where you may want it for such an expensive phone.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Its somewhere between tinny and shallow, even if it can get loud.
And it seems a pair of headphones is exactly where Asus wants you to go.
The company promoted the use of Dirac Virtuo for spatial sound in headphones.
I didnt sense the audio was better with the cooler attached.
If the game even supports such high frame rates, that matters.
Its an FHD, 2400 by 1080 resolution display.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is packing a 1440 by 3120 display.
A Pixel 9 Pro XL is1344 by 2992.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite results in some of the best mobile performance weve seen.
Its been great in benchmarking, and in-game performance is equally impressive, managing to beat Apples latest.
Benchmarks were the most impressive part of the ROG Phone 9, especially running on the overclocking X Mode.
Its 661 points better under the same test.
This is all without thermal throttling, thanks to the external cooling unit.
The phone can easily hit the 60 FPS cap in a game like Diablo Immortal.
The real reason you want high refresh rates is for competitive games.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Its easy to use and reminds you of the remaining battery life.
Theres so much extra packed into the phone that youll eventually find something less than useful.
The ROG Phone 9 doesnt go to sleep by default.
It enters a Lock touch mode to darken the screen and keep the game running in the background.
You exit the mode by swiping two fingers, but the phone never seems to recognize the gesture.
Unfortunately, as it currently stands, most of these features only work withGenshin ImpactorHonkai: Star Rail.
Some of these features let you automatically pick up objects on the ground or speed up conversations.
To say that theyre useless would be missing the mark.
Still, after nearly an hour of constant gaming one morning, I was only down to 70%.
However, as it stands, the Pro edition truly takes gamer phones over the top.
This should allow you to upload custom GIFs and even play four arcade-style games.
Compared to that, the regular ROG Phone 9 may initially seem like a forgotten stepchild.
This phone has no right to sound as bad as it does at this price.
Its a solid performer, and Im 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.
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