2025 is packed with promising smartphones, both affordable and innovative. But what excites the gaming community the most is ASUS‘ latest offering, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro.
It is equipped with a powerful chip, a bigger battery, and a high refresh rate display. Aside from those, what else is new in the ROG Phone 9 Pro, and is it a worthy upgrade from the ROG Phone 8 Pro? Let’s find out!
In terms of design, it is pretty much similar to the ROG Phone 8. It sports a glass back with a matte finish and an aluminum frame. The matte finish on its back is soft to the touch, making it comfortable to hold and resistant to fingerprint smudges.
For its dimensions, the ROG Phone 9 Pro weighs 227 grams, which is 2 grams heavier than its predecessor.
As for the features around the frame, when holding the device horizontally, you will find the volume rocker and power button on the top side, along with two air triggers. On the right side are the USB-C port, SIM tray, speaker grille, and headphone jack, while at the bottom is another USB-C port.
At the back, it has the AniMe Vision, which consists of a mini-LED. It displays your battery percentage and customizable text. You can even play arcade games on it using the air triggers as controls.
When it comes to build quality, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is quite durable. It uses Gorilla Glass protection for its back panel and offers IP68 dust and water resistance.
Flipping over the device, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro sports a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080×2400.
It has a peak brightness of 2500 nits and supports HDR10+. The major upgrade to its display is the 185Hz refresh rate. Navigating through the interface feels as smooth as using a personal computer.
The only downside is that we have to wait for a mobile game that supports 185Hz to truly test its full potential.
For multimedia consumption, the display offers impressive colors and great viewing angles. There are no visible color shifts when viewed from different angles.
It also features a bezel-less design, making it ideal for watching movies. Outdoor visibility is excellent, with clear and crisp visuals even under direct sunlight.
The display is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which complements the IP68 rating on its rear panel, adding to its durability.
Now, for the cameras, the ROG Phone 9 Pro sports a triple-camera setup featuring a 50MP OIS main sensor, a 32MP OIS telephoto lens, and a 13MP ultrawide sensor. The punch-hole cutout on the front houses a 32MP selfie shooter.
As for the quality of the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro rear cameras, they capture impressive details with true-to-life colors. The sky is well-processed, with no blown-out highlights. The overall color saturation is also great, with a wide dynamic range.
Rear Camera Samples
In low-light photography, it brightens the image significantly while maintaining good color accuracy and detail. However, light flares can be an issue, even after cleaning the lens.
The 32MP selfie camera also delivers natural colors with true-to-life skin tones. It has decent sharpness and detail, though it sometimes adds a warm tone, making images appear slightly yellowish.
Selfie Camera Samples
For video recording, the rear cameras can shoot up to 8K at 30FPS with adaptive stabilization enabled, while the selfie camera supports up to 1080P at 30FPS.
Now for performance, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is one of the first devices to feature the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the most powerful processor available for Android phones in 2025.
The unit we tested comes with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. Multitasking is seamless, with no slowdowns.
It handles any task effortlessly, and its massive storage allows you to download numerous apps and games without worrying about space.
For gaming, we tested Zenless Zone Zero at high settings running at 60FPS. The experience was flawless—no frame drops, no stutters, and smooth gameplay throughout. App launches and loading times were also quick, enhancing the overall experience.
Here are some benchmark results:
Now, moving on to battery life, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is equipped with a 5800mAh battery, slightly larger than last year’s model.
Our video loop test lasted about 19 hours and 12 minutes. As for charging, the 65W fast charger took about 45 minutes to fully charge the device from 0 to 100 percent. In just 15 minutes, you get around 40 percent battery, which is great for users on the go.
Overall, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is a solid upgrade from its predecessor.
It is an excellent gaming phone while still delivering flagship-level smartphone features.
As of now, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is the best gaming phone available, thanks to its powerful chipset.
The device is available in two configurations, PHP 62,995 for the 16GB + 512GB variant and PHP 76,995 for the 24GB + 1TB storage option. So, if you’re looking for a gaming-centric device, this phone is definitely worth considering.
So, that’s our review of the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro! What are your thoughts on this device? Is it a worthy upgrade? Let us know in the comments below!
If you want to have a better look on ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro, you might want to check out our review video on our YouTube Channel!
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