ROG Phone 9 Pro Review: Incremental Upgrades for More Money
Andrew Cheng
The ROG Phone 9 Pro, compared to the ROG Phone 8 Pro, bring some upgrades here and there. The back panel’s AniMe Vision display, for one, now has 648 programmable mini-LEDs. The new gaming phone also has a faster 185Hz refresh rate, a larger battery, and of course, more powerful performance courtesy of the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
On paper, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is a better phone than its predecessor. But in practice, these hardware upgrades don’t “feel” remarkably different, and the same shortcomings of a gaming-centric device are still very much present on the phone, including sub-par camera performance.
Nonetheless, if you’re looking to upgrade to a fast gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is still an option worth considering; provided you want the best possible gaming experience and nothing else.
What It Is
| Display | 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED (2400 x 1080), 185Hz |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 4.3GHz octa-core |
| GPU | Adreno 830 |
| RAM | 16/24GB |
| Storage | 512GB/1TB, non-expandable |
| Camera (rear) | 50MP f/1.9, gimbal OIS 32MP f/2.4 (telephoto), OIS, 3x optical zoom 13MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide) |
| Camera (front) | 32MP f/2.5 |
| Battery | 5,800mAh with 65W fast charging |
| Dimensions | 163.8 x 77 x 8.9 mm |
| Weight | 227g |
| OS | Android 15 |
| Connectivity | 5G LTE NFC Bluetooth 5.4 WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (2.4/5/6GHz) USB Type-C 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Price | RM4,999 (16GB + 512GB), RM5,999 (24GB + 1TB) |
The biggest hardware upgrade the ROG Phone 9 Pro gets is definitely the faster Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. The refresh rate of the AMOLED panel can also be set to 185Hz now – though the adaptive refresh rate only works between 1Hz to 120Hz – and of course, there’s the larger 5,800mAh battery; 300mAh more than the ROG Phone 8. Naturally, the AirTrigger capacitive shoulder buttons and IP68 rating are retained on the phone too.
But with the starting price of the ROG Phone 9 Pro set at RM4,999, it costs RM200 more than the ROG Phone 8 Pro with the same storage and RAM configuration. Interestingly, however, the 24GB + 1TB model still carries the same RM5,999 price tag, and it’s bundled with the newer RM399 ROG AeroActive Cooler X Pro too.
The Good Stuff
Since it’s a gaming phone, let’s talk about the performance of the ROG Phone 9 Pro first, which is (unsurprisingly) excellent. Running demanding mobile games like Zenless Zone Zero at maxed out graphics settings proved to be no issue for the phone; it’s able to maintain the frame rate at a steady 60fps. I can also seamlessly multitask with different apps on the phone without any noticeable slowdowns.
Of course, the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s 6.78-inch 2400 x 1080 AMOLED display remains as vibrant as ever with punchy colours, deep blacks, and wide viewing angles. It’s great that the screen can be clocked at 185Hz now too, though it’s not…well, particularly noticeable in everyday use. Not to mention the fact that it depends on whether or not games can support that frame rate in the first place.
But what is noticeable is the improvement to the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s battery life, thanks to the larger 5,800mAh battery. On average, I can easily get over eight hours of screen on time on a single charge throughout the review period. If you’re not a heavy smartphone user, I reckon you can stretch the battery life to two days.
Remember when I said the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s AniMe Vision display has 648 programmable mini-LEDs now? Well, ROG made it possible to play some simple games on the back panel with the more sophisticated panel. Ultimately, it is…well, gimmicky, but I do have to admit it’s a rather cool party trick.
The Bad Stuff
With all of the improvements done to the ROG Phone 9 Pro, I’m surprised that the camera system is relatively untouched. It’s still a triple camera system made up of a 50MP primary shooter, a 32MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom, and a 13MP ultra-wide shooter; reasonably versatile setup with different focal lengths. However, in low light conditions, the camera doesn’t perform as well as I would have hoped.
Sure, it can be argued that the ROG Phone 9 Pro is a gaming-centric smartphone, so camera performance isn’t the main selling point of the product. Still, I expected more from a premium smartphone with a premium price tag; the RM4,999 starting price is quite a bit of money.
And that brings me to another aspect of the ROG Phone 9 Pro that I’m not thrilled about. Despite the price hike, the upgrades that the gaming phone get are…well, incremental. Yes, it comes with a more powerful chipset, better battery life, and faster display – along with an upgraded AniMe Vision screen on the back panel – but these don’t exactly impact the user experience enough to warrant a price increase, in my opinion.
Is It Worth It?
Despite that, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is still one of the best gaming phones you can get in the market now, especially if you’re upgrading from an older device. While it is not remarkably different from the ROG Phone 8 Pro, it is (on paper) a superior device with faster gaming performance. Admittedly, I do like the new AniMe Vision display on the rear panel too.
If the RM4,999 starting price of the ROG Phone 9 Pro is out of your budget, you can always consider the standard ROG Phone 9 for RM3,999. It still has the same chipset, display, and battery capacity as the Pro model, though you get less RAM and storage capacities (12GB + 256GB) and a 5MP macro camera instead of a 32MP telephoto lens.