Why the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition might be the ultimate gaming smartphone of 2025

Gaming smartphones might be a turn off for some as some of them sacrifice features like cameras and software just to get performance-centric features such as faster processor, more RAM and storage, and bigger battery.

The ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition, along with the ROG Phone 9 series, has decided to buck this trend of sacrifice by offering a well-rounded experience while still maintaining the distinctive ROG look and gaming performance that we expect from a flagship gaming smartphone.

Top-Notch Internals for Gaming Performance

As we all know, the chipset is the most important factor on a smartphone to determine its performance both in games and while in average use. As expected, ASUS putting the flagship-class Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition.

Qualcomm’s latest flagship chip promises up to 45% faster CPU performance and up to 40% faster GPU performance compared to their previous chipsets. To complement this, ROG is putting up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM to keep things running smoothly and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage so you can keep all your games without worrying about space.

ROG is using what they call GameCool 9 with a 360° SoC Cooling System Gen 3 design and AeroActive Cooler X Pro to keep its chip running cool and reduce thermal throttling, which may lead to stutter in games.

Thanks to its flagship-class chipset and cooling system, we were able to enjoy the most demanding titles like Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai: Star Rail with smooth framerates and minimal drop in FPS.

A Faster Display Than Most Gaming Monitors

Most standard gaming monitors nowadays run at 120Hz, and that’s also true on some smartphones. The ROG Phone 9 series is upping the game with one of the first displays to come with a 185Hz refresh rate. A high refresh rate means that games that support it will look smoother compared when compared to slower displays.

Its 6.78-inch 2400 x 1080 E6 AMOLED display isn’t just fast, but it’s color accurate as well. Images look crisp and well-saturated when we’re using the device. It also delivers deep blacks and high contrast thanks to an AMOLED panel. Its brightness can also power through any kind of lighting as it can reach 2,500 nits, which is plenty enough so that you can use it even during the afternoon against the glare of the sun.

Iconic ROG Design and Lighting

The ROG brand has always had a distinctive look since its inception in the PC market back in 2006, and that carries well on the ROG Phone 9 series. The ROG Phone 9 series come with a quintessential gamer aesthetic: a matte black exterior with red highlights with angled elements.

The emphasis this generation for its aesthetic is the improved AniMe Vision. It now comes with 648 programmable mini-LEDs, which is more than double its predecessor. It’s no longer just for looks as well. It can still display notifications or custom images, but you can actually play simple games now.  

Games include Brick Smasher, Aero Invaders, Snake Venture, and Speedy Runner. ROG says that they will be providing the SDK to the community soon, and we may see more games soon.

AI Suite to Up Your Game

A big part of smartphones this generation is AI integration, and that’s the same on the ROG Phone 9 series. They are upping the ante, however by including gaming-specific AI features to help you play games even better.

The latest addition to its AI Suite is X Sense 3.0. This allows its AI to recognize gaming specific events such and make them automated such as auto-collecting items. Its new addition is auto-upgrading character skills, which may help newer players focus on the actual gameplay instead of wrapping around meta-specific builds.

There’s also AI Grabber 2.0 that now comes with built-in text recognition and even a translation layer – helpful for copying text or translating your team’s comms.

The ROG Phone 9 series can also now automatically record important events such as victory screens and other important moments thanks to X Capture 2.0, so you can save and share them later on.

They Haven’t Forgotten the Cameras

One of the key features that some gaming smartphones sacrifice to balance performance and cost is the cameras. That’s not strictly the case on the ROG Phone 9 series as they come with a 50MP f/1.9 Sony Lytia 700-powered main camera, a 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide shooter, a 32MP f/2.4 telephoto with 3x lossless zoom, and a 32MP f/2.5 front-facing shooter.

Performance is decent for a gaming smartphone. Its bread and butter will be its main camera allowing for detailed and color-accurate shots. You are able to flex your creativity a bit thanks to its telephoto and ultrawide lenses, which are also reasonable shooters in their own way.

Price and Availability

The ROG Phone 9 series will start at PhP 44,995 in the Philippines. The ROG Phone 9 FE 12GB/256GB is priced at PhP 44,995 with an early bird promo of PhP 39,995. On the other hand, the ROG Phone 9 Pro 16GB/512GB and ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition 24GB/1TB are priced at PhP 62,995 and PhP 76,995, respectively, with the Pro Edition being bundled with an AeroActive Cooler X Pro.

The ROG Phone 9 series are now available in the Philippines through ASUS, ROG, and multi-brand stores nationwide with one-year local warranty. You’ll also be able to get them through Home Credit’s 12-month 0% installment plans at any supported branch.

ROG Phone 9 Series Specifications