I don’t mean this as an insult, but the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro feels like a sports car rallying around a rural village. If the new flagship weren’t confined to country roads, it’d be able to pull off tremendous tricks, but as things currently stand, it’s really just for the troublemakers who want to do donuts in the local park. All of those daft metaphors to say that this device remains one that’s for enthusiasts who are nerdier than the average player about specs, but that’s pretty much the same vibe as last year.
Face-melting specs aren’t the only thing the new Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and last year’s ROG Phone 8 Pro have in common – both best gaming phone contenders also boast a surprisingly subtle getup. I’m half tempted to start drawing parallels to the iPhone, but the approach feels more like a sleeper build since the device is secretly kitted out in the usual gamer drip.
