As consumers, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to smartphones. We have smartphones that highlight battery life, camera configurations, durability, portability, and even foldability. But what if you want a do-all gaming smartphone at a more manageable price point? That’s where the new ASUS ROG Phone 9 FE shines.
Before we go further, check out what’s in the box of the stock ROG Phone 9 FE:
The ROG Phone 9 FE is part of the ROG Phone 9 line of products from ASUS’s gaming sub-brand. Being the cheapest of the three iterations at P39,995 was certainly a surprise, as last year’s gaming smartphone offerings clocked in at prices significantly higher than the Phone 9 FE. With that said, we took the ASUS ROG Phone 9 FE for a spin to see how the gaming specs will hold up at the sub-50,000 peso pricepoint.
ROG Phone 9 FE Specs
6.78 inch FHD+ 2400 x1080 20:9
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
TPO 1~120Hz refresh rate, max to 185Hz via Game Genie
Android 15 with ROG UI (up to 2 years of updates)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
3.3GHz Qcta-core CPU
Qualcomm Adreno 750 GPU
16 GB LPDDR5X RAM
UFS4.0 256 GB storage
Sony IMX890 50 MP f/1.9, 24mm + 13 MP 120° ultrawide-angle + 5MP macro rear camera setup
32 MP, f/2.5, 22mm (wide) front camera
SIM Cards: Dual-SIM
USB Type-C (bottom and side) + 3.5mm jack | Display Port 1.4 supported output
Battery: 5500 mAh, 65W wired/15W wireless charging compatible
Design Language
The ROG Phone 9 FE – or Fan Edition – offers striking aesthetics on first glance. Usually, gaming smartphones are unapologetic regarding the “gaming smartphone” look; ROG’s design language on previous product iterations does convey that. But the ROG Phone 9 FE opts for the low-key approach to its looks. The brushed matte back is surprisingly smooth to the touch, as are the shinier embellishments.
Said aesthetics serve to slightly distract the eye from the massive camera housing located at the upper left corner. We are in the ear of large multiple camera blocks of course, and kudos to ASUS for making sure that the Phone 9 FE’s version allows the whole top half of the phone to “float” and not be lopsided when placed on a table.
Sadly, the phone’s backside looks are all covered up when you place the free phone protector on it. Don’t get us wrong, the hard plastic case looks and feels good! The cut-out nature of the case frees the side Type-C charging port, the Air Triggers, the bottom-mounted charging port (also Type-C), and the 3.5mm audio jack.
What we did notice in this particular case was that it covers up the bottom-firing speakers. We dug a little deeper and learned that this wasn’t an oversight; the thinner part of the case that covers the speakers enhances the audio of the phone! We’ve confirmed this: using the phone with the case offers better sound quality than without!
As with all members of the ROG Phone 9 family, the FE features the AniMe Vision auxiliary display. If it sounds familiar, the AniMe display first appeared in the Zephyrus G14 back in 2020 as the AniMe Matrix display. The current iteration, the AniMe Vision, was first introduced last year strictly for laptops and the ROG Phone 8.
It’s certainly a fun new thing to explore on a phone, but for us, the appeal waned quickly, as it really doesn’t contribute anything to the performance. And unfortunately, this variant of the ROG Phone 9 does not have AniMe Play, which allows you to play retro 8-bit games on the backside of the phone – at least on the ROG Phone 9 and the Phone 9 Pro.
Performance
We’ve devoted a significant chunk to talking about how the phone looks, but when it comes to how the phone performs, we’re happy to say that it’s no slouch. The ROG Phone 9 FE does run almost the same exact hardware as the ROG Phone 8, which is shorthand for yes, it can handle any game you throw at it, no problem.
Of the mobile games released recently, we’ve noticed that Granado Espada M can really make phones sweat with its graphics and gameplay. We’re happy to report that the Phone 9 FE handles this game with no actual lag, no screen tears, and no hiccups. It does get hot, of course, but even without the Aero Active Cooler X Pro attached, we never had to set it down due to the heat buildup. With X Mode active, the characters are crisp against backgrounds, and touch gameplay is responsive. You can even mod the controls and keybinds to your preference, and can interface well enough on a wireless controller.
When it comes to benchmarks, we weren’t really surprised that the Phone 9 FE performed very well, edging out the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Single and Multi-Core comparisons via Geekbench 6. Unfortunately, GPU performance fell short of the S24 Ultra and its younger sibling, the S24+.
When it comes to 3DMark, the Phone 9 FE performed well within expectations. It blew past the Wild Life base test and ranked above the Galaxy S24 Ultra with an overall score of 85% versus all devices. A very respectable score overall from benchmarks, which translates to a very well-built machine of a smartphone that can handle your games and your social media needs, be it doomscrolling or watching YouTube videos of vtubers or your favorite kpop group.
Camera System
The massive camera block aside, the ROG Phone 9 FE does take great photos under many different lighting conditions. The 50MP main shooter is the star of the show, and just normal shooting at random times produced photos of decent quality. The output is great for posting on social media, of course, and good for the occasional sharing with friends and family.
The phone also boasts AI features to help you take more artistic shots, like light trails or panoramas. The ultrawide lens really does its job, especially when you enable the full screen feature. At 16:9, the shot is still wide as expected, and would look really great on horizontal-oriented social media sites like YouTube.
For a gaming smartphone, ASUS did not forget their shooters for sure, and at the same time, proved that despite being a year old, their camera system still works. No need to experiment or change what works very well, and for the Phone 9 FE, this camera configuration is great (it even takes up to 8K video!)!
Conclusion
Untethered and doing everyday tasks on the phone like checking email, chatting on multiple platforms, and watching YouTube videos, the ROG Phone 9 FE is overengineered and can easily last for more than a day. With a little bit of gaming in between other tasks, the phone is golden, ending the day with around 20% of charge – more than enough for one more episode!
Despite having last year’s hardware underneath this year’s coat of paint, the ROG Phone 9 FE can still provide a premium gaming smartphone experience, even just as it is – no extra bells and whistles. With the Aero Active Cooler X Pro and the other peripherals (that are all backwards compatible with the Phone 8 series BTW), the Phone 9 FE becomes a budget beast, easily able to pump out hours of game time without missing a beat, and still have a bit of juice left to help you book a Grab home.
Overall, the ROG Phone 9 FE deserves a special mention as a great piece of hardware at a very appealing price point. It really is a do-all gaming smartphone that has great utility and does its main function well. It looks great as a sleeper phone if the AniMe Vision is turned off, or can be a quirky conversation started when the feature is on. No matter what you settle on, once eyes are on the ROG Phone 9 FE, it certainly won’t disappoint.
For more details on the ASUS ROG Phone 9 FE, check out the official website and the Facebook page.
For another budget banger, check out our review of the ASUS TUF Gaming A15.
JD Pablo Editor-in-Chief
JD Pablo is the current Editor-in-Chief of twenty8two. Enjoys video games, pizza, banana bread, and tea. Takes coffee black.
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