It’s been a big week for Android phones and I’ve been trying out a phone that hasn’t been fully announced yet.
On Monday, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its latest and greatest mobile chipset. We expect to see it coming to top Android handsets over the next year, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and OnePlus 13.
But many companies are launching Snapdragon 8 Elite handsets even earlier. It will debut on the Xiaomi 15 series later this month, ahead of the Honor Magic 7 series a few days later.
However, these two phones will initially only be available in China. For devices you’ll be able to buy in the West, you’re looking at the Oppo Find X8 series and the Asus ROG Phone 9 in November.
Even though my few minutes with the device were limited… I already had the impression that Asus might be on the right track.
And during Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, I had the chance to try out the classic ROG Phone 9. While my few minutes with the device were limited to just two apps – Chrome and YouTube – I already had a feeling Asus might be onto a winner.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
The performance and power efficiency improvements offered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite are particularly relevant to the ROG Phone, which aims to deliver the best possible gaming performance. This is crucial for longer gaming sessions, which can result in reduced performance and a significant drop in battery life.
I didn’t have a chance to see how good this gaming performance was, but given that the ROG Phone 8 was already so strong in this area, this bodes well. And touted battery life improvements suggest capacity will remain at at least 5,500 mAh.
The design change introduced by Asus on the ROG Phone 8 continues and makes the ROG Phone 9 a realistic option for everyday use. It looks and feels impressive, but the angular camera module helps it stand out from the crowd with a twist that many players will find satisfying.
A subtle change from the standard model is the introduction of the mini LED display on the back, which was previously exclusive to the ROG Phone 8 Pro. It can be used to display various system messages or a custom message of up to 20 characters.
Aside from the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Asus hasn’t revealed any specifications of the ROG Phone 9. We’ll find out all the latest details on November 19, but the big screen and punchy speakers are certainly impressive, even if it’s still relatively light. .
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
The success of the device will depend on performance and battery life, but also on price. It’s unclear if there will be a difference compared to the ROG Phone 8, which started at £949.99/$1,099.99.
Stay tuned for all the news on what could be the best gaming phone of 2024/25.
