Sure, it’s all roses when it comes to raw performance and synthetic benchmark supremacy, but how has ASUS tackled other essential pillars of the flagship smartphone experience? The camera package has always been a crucial aspect of every phone, be it a “regular” flagship or a gaming-oriented device.
| Specs | ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro | ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Main camera | 50MP, Sony LYTIA 700, 1/1.56″, F1.9 | 50MP, Sony IMX890, 1/1.56″, F1.9 |
| Telephoto camera | 32MP, 1/3.2″, F2.4, 3X optical zoom | 32MP, 1/3.2″, F2.4, 3X optical zoom |
| Ultra-wide camera | 13MP, F2.2, 120° | 13MP, F2.2, 120° |
| Front-facing camera | 32MP | 32MP |
Is the ROG Phone 9 Pro then destined to share the slightly unimpressive camera prowess of its predecessor?
ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro Camera Score compared to its rivals
| Phone | PhoneArena Camera Score | Photo Score | Video Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro | 137.6 | 138.0 | 137.2 |
| ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro | 129.6 | 135.5 | 123.7 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | 156.4 | 161.9 | 150.9 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max | 153.9 | 158.4 | 149.5 |
Thankfully, ASUS has seemingly implemented a ton of improvements and optimizations for the camera, which have come a long way. We’re pleased to report that the latest ROG Phone has improved significantly in comparison with the ROG Phone 8 Pro, though the bar was pretty low to begin with. The new device earns a PhoneArena Camera Score of 137.6, while the ROG Phone 8 Pro only reached 129.6 points in the same tests.
While the difference in the still photo tests isn’t that grand, it’s the rift in the video score that helps the newer phone gains some serious ground: 123.7 points for the older phone can’t really match the 137.2-point result that ASUS’ latest and greatest has achieved.
ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro spider chart
Main Camera
With the main camera, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro delivers a ton of oversharpening, which is the key takeaway you have to get for this camera. Another one is the somewhat bleak and depressing colors, which lack any saturation even when capturing vivid subjects. The ROG Phone 9 Pro also struggles with dynamics, failing to bring up details from darker shadows.
Zoom Quality
The telephoto camera is surprisingly good. There’s some oversharpening here as well, but details are much cleaner here. AT 3X and 10X, the phone fares the best, with both of these zoom levels giving us very usable photos. Anything past that isn’t really usable.
Ultra-wide Camera
The ultrawide camera is narrower than most and doesn’t really impress with anything. Details are fine, but the colors and the dynamics are pretty comparable to the main camera.
Front Camera
Selfies taken with the ROG Phone 9 Pro are natural and very true-to-life. Colors and pleasing, but the dynamics are once again failing to impress: shadows are too dark, with not much information salvaged.
Main Camera – Video
Interestingly, in video mode, the ROG Phone 9 Pro delivers better dynamics and the oversharpening is mostly gone. As a result, the details are pretty decent. We’d love to see even better dynamics.
Conclusion
Overall, the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s camera performs just as you’d expect a dedicated gaming phone to do: okay for casual stills and videos, but nothing more than that.
While we notice improvements in comparison with the ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro, it’s once again clear that ASUS has left the camera package as an afterthought.
That’s not such a big issue, as the target demographic is likely aware of the fact that the ROG line of phones isn’t a photography powerhouse.
