Some of you might know that ROG released yet another phone recently… and it’s the ROG Phone 9 FE. Now, this phone is weird, but I think in a good way. Why I say it’s weird, though, is because this is the first time ROG did such a thing, and I originally had a lot of questions, too. Why does it exist? What’s the difference between the ROG Phone 9 FE and the others? Should you buy this phone, or is it just e-waste?
Well, luckily, I have all the answers and today – let’s answer all of them.
The similarities and differences
Let’s talk about what’s new and what’s not. The ROG Phone 9 FE is a phone that I won’t call it as “new”. It is basically a rebadged ROG Phone 8 with a few changes here and there. For example, it has the same shape and size as the ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 9, but the back is now more sparkly than anything we’ve seen before.
It also has the AniMe Vision with 341 LEDs and we can do a lot of customizations via the Armoury Crate software. However, it comes with the ROG Phone 8 cameras. Not the Pro, that means we do not have the telephoto camera here.
Cameras
The cameras sensors and processing are basically the same as before, so I’ll just show you a bunch of pictures I’ve taken with this phone because the cameras – I do think it’s usable in most cases, but it’s not the main focus of this phone.
To have a look at all the pictures taken with the ROG Phone 9 FE, watch our video at the top of this article.
Accessory compatibility
The included case with the ROG Phone 9 FE is also the same one as the ROG Phone 9, so we are getting the case with the special audio redirection feature which helps “convert” the phone to have front-facing stereo speakers. It really does work, and we have a video talking about that at the top right corner there.
While we’re on that subject, all cases from the ROG Phone 8 and ROG Phone 9, and accessories – including the AeroActive Cooler X and AeroActive Cooler X Pro – are compatible with this ROG Phone 9 FE too. That’s great news!
Performance
But we’ll have to shift our focus t other performance now. The ROG Phone 9 FE is using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. If you’ve watched our video where we talk about the “best tech of 2024”, the ROG Phone 8 is the one and only phone that can handle the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset at its max potential. The same remains here too, since the ROG Phone 9 FE is basically a rebadge.
I mean, since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 can run at its max potential, the performance gap when compared to the 8 Elite while gaming becomes not that big – for now, at least. Games ran fine on this phone.
AirTriggers
One thing I have to highlight is that the AirTriggers on this phone is the same as the ROG Phone 8. If you recall from our original gaming test video of the ROG Phone 8, I had issues with the AirTriggers as it was not responsive. It turns out that, of all the generations of ROG Phones, only the ROG Phone 8 uses capacitive AirTriggers. And now, the new FE uses the same capacitive AirTriggers too. And that’s really disappointing.
Software
However, the software remains the best for a gaming phone. Remember that ROG Phones have the feature to remap controller buttons to become touchscreen presses? Yeah, that feature had been around for many years and the ROG Phone 9 FE has all of them too, alongside the latest version of X-Sense 3.0 and all that jazz.
Surprisingly, you can even change from a camera joystick to become a virtual mouse cursor by presing the Xbox button! I never knew this existed!
The software update policy is the same as the ROG Phone 9, so I think this phone will get a year of updates more than the ROG Phone 8 series even though they have the same specs? That’s certainly weird.
Battery life
If you’re concerned about the battery life, then don’t be. It’s using the same equivalent of 5,500mAh battery and the battery life remains basically the same.
We did two tests for the ROG Phone 9 FE – once with the auto FPS setting with the AniMe Vision off, and that lasted for about 20.5 hours. It’s an amazing battery life.
Then, we locked it up to 165Hz refresh rate (180Hz is only available for certain games) and it decreased the battery life by a lot. So, I just recommend you to use it in auto refresh rate.
Charging speed
The ROG Phone 9 FE also comes with a 65W charger included in the box. And the charging speed is to be expected – charges from 15% to completion in under an hour.
And since ROG uses the USB-PD PPS standard anyway, it also works with any other compatible chargers too.
Screen
As for the screen, it’s the same one as the ROG Phone 8 series. Though, we can get 180Hz this time but only in certain games that has unlocked FPS like Temple Run 2, Alto’s Adventure, Subway Surfers, and a few more. Either way, the color gamut coverage and maximum brightness is basically the same.
A few more things to mention
And a few more things to mention about the ROG Phone 9 FE. It also comes with dual USB-C ports. The bottom one is a USB 2.0 port and the side port is a USB 3.0 port. So, if we want super-fast transfer speed or to use display output, do use the side USB 3.0 port.
At least for our region, we do have dual SIM card slots and it also still has an audio jack too.
Why does the ROG Phone 9 FE exist?
Finally – the question of why this phone exists? Well, I also asked the same question and I thought the phone was unnecessary, until I knew the price. At just RM2,999, you can get this ROG Phone 9 FE. I mean, it’s quite a good deal considering that it comes with the features of the ROG Phone 9, but with the specs of the ROG Phone 8. Yet the price is way lower than expected.
As far as I know, there are other promos in the mix as well – making this phone a fantastic deal to those who are eyeing to get the ROG Phone but don’t really vibe with the price.
Plus, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 can run at its full potential on the ROG Phone 9 FE – and the performance gap when compared to the 8 Elite is not as significant. That just makes the ROG Phone 9 FE an even better deal, in my opinion.
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