Asus has announced its first-ever Fan Edition gaming phone , the Asus ROG Phone 9 FE.
At least that’s what we assume FE means, going by Samsung’s use of the term. We’ve not seen any other brands use it and Asus doesn’t outright explain the abbreviation.
Following hot on the heels of the pricey Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro , which launched in November, comes the Asus ROG Phone 9 FE – though it’s only available in Thailand for now.
What’s the difference?
Just as the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE was to the Galaxy S24 , the Asus ROG Phone 9 FE is a slightly cheaper, lower-specced take on the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.
“Experience high-end gaming with the ROG Phone 9 FE, which perfectly combines high-end gaming with a modern design with a gamer’s identity.” said Asus (translated)
Rather than the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the new FE model motors along with the preceding Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under the hood. It was good enough to run the latest games on last year’s gaming phone generation, so it should still be fit for purpose here.
Elsewhere, Asus has dropped the size of the battery from 5800mAh to 5500mAh. Again, that shouldn’t prove to be a hugely consequential compromise, although we are starting to see normie flagship phones like the OnePlus 13 adopting larger 6000mAh cells.
The display looks to be exactly the same as the Pro, which means it’s a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED with a rapid 185Hz maximum refresh rate and a 2,500 nit peak brightness.
In terms of the camera set-up, it looks to be the same as the non-Pro ROG Phone 9. This involves the same gimbal-assisted 50MP Sony IMX890 1/1.56-inch main sensor and the same 13MP ultra-wide, but with a 5MP macro camera in place of the Pro’s 32MP telephoto. You also get a 32 selfie camera.
Asus
How much will the Asus ROG Phone 9 FE cost?
While we’re not hearing any news about a wider rollout as yet, the Asus ROG Phone 9 FE has hit stores in Thailand for THB 29,990. That translates to about £713/$892.
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro retails for 33% more in Thailand, so we could probably expect pricing in the same ballpark were the FE to ever come to these shores.
We’ll let you know if we hear anything about wider availability.
Why the FE has its work cut out
We’re all for Asus making its gaming phone range accessible to more people, as we’re big fans of the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.
However, it’s worth pointing out that there’s another gaming phone player on the scene in Nubia, and it already offers the Redmagic 10 Pro for a significantly lower £579.
This gets you the same Snapdragon 8 Elite processor as the ROG Phone 9 Pro, too, as well as a massive 7050mAh battery.
Of course, the ROG Phone 9 range is a much classier and more usable phone day to day, so perhaps there is still space for a more affordable Fan Edition option.
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.
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