Two of the first smartphones to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and RedMagic 10 Pro both promise a smooth gaming experience on an Android device.
While we have reviewed the ROG Phone 9 Pro, and gave the handset a four-star rating, we are yet to spend time with the RedMagic 10 Pro. However, we’ve compared the specs of the two and highlighted the key differences and features between them.
Keep reading to learn more about how the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro differs from the RedMagic 10 Pro.
Price
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro has an RRP of £1099.99/$1199.99 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage handset.
On the other hand, the RedMagic 10 Pro has a starting RRP of a much more affordable £579/$649 for the 12GB and 256GB model in Shadow. The price increases depending on the RAM and storage combination, and colour choice.
Both run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
Both the ROG Phone 9 Pro and RedMagic 10 Pro are among the first handsets to run on Qualcomm’s newest mobile chipset: Snapdragon 8 Elite. An upgrade to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the chipset promises an improved gaming experience with a 40% frame rate boost alongside a 40% more efficient experience too.
Snapdragon 8 Elite also boasts powerful AI capabilities which both the ROG Phone 9 Pro and RedMagic 10 Pro make use of.
Snapdragon 8 Elite
Snapdragon 8 Elite
The former has heaps of advanced AI-driven features including ROG’s AI Grabber 2.0 for AI-powered text recognition and translation support and AI Noise Cancellation which uses machine learning to identify and eliminate unwanted noise frequencies.
The RedMagic 10 Pro is also fitted with Google Intelligence which offers Gemini assistance, real-time translation and more.
Snapdragon-8-Elite-Infographic
Snapdragon 8 Elite information guide
The ROG Phone 9 Pro can reach up to 185Hz refresh rate
The RedMagic 10 Pro has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and an average touch sampling rate of 960Hz, although it can reach up to 2500Hz, which means gameplay and on-screen animations should appear smoother and feel more responsive.
On the other hand, the ROG Phone 9 Pro sports 120Hz LTPO technology, which allows the screen drop down to 1Hz when not active to help preserve battery. However thanks to ROG Game Genie, an ASUS software that helps improve gaming experience, the Phone 9 Pro can reach a max refresh rate of 185Hz.
Finally, the ROG Phone 9 Pro also has a slightly lower touch sample rate compared to the RedMagic 10 Pro at 720Hz.
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RedMagic 10 Pro has a larger display
At 6.85-inches, the RedMagic 10 Pro is slightly larger than the ROG Phone 9 Pro which measures at 6.78-inches. While both are AMOLED, FHD Plus displays, the ROG Phone 9 Pro can reach a peak brightness of 2500 nits, whereas the RedMagic 10 Pro comes in slightly slower at 2000 nits.
The ROG Phone 9 Pro also sports a more durable Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen, while the RedMagic 10 Pro’s is just Gorilla Glass. Finally, the RedMagic 10 Pro touchscreen supports a whopping 10-point multitouch and glove touch too.
ROG Phone 9 Pro has a 32MP selfie camera
While the camera may not be the most important aspect of a gaming phone, it’s still worth mentioning that the ROG Phone 9 Pro boasts a heftier 32MP front-facing lens while the RedMagic 10 Pro’s is 16MP.
Both handsets feature a trio of rear lenses although they differ in their offerings. The RedMagic 10 Pro consists of 50MP main, 50MP ultrawide and 2MP macro lenses which we are yet to test for ourselves.
The ROG Phone 9’s hardware is made up of a 50MP main, 32MP telephoto and 13MP ultrawide which our reviewer concluded is “probably the best camera system available on a gaming phone today.”
Having said that, they caveat this statement by noting that the bar is fairly low when it comes to gaming smartphones and their photography prowess and “compared to mainstream flagship rivals, these cameras are very lacklustre.”
ROG Phone 9 Pro
ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro cameras
RedMagic 10 Pro has a larger battery
With a 7050mAh dual cell battery and up to 100W quick charging support, the RedMagic 10 Pro promises to offer up to 6.2 hours of Genshin Impact and up to a whopping 52 hours of standby.
As we are yet to review the RedMagic 10 Pro ourselves, we can’t verify these claims but we’re keen to see how it measures up.
Otherwise the ROG Phone 9 Pro has a smaller battery, at 5800mAh, and supports 65W charging. Although it’s over 1000mAh shy of the RedMagic 10 Pro, we still found the ROG Phone 9 Pro to be more than enough, with our reviewer typically ending the day with over 30% of battery remaining.
Asus Rog Phone 9 Pro Edition charger
ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro 65W wired charger
The RedMagic 10 Pro is missing wireless charging support, whereas the ROG Phone 9 Pro supports 15W which is a useful addition.
Early verdict
At this stage, where we’re yet to review the RedMagic 10 Pro, it’s fair to say both handsets offer their own respective benefits. While the RedMagic 10 Pro boasts a larger battery with faster charging, the ROG Phone 9 Pro supports wireless and boasts a higher quality selfie lens.
Both run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and are fitted with heaps of AI tools to help make gaming that bit more immersive.
For a more conclusive verdict, make sure you return here once we’ve reviewed the RedMagic 10 Pro.
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