With the help of one of the best gaming phones, mobile gaming can be transformed into something as beautiful as console gaming. The best gaming phones that will not deceive you in the heat of war
These phones give you a quality gaming experience, while at the same time giving you all the practices of a normal smartphone. Features the best processors, RAM, and displays on the market to make your mobile games feel better to watch and play.
Companies like Razer and Asus – which gamers are now familiar with – have developed deliberately structured, gaming-centric handsets that specialize in this field. But the latest flagships from Samsung, OnePlus, and Apple, with their class-leading specs, are great at demanding titles.
If you want to swim in the arena of Fort Night of Violence while traveling, these are the best gaming phones for work.
What are the best gaming phones?
At the top of our list of the best gaming phones is the recently released Asus ROG Phone 5. 144 Hz display, up to 16 GB RAM, a Snapdragon 888 chipset, and fantastic long life respect for the 6,000 mAh battery you will be worried about if gaming is the best option.
What if you wanted something that could provide something for gaming? So, we recommend the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which is actually priced at $ 1,299 but still offers better performance, is one of the first phones to support Xbox Game Pass streaming and has an adaptive 120 Hz update rate display.
Another option is the OnePlus 9 Pro. Which comes with a 120 Hz panel as well as the OnePlus’ Oxygen OS front-end software extension on Android 11. If you want the cheapest way to premium performance, Redmagic 5G is for your buck with the best bang gaming-focused features and a responsive screen for ROG phone 5s starting from less than the $600 mark.
What about iPhones? Of course, Apple’s Hardest does not have a wealth of game-related features such as high refresh rate displays and customized inputs such as. The best gaming phone guides in phones, but they do have Cupertino’s personal silicone. The A14 Bionic chipset on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is faster than Qualcomm’s best equivalent, making it ideal for the most demanding games.
The Galaxy S21 Plus is yet another well-rounded Samsung device, with an impressive display and a terrific display with third-degree performance. It’s also very expensive at $ 999, considering it’s a great phone as well, and it’s a flagship phone. The new Oppo Find X3 Pro fills a similar role, offering a lot more display, RAM, and camera tech than Samsung, but it’s not bad because it’s not available for purchase in the US.
The best gaming phones you can buy now
If you are serious about your mobile games, and if you don’t want to settle for anything less than the highest frame rates, crispest graphics, and longest battery life. The Asus ROG Phone 5 is the best of the best gaming phones.
Sporting a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate up to a max of 144Hz. The ROG Phone 5’s screen is nearly flawless. Combined with a powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset and up to 16GB RAM. It’ll take on any game you throw at it. There’s also a large 6,000 mAh battery with 65W charging which will keep you playing for long periods without having to break to recharge.
The focus on gaming is a blessing and a curse though. It means you have customizable RGB lights on the back, virtual trigger buttons on the side, and some powerful stereo speakers which all add to the experience. However lackluster cameras and no wireless charging mean the phone is missing some key versatility. Plus that loud design may not be to your taste.
If that isn’t enough performance for you, there’s also the limited edition Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimate that adds more RAM and storage. But for most users wanting to focus on gaming above all else, the normal ROG Phone 5 is the phone to go for.
The new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may not look much like a gaming phone, but rest assured. This is one of the best gaming phones on the market, with the most advanced display you’ll find that can scale all the way up to a maximum of 120Hz or down to 30Hz or 60Hz to match the frame rate of on-screen content.
But the Note 20 Ultra is more than just a powerful flagship; it’s optimized to stream Xbox titles, via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and can even cast games to external displays via Samsung’s DeX interface and Miracast. Whatever you play or however you play it. The Note 20 Ultra’s Snapdragon 865 Plus and 12GB RAM will ensure a smooth experience — so long as you have a stable internet connection for streaming, of course.
You won’t find the same extent of gamer-focused features in the latest high-end Note as you’d expect from the ROG Phone 3, like clip-on external cooling fans and customizable air triggers. Then again, if you need a powerful phablet for work as well as play, there’s no choice more versatile than the Note 20 Ultra. It’s worth mentioning that the $999, 6.7-inch Galaxy Note 20 is a great device too, though it only peaks at a 60Hz refresh rate.
With a 60Hz screen and just 6GB of RAM, you might initially recoil from gaming on an iPhone. However, the iPhone 12 Pro Max offers incomparable power among the best gaming phones. That’s thanks to Apple’s A14 Bionic chipset, which still outpaces the Snapdragon 888 in the ROG Phone 5 even with half of the RAM.
You also have to consider that a number of premiers, flagship mobile titles arrive on iOS first, or through the Apple Arcade subscription program. Which offers a hand-picked selection of quality games that aren’t offered elsewhere. And they all look and run absolutely dazzling on the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch OLED display, even at a pedestrian 60Hz. It’s also worth pointing out that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a supremely well-rounded handset in areas beyond gaming, excelling in particular with its camera quality and long battery life.
That said, we can understand why someone in the market for a gaming phone may want to hold off before taking a plunge on one of Apple’s 2020 flagship handsets. It’s on the expensive end of the phones on this list, has smaller than average storage, and doesn’t even come with a charging block. Apple charges for those separately these days.
If you want a high-end Android phone for a bit less than what most high-end handsets cost and you want peak performance for gaming without sacrificing other amenities like design and camera quality. The OnePlus 9 Pro is a well-rounded proposition and a worthy member of the best gaming phone list.
The OLED display on OnePlus’ latest flagship measures 6.7 inches and packs a 1440p resolution, making the screen sharp as well as colorful. But the OnePlus 9 Pro rises toward the top of our best gaming phone list because of its dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. Which makes for a remarkably smooth experience for the games that support it, like Fortnite. Even the touch sampling rate is boosted to 360Hz, thanks to OnePlus’ new Hyper Touch technology, giving you the instant response you need to claim victory.
Of course, the OnePlus 9 Pro succeeds in many other ways. It lasts long on a charge and supports faster wired and wireless charging than most other devices out there. It features four cameras on the back which are now genuine rivals for the ones on an iPhone or Galaxy phone thanks to helping from Swedish camera maker Hasselblad. And the OnePlus 9 Pro has phenomenal software that actually adds some usefulness to Android 11, as well as a handsome and easy to navigate user interface.
All of this will set you back $1,079, which is unfortunately quite expensive, costing more than many of its rivals while only offering a modest set of gamer-friendly features. It’s definitely worth the price if you want a well-rounded phone though.
The Redmagic 5G is one of the cheapest pathways to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor on the market right now. Earning it a mention on this list of the best gaming phones. For just $579, you can have a device with a high-end chipset, up to 12GB of RAM, and a 6.65-inch 144Hz AMOLED display with a flat design and slim bezels that are conducive to gaming. A fan inside also ensures the device can run demanding titles optimally, which is extremely important if you’re gaming for long stretches of time.
Of course, if fantastic software or camera performance is a priority for you. The Red magic 5G isn’t going to be the best fit — there are certainly more well-rounded handsets out there. However, they all cost more, and so those who prioritize gaming and the power needed to do so but have a more modest budget would be wise to consider it.
If you want a well-rounded Android phone that can also handle flagship games. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a smart choice.
The S20 Plus has a 120Hz panel and a Snapdragon 888 processor like all of this year’s top flagships. It may only have 8GB of RAM, but that doesn’t hold it back. It’s still fast in every sense of the world. Plus, its 5G support extends to millimeter-wave networks as well as sub-6GHz ones, which allows for the quickest data speeds on the planet for when you’re gaming online away from home.
Although it does offer Xbox Game Pass support. The Galaxy S21 Plus doesn’t offer much strictly in the way of dedicated gaming features though —it’s just an all-around great (and, unfortunately, kinda expensive) flagship device that also happens to be one of the best gaming phones.
If your ideal gaming phone is one that’s just as capable for other flagship-level activities as it is for games. The Oppo Find X3 Pro might find its way onto your shortlist.
The 6.7-inch display on the Oppo offers a QHD panel. While its 5Hz-120Hz refresh rate means you’ll only get smooth performance when it’s needed. That means you’ll get the best of the phone while gaming but save power when you’re idly scrolling through menus or looking at photos.
Speaking of which, the Find X3 Pro is fantastic for cameras too. There are two 50MP cameras – one for normal images, the other for ultrawide. You also get a 13MP telephoto camera with 5x hybrid zoom and a 3MP microscope lens for long-distance and extreme close-up shots respectively.
Add to this mix its Snapdragon 888 chip and 12GB RAM. The Find X3 Pro can easily keep up with the best gaming phones in terms of performance. Plus its unique design, with the camera bump flowing into the main body of the phone, means it’s much easier on the eyes than a device covered in bright colors and flashing lights.
The only problems are it’s currently not on sale in the U.S. – it’s an option for our readers in the U.K. and beyond. It’s also a very expensive phone at £1,099. Which while cheaper than some rival devices, is still a lot of money to spend.
With its surprisingly low price, the OnePlus 9 offers a premium experience for gamers who want a cheaper best gaming phone option that covers all bases.
The display offers the high refresh rate essential for smooth gaming, and a decent battery life to keep you playing without fear of the phone shutting down. You get the best silicon available in the form of the Snapdragon 888. Which also offers you 5G compatibility for when you’re gaming on the move.
Within the well-designed OxygenOS skin for Android 11, OnePlus offers Pro Gaming Mode, which maximizes performance and turns off your notifications to keep you focussed. And the sound from the stereo speakers helps you keep track of the action if you’re playing without headphones. Beyond gaming, you also have speedy 65W charging and Hasselblad-tuned cameras on the back.
You may prefer one of the other phones higher up this list with more gaming-focused features or better overall specs. But at $729, it’s impressive just how much you get for both overall features and gaming specifically.
How to choose the best gaming phone for you
As with all things, choosing the right gaming phone is a priority. If you’re after the great performance – and you’ve read this often – you’ll need a phone with Snapdragon 8 series chips or Apple’s A14 bionic. Snapdragon Importance is available on devices from many manufacturers such as Qualcomm’s best silicone for Android phones.
What about high refresh rates? You will only find it at the more expensive end of the market, but this is a feature that will land on more modest-priced phones over time. Panels rated at 90Hz and above offer smoother scrolling and overall graphics than traditional screens, with every swipe, tap, and action you feel getting a response without delay. If you are a particularly serious competitive gamer, high refresh rates will see you without losing any action.
In fact, as more and more devices with appropriate features focus on gaming, more and more phone manufacturers are ignoring other things. Although battery life is central to gaming (because games consume more power). It can be very difficult for you to find gaming phones with great camera hardware and software, or to find features like wireless charging and water resistance.
Of course, the more a device is geared toward gaming with the appropriate features, the more phone makers ignore other considerations. While the battery life is central to gaming (because games consume a lot of power). You’ll have a tougher time finding gaming phones with great camera hardware and software, or perhaps conveniences like wireless charging and water resistance. If those things are important to you. You may want to focus your search on the more powerful handsets on this list that are not specifically intended for gaming, but the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro max.
How we test gaming phones
To make the smartphone one of our best phone lists – gaming phone or not – it needs to excel in the many tests we run on every handset. We do some of these tests in our labs and some in the real world.
When it comes to performance, we rely on synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench 5 and GFX Bench to measure graphics performance. These tests allow us to compare performance on iPhones and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on every phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and result from time.
To measure the quality of the phone display. We perform laboratory tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen (DCI-P3 color gamut) is. In these cases, higher numbers are better. We measure the color accuracy of each panel with a delta-e rating, where low numbers are good and 0 scores are accurate.
Last but not least, we take the best phones on the field to take photos outside, indoors, and in low light at night to see how they work against their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits, and more and also allow you to be a judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews.
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