Top Picks for Gaming Smartphones: Performance, Battery, and Display Excellence

In the realm of gaming smartphones, performance, battery life, and screen refresh rate take center stage. While gaming-focused phones often deprioritize camera quality and other non-gaming features, there are versatile options like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro that excel in gaming without being exclusively labeled as gaming devices.

Not sure what makes a gaming phone good? Here’s some quick insight into what we look for:

• Hardware: High framerates in modern games are dependent on a strong system-on-chip (SoC) and a sufficient amount of RAM.
• Performance: One of the major downsides of today's top-of-the-line CPUs is their poor thermal performance. Many modern gaming smartphones have enhanced thermals, allowing for significantly longer periods of peak performance without slowing down.
• Trigger: The best gaming phones include physical triggers, but not all of the recommendations have them. Good haptic feedback is an added bonus. This may, however, be avoided with the use of attachments like the Razer Kishi.
• Software: In terms of software, it's important to have fun gaming options, but there are other factors to think about as well. Changes are less important than updates. Your phone will become obsolete far sooner than you'd want if it can only receive software upgrades for a maximum of two years.
• Camera: Most game phones have excellent cameras, but you can find some good ones among the bunch. In a similar vein, several of the top smartphones for photography, like as the high-end Galaxy S23 Ultra, also perform admirably as gaming devices.

While Asus and Red Magic are two of the most prominent names in the gaming phone industry, there are many more brands to consider, as well as hardware that is many generations old. You've come to the correct spot if you're in the market for a high-powered smartphone to use with your preferred Android gaming controller. Put your new gaming phone to the test by loading it up with some of the top Android games.

The Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro provide with the power and efficiency of the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as well as a large, stunning screen at a price that is hundreds cheaper than other brands of gaming phones. While most gaming phones appear intended to break the bank, the Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro does quite the opposite. It is the greatest phone, especially for its price, despite the fact that it may be lacking in a few minor aspects, such as the quality of the selfie camera, when it comes to gaming and programs that require a great deal of processing power.

Price: $799

Pros

• Excellent performance and price
• High framerate screen
• Internal fan that keeps hardware cool

Cons

• Selfie cam is blurry
• Buggy software
• Fingerprint sensor is sometimes iffy

Over the course of the past few years, Nubia has been gradually bettering the Red Magic gaming phone series. Now in its eighth iteration, the advancements are really starting to show, all while maintaining their affordable price point. But despite its low price, the Red Magic 8 Pro is undoubtedly our favorite because to its great performance that doesn't buckle no matter what game you throw at it. This makes it favorite by a wide margin. You should be able to game all day and into the night without having a charger or an ice pack, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2's better power and thermal efficiency, as well as the almost absurdly large battery capacity. This is despite the fact that the software can still have occasional hiccups.

Because the qualities that make a phone great for gaming are frequently the same qualities that make it a great phone overall, it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of the greatest premium Android flagships is also one of the best gaming phones available. Despite having the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as the Red Magic 8 Pro, Samsung manages to outperform the Red Magic with its powerful One UI software. In particular, Samsung's full-featured Game Booster suite outperforms the Red Magic in terms of the number and variety of recording and streaming possibilities it provides.

Price: $1200

Pros

• High refresh rate screen perfect for gaming
• Large battery for long gaming sessions
• Screen recording with inline sound

Cons

• Expensive
• Slower charging, as 45W is rare to reach

The Galaxy S23 Ultra, which is an excellent gaming gadget, is Samsung's flagship smartphone for the current year. You get what you pay for with a fantastic high-frame rate OLED screen and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, but it does cost a pretty penny, beginning at $1,200. Not only is the gadget capable of tearing through any Android game, but the screen of the device will also look beautiful when playing games, which is exactly what gaming phones are all about. In addition, Samsung was one of the first companies to provide inline sound recording in conjunction with its video recorder. This enables content creators on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, as well as members of the press in general, to simply film themselves playing video games while the games' original sound effects are still being played.

If you want to play the most demanding games on Android, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is an excellent device to pick up. This is true regardless of how you look at it.

The Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro is the company's most recent gaming smartphone. It features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, physical pop-out triggers for gaming and a large number of cooling layers to ensure that games run smoothly. Unfortunately, there is no fan; everything is cooled passively, which means that when the phone is used, it may feel hot to the user, but this does not affect the phone's performance.

Price: $800

Pros

• Pop-up physical triggers for gaming
• 120W fast charging
• 144hz screen that doesn't auto-adjust, is actually static

Cons

• Battery life stinks
• No headphone jack
• Cameras leave a lot to be desired

The integrated 120W rapid charging is wonderful, but you will need to make frequent use of it because the battery has a tendency to drain a bit too quickly for comfort. This is especially true if you keep the frame rate locked at 144FPS. In spite of the fact that the price tag of $800 is absolutely reasonable considering the incredible hardware that is included in exchange, the price of comparable smartphones that provide improved specifications is lower. In addition, the same level of assistance will be provided to you despite the fact that the industry standard for gaming phones is for manufacturers to cut corners somewhere in order to keep prices low.

The shortcomings are mostly found on the software side, such as infrequent upgrades, and on the camera side, due to the fact that the cameras on this device are nothing to write home about. Nevertheless, the Black Shark 5 Pro is designed to tear through games and it does it with confidence. As a result, it is an excellent option for individuals who play games regularly on their smartphones. It is the phone you need if physical triggers are necessary, since the pop-out triggers are not just a cool feature to show off, but also operate brilliantly. If physical triggers are required, you need this phone.

The most recent ROG Phone model from Asus is the seventh version of the series and is also the most refined to date. The design keeps and even improves upon many of its finest features, like an uncluttered screen that enables scorching framerates, shoulder touch buttons and of course, delivers top-of-the-line specifications to effortlessly munch through any game you put at it. Every aspect of its design conveys the idea that it is a gaming phone intended for those who play games frequently.

Price: 1120 GBP

Pros

• Uncluttered high-framerate screen
• Headphone jack
• Front facing speakers sound great

Cons

• Off-center USB-C
• Expensive
• Heavy

Though Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate sold only in the UK, it seems reasonable to include it on this list even if it is not yet available in the United States. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is the newest member of the family, but it has not yet been made available in the United States. It is without a doubt one of, if not the current king of gaming on Android; but, if you want to play with the king, you will need to spend a hefty lot on a copy if you can even locate one. You should have faith that the money will be well spent if you want to get the most out of the performance of your phone. You can get an optional fan attachment if you want to truly keep things cool during those extended gaming sessions, but even without it, you can be confident that you'll be able to reach the maximum level of difficulty in games like Genshin Impact.

Despite the fact that the ROG 7 is not yet available in the United States, there is no question that Asus has successfully restored its position as the king of Android gaming. If you are ready to spend a significant amount of money on the most advanced gaming gear, then you should be on the lookout for the game's eventual release in the United States.

The display of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is an enormous 6.7 inches in size, making it ideal for viewing media material. In addition to that, it has some really good cameras, an intriguing cutout called the Dynamic Island and excellent software support.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is an unambiguous victor if you choose to go with an Apple product in this scenario. Even if it isn't a major advance over the iPhone 13 Pro Max from the previous year, which also didn't have many flaws, this year's model is still a solid option.

Price: $1099

Pros

• Industry-leading performance
• Dynamic Island makes punch hole entertaining and practical
• Good battery life
• Bright, attractive display with Always-On functionality

Cons

• Slow charging
• Minor evolution
• No physical SIM feels like an inconvenient

The performance of Apple's Bionic processors has consistently been superior to that of whatever Android has been able to muster and this is also true with Apple's A16 Bionic chip. However, the A15 Bionic proved that when it comes to raw GPU power, Apple's 2021 CPU is unable to compete with specialized Android gaming phones. It is important to keep in mind, however, that it won't make a difference in the overwhelming majority of scenarios. This phone is able to play every game that is now available on the market with ease and iOS is known for having a greater variety of apps and games accessible.

The Pro Motion 120Hz OLED panel on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is 6.7 inches in size, and it has an excellent contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1; in addition, it displays images that are clear and brilliant. Once again, there are no shoulder triggers included in, but you can have an even better experience by purchasing a Razer Kishi, which essentially transforms your iPhone into a smaller version of the Nintendo Switch.

iPhone 14 Pro Max is the greatest option for gamers, but if you like a more compact phone, the iPhone 14 Pro packs just as much of a punch as its larger sibling. However, the A15 Bionic CPU is used in the two other versions in the lineup; hence, we do not advocate purchasing any of those two models if you are looking for sheer power. They are still functional gadgets, but they offer a far lower return on investment than other options.

Gaming phones may not be at the forefront of the smartphone industry, but there is undoubtedly a place for them, particularly if you're a lover of high refresh rate displays and top-of-the-line specifications. Gaming phones are available in a wide variety of price points. You don't need to break the bank to have a polished gadget because there are options like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. You could go with something that costs more than half as much, like as the Black Shark 5 or the Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro, and you would still end up with a gadget that is capable of tearing through any game you throw at it.