The top gaming phones can compete with tablets and possibly even portable consoles like the Nintendo Switch when it comes to performance. Having one of these phones on hand is a good idea if you’re a gamer who loves first-person shooters on Stream or perhaps jackpot slots at an online casino like BetMGM. Of course, choosing a gaming phone is not the same as picking a regular mobile. One with a large, high-resolution screen, a fast refresh rate, and plenty of power are ideal. It also helps a lot if the battery life is good. At the top of the list, we’ve included the most excellent phones currently available that are expressly intended for gaming. Further down the page, you’ll find more general smartphones that are also excellent for gaming.
If buying a smartphone today wasn’t perplexing enough already due to the sheer variety of brands and variants at hand, we have smartphones dedicated to gaming now. These gadgets are designed to improve gaming performance by focusing on areas that gamers care about more than others, such as faster storage and a faster processor over a multi-sensor camera. I have taken these factors into consideration and come up with the list below, which I feel are the best gaming smartphones around today.
Nubia Red Magic 5G
The Nubia Red Magic 5G invests heavily in the technology that gamers need. The phone has a 144Hz refresh rate display and built-in shoulder button triggers, in addition to a strong overall hardware specification. It also includes a built-in fan and liquid cooling system to keep the phone cool even when gaming for lengthy periods. The device also has vibration, so you can feel every shot or crash if you want to. In terms of software, you get Android 10 out of the box, and there’s also a 5G modem on board, making this an ideal gaming smartphone.
Asus ROG Phone 5
The Asus ROG Phone 5 is, without a doubt, one of the best gaming phones on the market. Its chunky, game-like design may not appeal to the masses, but that isn’t the point. Asus has upped the ante with a 144Hz AMOLED screen, two 3,000mAh batteries, the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 888 processor, and up to 16GB of RAM. It can handle almost any game available on Android right now, with enough power left over to keep the phone future-proofed for a long time – all for a fraction of the price of high-end flagships.
Haptic triggers embedded onto the side of the ROG Phone 5 enhance the gaming experience even further. The official attachments, such as the Nintendo Switch-Esque Kunai 5 controllers and the fan-powered AeroActive Cooler 5 cooling system, should do the trick if you want to take things a step further. The cameras are rather nice, even though they have nothing to do with gaming, which is an extra benefit and unusual for a gaming phone.
iPhone 13 Pro Max
This phone can handle any mobile game thanks to the powerful A15 Bionic CPU, 120Hz display, and significantly increased battery life. As a result, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is not just one of the most fantastic gaming phones on the market, but it’s also one of the best phones you can buy in general.
It has excellent cameras, a stunning 6.7-inch OLED display, and many other features that make it a pleasure to use in daily life. It also has a storage capacity of up to 1TB, ensuring that you’ll never run out of room for the best iOS games.
Xiaomi Black Shark 4
The Xiaomi Black Shark 4 isn’t created for excess in the same way that some of its competitors are, but it is built for greatness in the smartphone sector. The Snapdragon 870 chipset inside isn’t as fast as the Snapdragon 888, but it’s no slouch and just falls short by a hair. Because most mobile games can operate on even the most basic chipsets, this is unlikely to be an issue in the near future.
The 8GB of memory and 128GB of fast UFS 3.1 storage on the Black Shark 4 remain unchanged. With a crisp, AMOLED panel that can run at 144Hz, its display is just as ready for gaming as the competition. The phone also has a unique feature in the form of two magnetic pop-up triggers. Unlike many other phones with touch controls, the Black Shark 4 includes solid shoulder buttons that you can actually press. They’re comfortable to use and can be tucked away into the phone when not in use. Xiaomi also earns additional points for allowing you to use the camera app’s shoulder buttons as camera controls.
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 pushes the boundaries of what a “gaming phone” can be. Lenovo has applied its gaming PC expertise to its latest gaming smartphone, though on a much smaller scale. When playing graphically intensive games for long periods of time, the Legion Phone Duel 2 includes two cooling fans that work in tandem with a vapor chamber to keep the phone cool.
The phone’s distinct appearance serves a dual purpose: it not only makes it appear to be a gaming phone, but it also serves a practical purpose. Its internal hardware is located in the center to guarantee optimal cooling. Shoulder triggers are standard on decent gaming phones. Still, Lenovo takes things a step further with four ultrasonic shoulder keys and two capacitive touchpoints on the back. Two additional touchpoints are integrated into the display, bringing the number of triggers to eight.
